A Year Down Yonder
Richard Peck
© 1941, 1969 Houghton Mifflin Company

Fifteen-year-old Mary Alice has to spend an entire year living in rural Illinois with her gruff Grandma Dowdle. Mary Alice knows it isn’t going to be easy…she’s worried about fitting in at the two-room school and Grandma is so intimidating! But what’s worse is not being with her brother and parents for Christmas.

A Year Down Yonder was read by Lois Smith
Lois Smith has been a supporting actress on screen since 1955. Smith received the National Society of Film Critics Award for her role in Five Easy Pieces (she played the sister of Jack Nicholson’s character). She’s been in a number of feature films, including East of Eden, Fried Green Tomatoes, Green Card, Fatal Attraction, How to Make an American Quilt, Dead Man Walking and Twister. She received a Tony Award-nomination for her work in Buried Child. On TV she’s acted in dramas, soaps and commercials.

What do YOU think?

How does Mary Alice’s holiday traditions compare to yours?

How are Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdle different? How are they similar?

When Mary Ann enrolls in the rural school, she feels like an outsider. Have you ever felt like an outsider? What did you feel? How did you handle it? How does Mary Alice handle it?

What does Grandma Dowdle teach Mary Alice?

What is a major theme of A Year Down Yonder? Have you read any other books by Richard Peck? Do they share the same theme as A Year Down Yonder?

Does Grandma Dowdle love Mary Alice? How do you know?

Do you think people in town like Grandma Dowdle? Do you think any of them are afraid of her? Why?

Which of Grandma Dowdle’s adventures did you like the best?

What surprised you most about life during the Great Depression?

Compare and contrast your life to that of Mary Alice’s.

What are some of the differences between living in a city and living in the country? What are the similarities?

Fun & Adventure Beyond the Book

Were any of your town’s parks or building built by the Civilian Conservation Corps? You might consider checking at your local library or with your town clerk to start your research.

A Year Down Yonder is set during the Great Depression. Mary Alice’s father, like many others, lost his job. To help the family financially, Mary Alice’s older brother, Joey, joined the Civilian Conservation Corps to help earn money, and Mary Alice was sent to live with her Grandmother. Food and money were scared during the 1930s and the government enacted a number of programs to help the country overcome the hardships. There are a number of sites dedicated to the Great Depression; here are some we like:

Learn about the main causes of the Great Depression, and take a look at some of the incredible photographs of people during the Great Depression, including some of CCC workers.

The “Americas in the 1930’s” website has a timeline plus information about films, newspaper stories and radio programs.

Grandma Dowdle was renowned for her pumpkin pie and the president of the local D.A.R. chapter personally asked her to prepare cherry tarts for their organization. How do yours taste? Find recipes for Grandma Dowdle’s pumpkin pie, cloverleaf rolls, cherry tarts and more.

How about a good word search puzzle? Or test your skill at putting events from A Year Down Yonder in chronological order. Check it out! (The puzzles are beneath all the recipes.)

One of Mary Alice’s prized possessions was her Philco radio and she describes how she would stay up at night listening to her favorite radio shows. Now you can listen to some of the shows she did. Lots of shows had a memorable line or two that are still recognized today. Check them out!

How big is your school? Can you imagine going to school in a one- or two-room schoolhouse like Mary Alice did? The One Room Schoolhouse project has collected stories from people who attended one-room schools. You can read them here.

Author Richard Peck has written a number of books, but his strongest character is Grandma Dowdle. Is she based on his real grandmother? Peck talks about Grandma Dowdle and answers some of the most frequently asked questions.

“Grandparents Day” is the first Sunday after Labor Day. Learn more about “Grandparents Day” and how it got started. Want to celebrate? This website lists ten things you can do to celebrate your grandparents.



If You Like This Book, Check Out...

Grace Greene, from the Vermont Department of Libraries, thinks you’ll also enjoy:

This is the sequel to the Newbery Honor book, A Long Way From Chicago (Dial, 1998), which was narrated by Mary Alice’s older brother Joey.

Edwards, Pat. Nelda. Mifflin, 1987.
Eleven-year-old Nelda and her family have their share of hard times during the Depression, but Nelda knows it is her destiny to be rich some day and when she becomes a companion to the elderly Miss Mattie May, she knows she's taken a step in the right direction.

Fine, Anne. The True Story of Christmas. Delacorte, 2003.
Banished to his room on Christmas Day, Ralph recounts the disasters that occur when his highly eccentric relatives come together to celebrate the holiday.

Guy, Rosa. The Ups and Downs of Carl Davis III. Delacorte, 1989.
Carl Davis III, chronicles his initial anger, confusion, and disdain as well as his gradual change of heart about being sent to a small Southern town to live with his grandmother.

McKay, Hilary. The Exiles. McElderry, 1991.
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Pople, Maureen. The Other Side of the Family. Holt, 1988.
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Robinson, Barbara. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Harper & Row, 1972.
The six mean Herdman kids lie, steal, smoke cigars (even the girls) and then become involved in the community Christmas pageant.