A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Genre: Historical Fiction
Theme: Humor, Poverty, Coming of Age
Grade Level: 6-8
Curricular Connections: History (Depression; 1937), Writing (Summarize, Sequence, Creative)

In 1937 Mary Alice must leave her parents in Chicago because they are unable to make enough money to support their family during the Depression. At 15 she rides the train south to live with her crazy Grandma Dowdel for one year. Grandma meets her at the train station and walks Mary Alice directly to school where she meets a best friend, Ina-Rae and has to deal with Mildred the bully. Mary Alice gets involved in all of Grandma's crazy antics such as quietly waiting for a group of teenage boys to vandelize her privy on Halloween, and then bringing their ring leader down with an invisible wire and dumping glue on his head. She finds a pocket knife on the ground with the kid's initials, and she later uses it at the school Halloween party to cut and serve him a piece of pie. Although many of the schemes Grandma gets Mary Alice involved in appear to be nothing but trouble, Mary Alice usually finds that Grandma puts the mischief to a good cause. Some other crazy antics occur when Mary Alice finds a live baby in their Nativity play, Grandma rents the attic to an artist from New York, and trigger-happy Grandma hosts the DAR tea. Although Mary Alice was dreading having to live with Grandma for a whole year, at the end she asks if she can stay. Grandma sends her back knowing her parents will be missing her. Several years later, Mary Alice returns to marry Royce McNabb in Grandma's house where Grandma gives her away and bakes the cake.

Related Works: A Long Way From Chicago, Here Lies the Librarian

Classroom Suggestions:

1. Students can research events involved with the Great Depression. They can then fill out cause and events charts. Depending on the age, teachers may want to provide students with specific events. Students could also use events from the story to fill out cause and events charts.

2. Since each chapter is a small story in itself, students can practice writing short summaries. At the end of the book, teachers could divide students into groups and assign each group a chapter to summarize and sketch the main event. These could them be displayed in chapter order in the school library or classroom.

3. In the last chapter Mary Alice tells that she has been writing back and forth to her parents all year, but that she hadn't told them everything. Have students choose a favorite event. Tell them to pretend they are Mary Alice and write a letter to her parents about that event. Encouage them to consider which parts Mary Alice would include and which parts she may leave out. Students may also write letters in which Mary Alice tells all.