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[CCBC-Net] A Year Down Yonder --
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From: Edie_Ching at cathedral.org <Edie_Ching>
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 08:58:05 -0500
I could not get my students (boys in grades 4-8) to read A long way from Chicago but when I read the first chapter of A Year Down Under they were immediately caught up with the story and the personality of the grandmother. We both loved the subtlety of her caring juxtapositioned with what seemed like a hard nosed attitude (taking her to school straight from the train but then waiting on the front porch "just in case" things hadn't gone well). We sense she was anxious for her granddaughter in her own way. And her little
"pearls of wisdom" had them in gales of laughter. The appeal of this book is broad based age wise and sex wise. It is so honest and loving and comforting. I myself read it at a time of great stress in my life and talk about being lost in a book, I was enthralled from beginning to end. I think Richard Peck got this one just right.
Message----From: Kathy Isaacs [mailto:kisaacs at mindspring.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2001 6:23 PM Cc: Subscribers of ccbc-net Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] A Year Down Yonder -- spoiler
What with one thing and another, I did not get to finish reading "A Year Down Yonder" to my 6th graders until today. I confess that I was a little worried about the end. This is a coeducational class of 11-year-olds. The boys, and most of the girls, ar e a long way from thinking about love and marriage -- in fact they still arrange their seats in sex-segregated groups as 4th or 5th graders would. I'm not sure all my boys know all the girls' names in their class, but they CARED about Mary Alice and Gran dma Dowdel. There was that sudden silence that tells you that everyone is paying attention as Grandma helped Mary Alice make her decision to go back to Chicago. And when I began the final chapter one boy kept saying "Royce McNabb" over and over, until his q uiet chant turned to "just tell us." They were truly on the edge of their seats right up to the end. This is a group that scoffs at the predictability of "most books" (from their vast reading experience) but they LOVED the happy ending.
-Kathy Isaacs kisaacs at mindspring.com
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Received on Wed 24 Jan 2001 07:58:05 AM CST
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 08:58:05 -0500
I could not get my students (boys in grades 4-8) to read A long way from Chicago but when I read the first chapter of A Year Down Under they were immediately caught up with the story and the personality of the grandmother. We both loved the subtlety of her caring juxtapositioned with what seemed like a hard nosed attitude (taking her to school straight from the train but then waiting on the front porch "just in case" things hadn't gone well). We sense she was anxious for her granddaughter in her own way. And her little
"pearls of wisdom" had them in gales of laughter. The appeal of this book is broad based age wise and sex wise. It is so honest and loving and comforting. I myself read it at a time of great stress in my life and talk about being lost in a book, I was enthralled from beginning to end. I think Richard Peck got this one just right.
Message----From: Kathy Isaacs [mailto:kisaacs at mindspring.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2001 6:23 PM Cc: Subscribers of ccbc-net Subject: Re: [CCBC-Net] A Year Down Yonder -- spoiler
What with one thing and another, I did not get to finish reading "A Year Down Yonder" to my 6th graders until today. I confess that I was a little worried about the end. This is a coeducational class of 11-year-olds. The boys, and most of the girls, ar e a long way from thinking about love and marriage -- in fact they still arrange their seats in sex-segregated groups as 4th or 5th graders would. I'm not sure all my boys know all the girls' names in their class, but they CARED about Mary Alice and Gran dma Dowdel. There was that sudden silence that tells you that everyone is paying attention as Grandma helped Mary Alice make her decision to go back to Chicago. And when I began the final chapter one boy kept saying "Royce McNabb" over and over, until his q uiet chant turned to "just tell us." They were truly on the edge of their seats right up to the end. This is a group that scoffs at the predictability of "most books" (from their vast reading experience) but they LOVED the happy ending.
-Kathy Isaacs kisaacs at mindspring.com
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Received on Wed 24 Jan 2001 07:58:05 AM CST
