BROWSE BOOK REVIEWS

Series: Grandma Dowdel

CHILDREN'S

Released: Sept. 1, 2009

A SEASON OF GIFTS

by Richard Peck

"Pitch-perfect prose, laced with humor and poignancy, strong characterization and a clear development of the theme of gifts one person can offer make this one of Peck's best novels yet—and that's saying something. (Historical fiction. 10 & up)"

According to 12-year-old Bob, "We Barnharts had moved in next door to a haunted house, if a house can be haunted by a living being." Read full book review >

CHILDREN'S

Released: Oct. 1, 2000

A YEAR DOWN YONDER

by Richard Peck

"Year-round fun. (Fiction. 11-13)"

Set in 1937 during the so-called "Roosevelt recession," tight times compel Mary Alice, a Chicago girl, to move in with her grandmother, who lives in a tiny Illinois town so behind the times that it doesn't "even have a picture show." Read full book review >

CHILDREN'S

Released: Sept. 1, 1998

A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO

by Richard Peck

"Remarkable and fine. (Fiction. 9-12)"

In a novel that skillfully captures the nuances of small-town life, an elderly man reminisces about his annual trips from Chicago to his grandmother's house in rural Illinois during the Depression. Read full book review >