Newbery Medal Winner- A Year Down Yonder

A Year Down Yonder

Richard Peck

This 2001 Newbery Medal winner takes place in 1937. Mary Alice, a teenage girl, is sent to live with her grandmother because her father lost his job and the family is struggling financially. Her brother, Joey, left to go to the Civilian Conservation Corps and her parents had to move to a small room. There was no room for Mary Alice; she had to go while her parents rebounded from these unfortunate circumstances.

Mary Alice is a city girl from Chicago who is experiencing the different type of living in a country town. Grandma was well-known and feared by many in her town. She was known to draw a rifle, carry a pocket knife, and put anyone in their place at anytime. Mary Alice learned a lot about her grandmother in just one year. She began to understand why she operated the way she did. She even started to think and act like Grandma! Grandma worked her hard in the kitchen and outside- even in the dead of winter. As time went on, she began to respect her even more and even started to worry about her.

Join Mary Alice as she enrolls in a very different high school where grade levels are combined and experiences life as an ordinary teenage girl. Share in her battles with other girls and in her interest of boys. At the end of the year, Mary Alice has a change of heart and wants to stay with Grandma; she worried about her being alone. Grandma knew this would happen and was prepared for it!

She did reunite with her parents but came back to Grandma's and was married to the "new kid" from high school right in Grandma's living room.

I love books with a happy ending. I was especially close with my grandmother and enjoyed "seeing" how their relationship evolved. Grandma actually made me chuckle. The author, Richard Peck, spoke of her actions and her descriptions very vividly. I could easily imagine how Grandma looked, walked, and cooked in her kitchen!