Rebecca Caudill Young Readers Book Award

Nominees 2003

   

Connections

 


A Year Down Yonder

LIVING WITH GRANDMA

Mary Alice was going to live with Grandma.  How would she, a Chicago girl, be able to cope with a small Illinois town, miles away from the big city?  And Grandma...a woman not known for sweet words or tender actions.... a whole year at Grandma's.  Mary  Alice braves an icy bedroom, snooty small town girls, and a Grandma like no other in a story that will surprise you, delight you, and make you laugh...even if you are as old as Grandma.  

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WORDS FOR THE WISE 

Historical References

 An historical reference is a reference to something from the past.  Usually these references evoke memories for those who lived through the time and add authenticity to the story. Here are a few that were mentioned in

A Year Down Yonder

Baby Snooks (Radio Show)

Hall of Mirrors, Palace of Versailles (where Armistice was signed ending World War I)

Black Iron Cook Stove 

Lye soap

Kate Smith

Philco (name brand) radio

Gum boots (Wellingtons)

Outhouse or Privy

Chamber pots

Wringer for getting water out of clothes

 

 

1937: During the Great Depression of the 1930s artists were paid by the government to create murals in towns and cities all over the United States.  Today, people are trying to locate and restore these historic pieces.

  

DETAIL FROM WPA MURAL IN OAK PARK, IL. POST OFFICE

 

               Piatt County, Illinois was formed in 1841. It comprises an area of 438 sections, or 280,320 acres. The land is divided into eight townships                                                     Learn More About: Illinois History 

Richard Peck won the 2001 Newbery Award for  the most distinguished contribution to children's literature for this book, A Year Down Yonder.  

Other Books By Richard Peck

A Long Way From Chicago (1999) Joey, Mary Alice's brother,  recounts his annual summer trips to rural Illinois with his sister during the Great Depression to visit their larger-than-life grandmother. 

Fair Weather (2001) In 1893, thirteen-year-old Rosie and members of her family travel from their Illinois farm to Chicago to visit Aunt Euterpe and attend the World's Columbian Exposition which, along with an encounter with Buffalo Bill and Lillian Russell, turns out to be a life-changing experience for everyone.

Lost in Cyberspace (1995) While dealing with changes at home, sixth-grader Josh and his friend Aaron use the computer at their New York prep school to travel through time, learning some secrets from the school's past and improving Josh's home situation.  

The Great Interactive Dream Machines: Another Adventure in Cyberspace (1997) Josh Lewis is unwillingly drawn into the computer experiments of Aaron, his friend and fellow classmate at an exclusive New York private school, and the two find themselves uncontrollably transported through space and time.

   FOR THE TEACHER   

A Year Down Yonder is a masterful piece of storytelling in the hands of an Illinois native.  Not so much a read-aloud as a book to recommend, it is spiced with the flavor of plain country living in the late 1930s' that includes an unflinching approach to life, justice according to wits, and neighborliness that means caring for one another even if you are not particularly fond of one another. Curmudgeonly and clever, Grandma Dowdel is a formidable opponent and an unforgetable character.

Book Report Ideas

1.  Create a homemade Valentine for Grandma.  Include pictures of things you know she would like or could use.  Explain your Valentine to the class.

2.  If Mary Alice could have written a newsletter of her own each month she was in Piatt County, what might it have said?  

3.  Grandma made everything from scratch, it seemed: glue, pecan pies, pumpkin pies, cherry tarts, burgoo.  Make a Grandma Cookbook.  Research old recipes and explain why the recipes were important to the story.