Review: A YEAR DOWN YONDER, Genre 5, Historical Fiction & Biography

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Peck, Richard. 2000. A YEAR DOWN YONDER. New York, NY: Scholastic. ISBN 043943842 2. PLOT SUMMARY This historical fiction novel is set in the depression years. It is the story of a year in the life of Mary Alice Dowdel. She must leave her family in Chicago because of hard times. She travels to be with her grandmother in a small rural Illinois town. This novel is the story of her year with her eccentric, caring grandmother. 3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS Setting The time period is set in the hard times of the depression era. Mary Alice’s father looses his job due to the recession. They loose their home and her brother is sent off to work for the Civilian Conservation Corps out west. Mary Alice is sent off to live with her grandmother until times improve. The setting for this novel is a small, rural town in Illinois. The town is small, but adequate and comfortable. In the novel it is described in relation to the times. “The recession of thirty-seven had hit Grandma’s town harder than it hit Chicago. Grass grew in the main street. Only a face or two showed in the window of The Coffee Pot Cafe. Moore’s Store was hurting for trade. Weidenbach’s bank looked to be just barely in business.” Characters Mary Alice Dowdel is a young girl of 15. She is put into a new school and has a hard time fitting in with other children whom have all grown up together. When she first arrives she first describes herself as Mildred, one of the country girls, gives her a good look over. “She started with the top of my head. Mother had given me a finger wave, and it was real tight from a center parting. Mildred’s lips curled. For traveling, I had on my second-best summer cotton, the one with the puff sleeves and the three big celluloid buttons off one of Mother’s dresses. Mildred looked at my puff sleeves like they ought to come off. Then she dipped down for a look at my feet. I had on my Easter shoes with the open toes, and bobby socks.” As the story moves on Mary Alice begins to fit in with the country folks. At an Armistice Day gathering Mary Alice’s clothing is once again described. “Grandma wore Grandpa Dowdel’s old coat, and I wore his hunting jacket, and dungarees under a skirt. The longer I lived down here, the more I was starting to look like Mildred Burdick. A wool cap pulled down to my eyebrows didn’t help.” The other main character, Grandmother Dowdel, is a larger than life woman whom has a very strong personality. She is a good caring woman whom helps those in need. At the Armistice Day celebration her personality is showcased as she collects money for stew. The price is a dime a mug. “The first customer, a big old farmer, handed Grandma a coin. “I can’t change a quarter,” she said, dropping it into her pocket and looking straight through him. “That’s fifty cents for two,” the next man said. “I’ll take thirty cents in change.” “Haven’t got it,” Grandma replied, banking the fifty –cent piece.” Grandma continues in this fashion until she has collected from everyone. “In short, she got more than a dime off everybody, except from those she knew couldn’t pay more. In some cases she could make change, in others she couldn’t. Once, I saw her palm the dime back into the hand that offered it.” Grandma collected this money to benefit a mother whose boy was “gassed in the trenches, and shot up.” She is very intelligent and will not be taken advantage of in any manner. Plot This novel follows a year in the life of Mary Alice Dowdel. The story begins as she travels from big city Chicago to a small town in rural Illinois to be with her grandmother. The story begins with Mary Alice a bit unsure and embarrassed about her grandmother. Through the sequence of events in the story Mary Alice learns to appreciate and love her grandmother. Theme The theme in this book is that you can not always judge a book by its cover. Grandmother Dowdel appears to be a country bumpkin. On closer examination she shows us to be very intelligent and companionate. She helps those in need, as she did when collecting money at the Armistice Day celebration, and teaches lessons to those who are deserving. On Halloween a group of boys were going around town playing pranks on the townspeople. One popular prank was to topple the “privies.” One evening Grandmother Dowdel and Mary Alice set out with some wire and homemade glue which would “bond wood to wood, metal to metal, and stay stuck till kingdom come.” They strung the wire and hid in the dark and watched over their privy. “We no sooner saw the first boy than the invisible wire caught him at the ankle. He pitched forward, and a word I can’t repeat burst out of him. He fell like a tree and measured his full length on the concrete walk. Nothing broke his fall but his nose…..As the fallen boy raised his dazed head, she turned the pan of glue over on it. The glue was cool now and would set later. He screamed, of course, and this too panicked the others. They ran into each other and the cobhouse wall. They tried to get away from Grandma. They may have thought she was a restless spirit. In a way, she was. They jibbered.” No one gets anything over on Grandmother Dowdel. Style This book is very interesting and fast paced. The dialogue and setting are reflective of the times. The behaviors of Grandma Dowdel are very funny and ingenious. Readers will want to keep reading to find out what funny and deserving action Grandma Dowdel will be up to next. This is a great story and will continue to be popular in any era. 4. REVIEW EXCERPTS and Awards 1999 Winner of the John Newberry Award National Book Award Finalist ALA Notable Book ALA Best Book for Young Adults Publishers Weekly – “hilarious and poignant” School Library Journal - Richard Peck's Newbery Award-winner is a multi-layered story of small town life spiced with humor, love, and a bit of history. Amazon.com - Peck is at his best with these hilarious stories that rest solidly within the American literary tradition of Mark Twain and Bret Harte. Teachers will cherish them as great read-alouds, and older teens will gain historical perspective from this lively picture of the depression years in small-town America. Horn Book, starred review – “A small Masterpiece of storytelling…the novel reveals a strong sense of place, a depth of characterization, and a rich sense of humor. Kirkus Reviews – “Remarkable and fine.” 5. CONNECTIONS *This novel can be used in a history class to study the depression and its effects on the American People. * This novel can be used to model good literary elements such as voice and similes and metaphors. * This novel can be connected to geography, a map can be created from the students home state to Illinois or the State of Illinois can be studied. * This novel can be used in conjunction with a home economics cooking class, items from the book can be baked.