Newbery Award Winning/Honor Books
A Year Down Yonder
By: Richard Peck
2001 Newbery Award Winner
This story told from the perspective of fifteen year old Mary Alice who has been sent from Chicago to live in small country town with her Grandma Dowdel. Mary Alice normally spends one week out of the summer with her grandmother but is sent to live one year in the rural town during the great depression. Mary Alice experiences many of her grandmother’s rampages through the year from an interesting night of stealing pecans from a neighbor’s yard to learning about the enormous snake living in the attic.
I think this is one of the best children’s books I have read. The antics of Grandma Dowdel and how Mary Alice responded to them made this book hard to put down. I felt that I gained a bit of historical perspective about life in a small town during the great depression. Through out the book I enjoyed and appreciate the changing relationship between Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel. I especially loved the way in which the author portrayed Grandma Dowel. I quickly came to admire her “I’m nobody’s fool” tough exterior, but also the warm heart she very subtly showed.
I enjoyed reading this book because I could relate my past experiences at my own Grandmother’s house to the story. Many of the aspects of the Grandma Dowdel’s small town life remember me so much of the small town my Grandmother lived in. When Mary Alice was describing the people and places of the country town, I visualized many of the people and places in the small town my grandmother lived in. I think I also related to the special bond that Mary Alice and her grandmother shared by the end of the story. I also think many people can relate to the sometimes humiliating antics of relatives that this story line offers.
A Year down Yonder was actually the sequel to A Long Way from Chicago also written by
Richard Peck. In the first book is follows the adventures of Mary Alice and her older brother Joey as they are sent off to Grandma Dowdel’s house for a week in the summer. Both of these books show the special bond that is created between relatives. Peck also does a great job in both books painting a picture of what life was like in a small town during the depression.
After reading A Year down Yonder, I gained greater insight into the life lessons that can be taught through children’s literature. The author does a wonderful job in this story making subtle but important points about life through the character Grandma Dowdel. The relationships presented in this story are very relatable to young readers.
A Year Down Yonder
By: Richard Peck
2001 Newbery Award Winner
This story told from the perspective of fifteen year old Mary Alice who has been sent from Chicago to live in small country town with her Grandma Dowdel. Mary Alice normally spends one week out of the summer with her grandmother but is sent to live one year in the rural town during the great depression. Mary Alice experiences many of her grandmother’s rampages through the year from an interesting night of stealing pecans from a neighbor’s yard to learning about the enormous snake living in the attic.
I think this is one of the best children’s books I have read. The antics of Grandma Dowdel and how Mary Alice responded to them made this book hard to put down. I felt that I gained a bit of historical perspective about life in a small town during the great depression. Through out the book I enjoyed and appreciate the changing relationship between Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel. I especially loved the way in which the author portrayed Grandma Dowel. I quickly came to admire her “I’m nobody’s fool” tough exterior, but also the warm heart she very subtly showed.
I enjoyed reading this book because I could relate my past experiences at my own Grandmother’s house to the story. Many of the aspects of the Grandma Dowdel’s small town life remember me so much of the small town my Grandmother lived in. When Mary Alice was describing the people and places of the country town, I visualized many of the people and places in the small town my grandmother lived in. I think I also related to the special bond that Mary Alice and her grandmother shared by the end of the story. I also think many people can relate to the sometimes humiliating antics of relatives that this story line offers.
A Year down Yonder was actually the sequel to A Long Way from Chicago also written by
Richard Peck. In the first book is follows the adventures of Mary Alice and her older brother Joey as they are sent off to Grandma Dowdel’s house for a week in the summer. Both of these books show the special bond that is created between relatives. Peck also does a great job in both books painting a picture of what life was like in a small town during the depression.After reading A Year down Yonder, I gained greater insight into the life lessons that can be taught through children’s literature. The author does a wonderful job in this story making subtle but important points about life through the character Grandma Dowdel. The relationships presented in this story are very relatable to young readers.
A Corner of the Universe
By: Ann M. Martin
2003
Newbery Honor Book
By: Ann M. Martin
2003
Newbery Honor BookThis is a moving story about the relationships that are formed between a young man named Adam with autism and the members of his family. The story is told from the perspective of Adam’s twelve year old niece Hattie in the summer of 1960. The story starts off in the fall with Hattie watching old family movies reflecting over the past summer. Hattie thinks is it going to be another normal summer of helping her parents out at the boarding house that they own, when she finds out that an uncle she has never seen or heard about comes back to town to live with Hattie’s grandparents. Hattie later learns that the institution that Adam was living in closed and her grandparents had no choice but to bring Adam home for the summer. At first Hattie is full of emotions from the shocking news of the uncle she never knew of. However, through out the summer the relationship between Hattie and Adam grows from uncertainty to appreciation. Adam is very different from anyone Hattie has ever met. He talks very fast and uses quotes from his favorite show I Love Lucy. Through out the story Hattie comes to appreciate his love of life and his courage in facing society’s and his own families’ negative stereotypes.
I had a hard time putting this book down. This book opened my eyes to the way some people with disabilities were treated just a few decades ago. The author’s portrayal of the characters in this small town was very authentic. I enjoyed how the author portrayed the sometimes complex relationship between Hattie and Adam. Through out the story Hattie was the most accepting of Adam’s disability than anyone else in the family. Adam’s own parents seemed very embarrassed by his different behaviors and were more concern about how they were being viewed by society.
I think I felt so moved by this story because I have had two autistic children in my classroom that have really touched my life. Since I have had experiences with the sometimes different behaviors that are characteristics of this disability, I was able to relate to Adam. The classroom experiences that I have had lead me to better understand the mood swings and the socially inappropriate ways Adam would communicate to people. Unfortunately, I was also able to relate to the negative stereotypes that were placed on Adam because of his disability, some of which are still present today.
This book compares to the book Rules, by Cynthia Lord. Both books focus on the dynamics of a family that has a child with a disability. This book also depicts society’s stereotypical view of people with disabilities.
I gained incredible insight from this story. This book is a great way to teach children about acceptance and tolerance of people different from them. The book can also be used to teach children about past stereotypes and present stereotypes that are placed on people with disabilities.
I had a hard time putting this book down. This book opened my eyes to the way some people with disabilities were treated just a few decades ago. The author’s portrayal of the characters in this small town was very authentic. I enjoyed how the author portrayed the sometimes complex relationship between Hattie and Adam. Through out the story Hattie was the most accepting of Adam’s disability than anyone else in the family. Adam’s own parents seemed very embarrassed by his different behaviors and were more concern about how they were being viewed by society.
I think I felt so moved by this story because I have had two autistic children in my classroom that have really touched my life. Since I have had experiences with the sometimes different behaviors that are characteristics of this disability, I was able to relate to Adam. The classroom experiences that I have had lead me to better understand the mood swings and the socially inappropriate ways Adam would communicate to people. Unfortunately, I was also able to relate to the negative stereotypes that were placed on Adam because of his disability, some of which are still present today.
This book compares to the book Rules, by Cynthia Lord. Both books focus on the dynamics of a family that has a child with a disability. This book also depicts society’s stereotypical view of people with disabilities.
I gained incredible insight from this story. This book is a great way to teach children about acceptance and tolerance of people different from them. The book can also be used to teach children about past stereotypes and present stereotypes that are placed on people with disabilities.
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