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A Year Down Yonder

YearDownYonderA Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck, 2000.

This is the sequel to A Long Way from Chicago. The story takes place shortly after the Great Depression, in 1937.

Times are still hard, and a recession has left a lot of people out of work again. Mary Alice’s father is out of work, and her brother Joey is out west working for the Civilian Conservation Corps. Because her family has to move to a smaller apartment, fifteen-year-old Mary Alice leaves Chicago to stay with her Grandma in the country for the year. Times are hard in Grandma’s small town as well, but Mary Alice’s Grandma is as wily and eccentric as ever.

Like the first book, this book is really a series of short stories about Mary Alice’s adventures with her Grandma during their year together. The stories generally have a hilarious turn as Grandma gets the better of everyone, often in the name justice or a good cause.  (Although, Grandma’s sense of justice is debatable since it involves “borrowing” pumpkins from the neighbors in the dead of night and other questionable activities.)

These stories present a detailed picture of rural life during the 1930s, from pranks played on Halloween to how Armistice Day was celebrated in the years following World War I, when people were still alive who had strong memories of that war. The stories also capture some of the personalities and politics of life in a small town, from a disreputable family of outcasts to the local elite, who have more money than the others and brag about having ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War (which may or may not be so).

Rich Chicago Girl: Mary Alice arrives in Grandma’s small town and is enrolled in the local school.  She meets the class bully, and Grandma helps her to deal with her.

Vittles and Vengeance: At Halloween, Grandma gets revenge against a group of pranksters and raids her neighbors for ingredients to make the school Halloween party better.

A Minute in the Morning: Armistice Day, November 11, has more meaning for people who have actual memories of The Great War (World War I).  Grandma makes sure that those who can afford it pay what they owe to the veterans of that war and shows Mary Alice the price that some soldiers paid for supporting their country.

Away in a Manger: Mary Alice is picked to play Mary in the school’s Christmas Nativity play.  The baby Jesus turns out to be a surprise for the whole town, and Grandma arranges a special surprise for Mary Alice.

Hearts and Flour: The head of the local branch of the DAR pushes Grandma to make cherry tarts for their annual tea in honor of George Washington’s birthday.  Since she will neither allow Grandma to join the DAR (because Grandma doesn’t have the proper lineage) nor pay Grandma for her work (she thinks Grandma should ‘volunteer’ her services as part of her patriotic duty), Grandma insists that if she bakes, she must host the tea as well . . . with a couple of special surprise guests.  Meanwhile, a handsome new boy named Royce joins Mary Alice’s class at school.

A Dangerous Man: An artist working for the WPA rents a room from Grandma, treating Mary Alice and Royce to a scandalous but hilarious sight when his subject matter gets out of hand.

Gone with the Wind: A tornado sweeps through the town, and Grandma and Mary Alice go to check on residents who live alone.  Mary Alice also prepares to return home to her parents in Chicago.

Ever After: The final story in the book is about Mary Alice’s wedding, years later, toward the end of World War II.

This book is a Newbery Award winner.  There are multiple copies currently available online through Internet Archive.

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A Long Way from Chicago

LongWayChicagoA Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, 1998.

Joey and Mary Alice live in Chicago during the Great Depression, but every summer, they go to stay with their grandmother in a small town in Illinois. At first, the kids think that staying with their grandmother will be boring, but they soon find out that Grandma is anything but. She’s an eccentric woman who doesn’t let anyone boss her around and doesn’t have much respect for any rules but her own. Although she’s pretty tough, Joe and Mary Alice learn that, deep down, Grandma really does care about other people and tries to help them, even though she often gets into a lot of trouble in the process. Each chapter is a short story from each of the summers that the kids spend with their grandmother, from 1929 to 1935:

Shotgun Cheatham’s Last Night Above Ground (1929): When a reporter comes looking for information about a recently deceased local character, Grandma volunteers to hold a wake for him in order to teach everyone a lesson about truth and gossip.

The Mouse in the Milk (1930): When a group of local pranksters needs to be punished, Grandma decides to play a little trick of her own to get even.

A One-Woman Crime Wave (1931): Grandma turns to trespassing and illegal fishing in her quest to feed the hungry.

The Day of Judgment (1932): Grandma enters a baking contest at the county fair for the glory of her home town and a chance to ride in an airplane.

The Phantom Brakeman (1933): Mary Alice tries to help a young woman escape from her abusive mother, and Grandma brings a ghost story to life for the sake of young love.

Things with Wings (1934): Effie Wilcox, a neighbor of Grandma’s, loses her house to the bank, but Grandma comes to the rescue by demonstrating the power of rumors.

Centennial Summer (1935): As Grandma’s town celebrates its centennial, Grandma decides that uppity Mrs. Weidenbach, the banker’s wife, needs to be taught a lesson.

The Troop Train (1942): Joe, now much older, has enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II. As the train taking him to his basic training passes Grandma’s town, she’s there to wave to him.

During the course of the stories, the author includes details about how Prohibition and the Great Depression affected people and other details about life in the early 1930s. This book is a Newbery Honor Book.  There are multiple copies available online through Internet Archive.

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Mandie and the Forbidden Attic

MandieForbiddenAttic#4 Mandie and the Forbidden Attic by Lois Gladys Leppard, 1985.

Mandie is unhappy because her mother and Uncle John are sending her to a boarding school in Asheville. It is the same school her mother attended years ago, and her grandmother lives in the same town. Mandie is upset about leaving all of her friends and family behind, but Uncle Ned says that he will still visit her.

By the time that Mandie arrives at her new school, everyone else already knows each other, and none of them seem interested in making friends with her. One girl in particular, April Snow, takes a dislike to Mandie, which is difficult because they have been assigned to the same room.

Things change when Celia Hamilton comes to the school. She and Mandie become best friends, and Mandie is allowed to share a room with her. Then, strange things start happening. Mandie and Celia keep hearing strange noises during the night from the attic floor above them, and some of Mandie’s clothes disappear. At first, they suspect that April Snow may be playing a mean trick on them, but it turns out that she is not actually at fault. There is someone at the school who doesn’t belong, but finding this person may get Mandie and Celia into trouble.

This adventure requires Mandie to meet with her grandmother again.  Mandie is nervous about seeing her grandmother because her grandmother helped break up her parents’ marriage and sent her away with her father when she was a baby. Surprisingly, Mandie’s grandmother seems to like her and her friend Celia. She admires their spirit and even says that Mandie reminds her a little of herself when she was young.  This meeting helps the granddaughter and grandmother to make peace with each other and the past.

The book is currently available online through Internet Archive.

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The Ghosts of Cougar Island

cougarislandThe Ghosts of Cougar Island by Peggy Parish, 1986.

This book picks up soon after the previous book in the series ends.

The summer is almost over, and soon, the Roberts children will have to leave Pirate Island.  Their grandfather tells them the story of nearby Cougar Island.  The members of the Cougar family are all deceased, but the last member of the family said that anyone who trespassed on the island would be haunted by the ghosts of the Cougar family who are buried on the island.  Although no one lives there now, some people have seen lights out on the island at midnight.  The children’s grandfather even tried to go there once when he was young but turned back when he heard terrible moans.  Liza, Bill, and Jed decide that they can’t possibly go home without trying to investigate this haunted island!

Strange things are happening on Pirate Island, too.  Someone has been stealing food from Hermit Dan, but someone has also weeded his garden.  On the one hand, he appreciates the help, but he can’t understand the thefts.

The children’s grandfather borrows a canoe for them, and the three of them take a trip out to the island.  Sure enough, they encounter the terrible moans and a horrifying sound like the rattle of bones.  Hermit Dan later offers them an explanation that helps set them at ease, but he can’t explain every mystery.  Another visit to the island answers some of the children’s questions and leaves them with others, and a terrifying time in the old abandoned Cougar mansion convinces them of one thing: There is still someone on Cougar Island who shouldn’t be there. Someone who ate the lunch the children left behind earlier. Someone who lights candles at night in the old abandoned Cougar mansion. Someone who may even be responsible for the thefts on Pirate Island.

The book is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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Clues in the Woods

clueswoods

Clues in the Woods by Peggy Parish, 1968.

While Liza, Bill, and Jed are staying with their grandparents, their grandmother starts saving table scraps to give to some neighboring children who have adopted some kittens but who don’t have much money to buy food for them.  Unfortunately, someone keeps taking the scraps when the grandmother leaves them by the back door.  The grandmother even tries leaving them inside the can by the back door to make sure that no other animals can get to them, but they still disappear.  Although it doesn’t sound as exciting to the children as solving their family’s old treasure hunt was, the Roberts children decide to take on the case for the sake of the poor kittens!

The kids try sitting up and night and watching from a window, but Bill’s impatience and temper keep them from seeing what happens at the right moment and causes them to accidentally break their grandmother’s lamp.

They adopt a puppy from a neighbor and keep him on the back porch, hoping that he’ll bark if anyone trespasses out back, but the puppy suddenly disappears!  Can the children find both the scraps thief and their poor puppy, Jelly Bean?

Just when the kids think that they have everything figured out, they learn something surprising that changes everything!

This book is part of the Liza, Bill, and Jed Mysteries series.  It is available to borrow and read for free online through Internet Archive.

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