Richard PeckRecensioni

Archer has been in two weddings, he tells us, and beginning with the first in which he has a hilarious mishap as ringbearer, and ending with the second in which he is the best man, gives us an account of his life so far between them.

Like Peck's historical fiction, this contemporary story set in Chicago has great characters, funny over-the-top moments, and a lot of heart. Archer's voice is unique and carries you along in his storytelling. His role models are his dad, his grandpa, and his Uncle Paul, and I enjoyed the relationships he has with each man. The story missed a few beats for me in its lack of direction. Archer meanders through 1-4 grade before the meat of the story, which primarily covers 5th and 6th. And he doesn't really pick up on things so the astute reader will have no problem figuring out certain things long before Archer does, such as that his Uncle Paul is gay. Finally, there are references to YouTube and a "hashtag" and such that felt a little too forced in trying to sound current. A solid read overall, but not my favorite of Peck's.½

We will miss Grandma Dowdel's fun adventures!

The PHANTOM was the best one.

"Movies is all pretend.
They're made in California, you know. But they prove a point.
Make something SEEM real and people will believe it.
The public wil swallow anything."

(1/2 star off for hunting and trapping fish was awful.)½

It's 1893 and Chicago is hosting the World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the World's Fair, and people are coming from all over to see the sights. Rosie, her older sister and younger brother are invited to attend as guests of their aunt, a rich widow who lives in the city. As usual with this author's tales, things don't always go as planned, but with smile-inducing results. Fun read as an adult, probably would be a good book to eventually pass on to my grandchildren, who live in Chicago!

AR: 4.6

I really enjoyed this, even though I hadn't read the first one. The relationship between grandmother and granddaughter is understated but very tender and the comic moments are a lot of fun. a warning to animal lovers, there is one chapter regarding foxes that you might want to skip altogether. It is a country/farm based story and rather matter of fact about things that would upset people

An absorbing tale of a poor family living in southern Illinois at the start of the US Civil War. I was so drawn into the story and characters that I read on, late into the night. Another excellent work by this author.

I LOVE THIS BOOK. It's hard for me to even write a review of this book I loved it so much. So I guess I will just list things I loved about it.

-I loved Archer's voice.

-I loved the plot structure, bookended by weddings, and told as if Archer is talking to the reader, guiding the reader through his 1st grade year to his 6th grade year.

-I loved Archer's family: his cook/mechanic dad, his psychologist mom, his architect grandpa, his Uncle Paul. Even his irritating sister Holly and his witchy grandma.

-I loved that the book is realistic and not. Events are believable, but things like Lynette's overly mature outlook and the character of Little Lord Hilary are larger than life. See also: how often Archer's school makes headlines and Ms. Roebuck's computer incompetence. Stylistically, this enhances the feeling that Archer is trying to tell the reader a good story and perhaps fudging a bit to make it better, which accounts for things not being entirely believable.

-I love, love, loved Mr. McLeod (I had to Google how to pronounce that name - it's "McCloud"). I've complained in the past about too many children's books relying on the magic teacher trope - you know, like Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society. But Mr. McLeod, in my opinion, isn't a magic teacher stereotype. Sure, he's young and exciting, but there's way more to him than just being a great teacher.

-I love how funny and joyful this book is. Especially in 2016, which I dubbed the Year of Sad after reading offerings by some of kidlit's most prominent authors (see my review of [b:Maybe a Fox|25785754|Maybe a Fox|Kathi Appelt|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1435872440s/25785754.jpg|45636443]).

I sincerely hope this will be one of our Mock Newbery books this year. Last year we got a little bit of resistance with [b:The Thing About Jellyfish|24396876|The Thing About Jellyfish|Ali Benjamin|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1439121354s/24396876.jpg|43981451] because there was a relatively minor gay character. Being that most of our Mock Newbery participants are in 5th grade and this book is pretty squarely about 5th/6th graders, I feel confident we can put it on the ballot if the rest of the committee agrees that it's really high quality literature for kids.

And, you know, if it won the real Newbery, I wouldn't be upset.

Pee Wee McGrath is not your typical girl of 1914. She can work on a car and get it to run, as she does at the family garage with her brother. She is perfectly happy this way, but change comes to her world with the arrival of four young women.

The Hendricks County Library has been closed since the death of the librarian. The four women have finished their educations in the area of library arts and have come to offer their services of opening the library again. Coming from well-to-do families in the Indianapolis are, they have not only the knowledge to restart the library, they have the funds to restore and improve it.

Showing up in some of the top end cars of the day, it turns out there is more to these ladies than their resources!

A home built race car, a dirt-track stock car race, shenanigans on the track and some determined characters make for a good mix and lively action.

Though it is a children’s book, Peck writes in a style that adults can enjoy too.

good - Ruthie

Author’s note gives more historical detail.

This is "juvenile literature". I think juvenile is used as a synonym for children's literature, but used in the sense of a genre categorisation, eg literature about topics that appeal to young readers.

So more specifically, I would call this Young Adult (categorisation by age not genre) - ages 13-18. Although I note that one of the commentators below says she would have enjoyed this as a middle grader, ages 8-12.

About a boy who is the best man at a wedding. Holding my attention mostly due to the narration by Michael Crouch. He's a discovery.

The first person narrator of the novel, Archer, is looking back? at a period from First to Sixth Grade, so the blurb says. The narrator Crouch sounds about 14, 12 at the minimum - I'm not sure what age he is when he is doing the narrating. That's the downside of an audiobook - you can't flick back to see information you've missed or forgotten.

This book centers around 14 year old Eleanor McGrath, who is mainly interested in automobiles, largely due to the influence of her older brother, Jake. Together, they share the dream of building their own automobile and winning the county fair race with it.

Their world is turned upside down when four women from Indianapolis, all trained in the library sciences, come to their greenhorn town. Most notable of these women are Irene Ridpath and Grace Strutz. It is through the relationships to these women that the lives of Eleanor and Jake are changed.

This book was a lighthearted read, and it was perfect for a Sunday afternoon reading session. However, I can't say that it necessarily struck me in any way emotionally nor was it inherently thought-provoking. In short: it was a charming story from historical fiction. It reminded me, in a way, of the Sideways Stories from Wayside School.

Would I read this book again? Probably not. Will I gift it to my librarian friend who will find more enjoyment out of it? Absolutely I will. :)

3.5 stars. There is a glimpse of the fun and humor that shines through my favorite of Peck's work, _A Long Way from Chicago_. This one is not quite as entertaining as that, but it does offer a fun glimpse at the Chicago World's Fair. It's probably best for 3rd-5th grade or so.

Peck's young adult often resonate with me, so I wanted to check out this collection of short stories. The ghost stories are not my cup of tea. I guess I'm always looking for the lovely, nostalgic feeling and rollicking stories like those of Grandma Dowdel when I read Peck.

2.5 stars. Having loved the characters, heart, and humor in some of Peck's books (_A Long Way from Chicago_, _On the Wings of Heroes_, etc), I thought this book would provide some of the same. It didn't quite deliver. It was a fair story, but the characters didn't have the depth I was hoping for.

I absolutely loved this as a read-aloud with my elementary school-aged kids.

3.5 stars

We listened to this one together as a family. The kids enjoyed the antics of Mrs. Dowdel, and I liked that it taught some lessons about rural life around the time of the Great Depression.

We enjoyed hearing from Grandma Dowdel one more time!

This was such a fun book to listen to with my kids on a long car trip. We all enjoyed it (ages 8 to 40- something).

My favorite line in this whole book:

"Mom, I'm not ready," I said again.
"Archer, honey, change doesn't care whether you're ready or not. Change happens anyway."

His grandfather. His father. His Uncle Paul. These are Archer's role models, the men he wants to be like when he grows up. This slice-of-life story follows Archer from first grade to sixth, from the first wedding he was in (there was an unfortunate incident involving a pair of white velvet shorts) to the second (when his Uncle Paul marries Archer's former student teacher, Mr. McLeod, and Archer is best man). I found it an enjoyable read, with some bits that I didn't entirely buy into -- Peck's signature style involves some tall tale flair, which he employs here. I'm not sure if contemporary kids would recognize themselves and their schools in this story, but there's plenty of fun to be had.

Richard Peck's ability to create strong characters in such a short book astounds me. I love the spirit in A Year Down Yonder just as much as in A Long Way From Chicago. Both books are collections of incidents and mishaps around Grandma Dowdle. She is a delightful, funny, strong character. Richard Peck portrays her through the eyes of her grandchildren - in this case, Mary Alice - and it's interesting to see her transform in their opinions.

I also like the hints of a darker, sadder backstory behind her. If Richard Peck wanted, he could have written about Grandma Dowdle before she was Grandma (maybe he did?) and still have a thoughtful, exciting story.

Because the tone is so light, this book is the perfect length. I enjoyed it and would add it to my collection.

Young Alexander Armsworth is seeing things, strange things. There are signs of a haunting in the barn on his family's property. He's determined to get to the bottom of this, but his spunky neighbor, a girl named Blossom Culp, keeps nosing around. Then one night, the ghost of a young girl named Inez confronts Alexander with a spooky message. With the help of Blossom, Alexander will have to think fast to avoid a tragedy. Will he and Blossom be able to set things right and help a ghostly girl finally rest in peace? Check out this classic ghost story for a hauntingly good read.

The Bottom Line: This book was the basis for the 1978 made-for-television movie, Child of Glass. I remember the movie as a creepy ghost story. While the book takes place in the early 1910s, the plot of the movie was updated to the present (late 1970s) era. Still a fun read over 40 years later, enthusiastically recommended for middle grade and young adult readers. And if you enjoy Blossom's character, there are several more books featuring her.

This review also appears at the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog.

I feel a little sorry for Alexander Armsworth. He's the main character of The Ghost Belonged to Me, but the three sequels to this book focus on the main secondary character, Blossom Culp. Thus, this title is considered the first book in the Blossom Culp series. (It reminds me of a mystery series from the 1930s and 1940s in which Colonel Primrose was the main character of the first book, but all the rest are told from the viewpoint of his beloved, Grace Latham.)