A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck, 2001

Setting: Somewhere between Chicago and St. Louis, Illinois, USA - "in one of the towns the [Wabash] railroad tracks cut in two." Time period: 1937, the Roosevelt recession. Main character(s): Grandma Dowdel. Mary Alice Dowdel, 15, narrator. Winner of the 2001 Newbery Medal. An ALA Notable book. An ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

The plot: Mary Alice is sent to her Grandma Dowdel because her father lost his job and her parents have to move to a tiny room. From her eccentric grandmother she learns how to always have a full larder in lean times, and even have enough to share. For instance, commandeering flour from Halloween pranksters, ramming farm equipment into a tree and stealing pumpkins - all in order to bake "vittles" for half the town at the Halloween party. Grandma also teaches her how to earn money from fox urine, walnut hulls and a couple of traps. But Grandma is not only about survival; she also has handy matchmaking skills, using a snake in the attic, a naked - no, nude - postmistress and a good dinner. Mary Alice grows into the role of Grandma's partner-in-crime, and also succeeds in a few plots herself. And she puts her newly-acquired matchmaking skills to good use. My favorite quote: "Mrs. Dowdel, I'm here to tell you that you're twice as bald-faced and brazen and, yes, I have to say, shameless as the rest of us girls put together. In the presence of these witnesses I'm in record for saying you outdo the most two-faced, two-fisted shortchanger, flimflam artist, and full-time extortionist anybody ever saw working in this part of the country. And all I have to say is, God bless you for your good work."

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck, 1999

Setting: Somewhere between Chicago and St. Louis, Illinois, USA - "in one of the towns the [Wabash] railroad tracks cut in two." Time period: 1920s-1930s. "Prohibition was on in those days, which meant that selling liquor was against the law." Main character(s): Grandma Dowdel. Joey Dowdel, from age 9, narrator. Mary Alice Dowdel, from age 7, Joey's sister. The 1999 Newbery Honor book. A 1998 National Book Award finalist. An ALA Notable book.

The plot: Joey tells stories of their annual one-week visits to Grandma Dowdel. She's not the wizened grandmother stooped low and smelling of peppermints. She's the kind that takes Joey and Mary Alice catfishing in a stolen rowboat early in the morning, strangling a snake and catching the town's respectable businessmen in their droopy underwear while at it. She boils her own soap, brews her own beer, and packs a twelve gauge double-barreled Winchester Model 21. She also bakes the best gooseberry pie in the county. She can also lie like a sidewalk. The first two years, Joey and Mary Alice are reluctant to spend a week in the country with their Grandma, not when Chicago is more exciting with its talkies and Al Capone. But they slowly understand the way her mind works and start looking forward to their summers. My favorite quote: "Let's get on the road. Douse the fire and hide the ax and skillet."