A Year Down Yonder

Peck, Richard. 2000. A Year Down Yonder. New York: Dial. ISBN 0803725183.

Plot summary
This is the sequel to Peck’s Newbery Honor award winner: A Long Way to Chicago. The story is set during the Depression and told through the eyes of fifteen year-old Mary. Mary’s family, like most of the country, is facing hard times. Consequently, Mary will reside with her feisty grandmother for a year until her parents are able to get back on their feet.

Analysis
Don't feel you've got to run out and purchase the prequel to this book. No, sir. Reading it is not a prerequisite, but after reading A Year Down Yonder, you won't help but to RUN to your nearest library and read more about these endearing characters!
The book does not overwhelm the reader with numerous details describing the time period. In fact, I feel Peck would have done a good thing in providing us with more glimpses of the Depression.
While the story is told from Mary Alice's point of view, it is without a doubt, Grandma Dowdel's antics that quickly make this book a difficult one to put down.

But I was suddenly arrested by a sight that only
Grandma and I saw. Mildred's big gray horse was trotting away, past the porch,
free as air. Tied around its neck were Mildred's boots.

I suppose that will teach Mildred NOT to mess with Grandma Dowdel's granddaughter.
What I loved about the story is that Mary Alice is an ordinary girl,who is considered rich, since she's coming from Chicago, but she could be any girl sitting in a classroom struggling with Math just as Mary Alice did. I was Mary Alice. She is so very real.

My students enjoyed the "Hick Talk" as they put it. Phrases such as "Dag nab it! and "Hop to it like bed bugs," had them rolling!" They really thought their English was so much better. When the following exchange took place between Ina-Rae and Mary Alice, I could have sworn I was a stand up comedian.

'I thought this was English class,' I whispered across
to Ina-Rae. 'Wasn't that Shakespeare?'
'Who?' Ina-Rae said.

(The only reason my 4th graders know about Shakespeare was thanks to a field trip we had recently taken.) I did, however; appreciate the confidence my students demonstrated. I whole-heartedly believe they related to Mary Alice, because they truly saw themselves in her. Not only that but my students also had incredibly lovable, but prickly grandmothers at home.
There is a beauty in the love that grows between Mary Alice and her grandmother. So much so, that it is in her grandmother's home that she weds. That is a fairy tale ending. Here too I wish Peck wouldn't have done so. The influence of Hollywood is apparent. I would have rather relished she married another and not her high school sweetheart.
Reviews
"Between antic capers, Peck reveals a marshmallow heart inside Grandma's rock-hard exterior and adroitly exposes the mutual, unspoken affection she shares with her granddaughter. Like Mary Alice, audience members will breathe a sigh of regret when the eventful year "down yonder" draws to a close." - From Publisher's Weekly

"A Year down Yonder seems more a companion than a sequel to Peck's 1999 Newbery Honor book, A Long Way from Chicago. Peck shows his brilliance in setting up parallel structures and creating two very different books." - From Children's Literature

Connections
Other titles with the Depression Era topic are Out of the Dust by and Karen Hesse
Children of the Great Depression by Russell Freedman
Children of the Dust Bowl: The True Story of the School at Weedpatch Camp
A great book to display if your curriculum covers the Depression Era and also makes a wonderful read-aloud. This could also be used to incorporate journal writings during language arts or social studies.

Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England

Stanley, Diane and Peter Vennema. 1990. GOOD QUEEN BESS: THE STORY OF ELIZABETH I OF ENGLAND. By Diane Stanley. New York: Collier Macmillan Canada.

PLOT SUMMARY

Diane Stanley teams up with her husband to relate the life of Queen Elizabeth I of England. In this picture biography Stanley uses beautiful illustrations to depict the Elizabethan era . We learn of King Henry VIII, the conflict that existed between the Catholics and Protestants, and how England kept peace with neighboring countries. We also learn of the love Queen Elizabeth had for her subjects.

Analysis

An Author’s note is included at the beginning of the book that sets the premise of the book. Telling the story of Queen Elizabeth I of England is no easy task! One must understand a great deal of background information in order to understand Elizabeth’s life, and the authors do a fantastic job of presenting the material in a logical and coherent manner. They do this without sugarcoating the truth. We are told that Mary, Elizabeth's Catholic half sister, burned almost three hundred of her subjects when they refused to convert to Catholicism.

Diane Stanley and Peter Vennema present Elizabeth's life with accuracy and outstanding attention to detail in the illustrations.Stanley’s rich, and precise illustrations of the dress of the time period are outstanding. I was amazed at the detail of the broaches the women wore! The illustrations alone are enough to drive a reader to want to know more! Even so, the authors present the sort of facts that spellbound youngsters.

Her court was a lively one, with everyone striving to outdo one another…The
meneven dyed their beards purple or orange to match their coats.

And teenagers think they are the first to think this up! Elizabeth was presented as authentic and devoted to her subjects, yet she is not glorified.

She usually rode openly on horseback so that everyone could see her.
Shestopped in little villages and listened graciously to long speeches, received
humble gifts or cakes or flowers, gave her hand to be kissed, and won the hearts
of her people.

With this description, the authors have explained how Elizabeth I became “Good Queen Bess.”

I especially appreciated Queen Elizabeth I not presented as a perfect woman. It was noted that she manipulated heads of state, threw tantrums and was conniving even with her councillors.

She rarely met with them as a group, since they might unite to overwhelm her.
She talked with them separately and sometimes played on their feelings of
rivalry to divide them.

The authors provide a bibliography that cites twelve works and they take the time to point out that three of these are intended for younger readers. Stanley and Vennema’s use of quotes are the finishing touches to an exceptional well written biography of Elizabeth I of England.

Though you have had - and may have- many mightier and wiser princes sitting
in this sear, yet you never had - not shall have - any that will love you
better.

My students were very inquisitive as a I read this book aloud to them, which thrilled me!Since the most significant facts are included, I could see this book also used to introduce the era, and in ESL classrooms

REVIEWS

" With their attention to period detail--most strikingly the elaborate Elizabethan dress, jewels and palace furnishings--Stanley's paintings transport readers back to an intriguing era." - From Publisher's Weekly

"Author/illustrator Diane Stanley and her husband, Peter Vennema charmed us with Peter the Great and now they have brilliantly brought to life Elizabeth I of England. In a mere 40 pages the reader learns of Henry VIII and his wives, his falling out with the Pope, the birth of Elizabeth, her rise to power, the pageantry of her Court, and her astute political savvy. Ms Stanley's illustrations depict the grandeur of the Court and the magnificence of the Queen's costumes." - From Children's Literature

CONNECTIONS

The authors provide a bibliography that has younger readers in mind as well.
Diana Stanley has written a great number of biographies: Bard of Avalon: The Story of William Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Joan Of Arc, Leonardo da Vinci, Peter the Great, and Cleopatra. It is important to note that this list is not complete. With the number of biographies one could easily do a author study. How did Diana become so involved in writing biographies? What is her inspiration? How much of her time is devoted to research? These could be great questions to tackle in an author study.