Synopses & Reviews
A summer they'll never forget.
Each summer Joey and his sister, Mary Alicetwo city slickers from Chicagovisit Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town. Soon enough, they find that it's far from sleepy...and Grandma is far from your typical grandmother. From seeing their first corpse (and he isn't resting easy) to helping Grandma trespass, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungryall in one dayJoey and Mary Alice have nine summers they'll never forget!
"A rollicking celebration of an eccentric grandmother and childhood memories." School Library Journal, starred review
"Each tale is a small masterpiece of storytelling." The Horn Book, starred review
"Grandma Dowdel embodies not only the heart of a small town but the spirit of an era gone by...Remarkable and fine." Kirkus Reviews, starred review A Newbery Honor Book
A National Book Award Finalist
An ALA Notable Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Synopsis
Each summer over the nine years of the Depression, Joey and his sister Mary Alice--two city slickers from Chicago--make their annual summer visit to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town. Soon enough, they find it's far from sleepy and Grandma is far from your typical grandmother.
Synopsis
What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice -- two city slickers from Chicago -- make their annual summer visits to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town? August 1929: They see their first corpse, and he isn't resting easy.
August 1930: The Cowgill boys terrorize the town, and Grandma fights back. August 1931: Joey and Mary Alice help Grandma trespass, poach, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry -- all in one day. And there's more, as Joey and Mary Alice make seven summer trips to Grandma's -- each one funnier than the year before -- in self-contained chapters that readers can enjoy as short stories or take together for a rollicking good novel. In the tradition of American humorists from Mark Twain to Flannery O'Connor, popular author Richard Peck has created a memorable world filled with characters who, like Grandma herself, are larger than life and twice as entertaining.
Synopsis
Join Joey and his sister Mary Alice as they spend nine unforgettable summers with the worst influence imaginable-their grandmother!
Synopsis
Mary Alice's childhood summers in Grandma Dowdel's sleepy Illinois town were packed with enough drama to fill the double bill of any picture show. But now she is fifteen, and faces a whole long year with Grandma, a woman well known for shaking up her neighbors-and everyone else! All Mary Alice can know for certain is this: when trying to predict how life with Grandma might turn out . . . better not. This wry, delightful sequel to the Newbery Honor Book A Long Way from Chicago has already taken its place among the classics of children's literature.
About the Author
Richard Peck is one of the most celebrated children's book writers in the country He is the author of more than thirty novels, including A Long Way from Chicago, A Year Down Yonder, Secrets at Sea and The Mouse with the Question Mark Tale. He has won the Newbery Medal, the Edgar Award, the Margaret A. Edwards Award, a National Humanities Medal, and twice been a National Book Award finalist, among many other honors. He lives in New York City.