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A Year Down Yonder: Place
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From: Karen L. Simonetti <klsimonetti>
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 08:42:10 -0600
Ah, that I could only tell this vignette as well Richard Peck, but here goes nothing. I believe it was two or three years ago that the Chicago Humanities Festival theme was "place" and Richard Peck was one of the invited speakers. Ironically, he spoke at the University of Chicago's new, ultra-modern, downtown campus (read: neo-ugly). He had met with a group of high school students from both a public + private school prior to the 1:00PM speaking engagement. Those approximately 50+ students and their teachers were in the audience along with another 75 or so people (and yes
-gasp- from eavesdropping on their conversations, I would say that most were school librarians + English teachers. For the record, I used to work in the public libraries.)
After a brief introduction, Mr. Peck then began to read from A Long Way
From Chicago. I had read the collection of short stories + enjoyed the work, but wasn't all that impressed (hanging head in shame). Richard read the first two chapters of the book + I was transported. His voice triggered the mysterious beauty and complexity behind the language in the printed book. He took me to that place, a long way from Chicago. Of course, afterwards I ran home (walked fast, it was a cold Saturday in November) and re-read A Long Way From Chicago. The magic was still there! Peck's reading had slowed down my urban-girl-gotta-get-it-done tempo and put me in the place of that story.
I was more than delighted when A Year Down Yonder was published. I was totally taken away and put back in the place + times where Peck's charismatic characters interact. And, in typical Karen Sue impatient fashion, I did not read the book cover-to-cover. I jumped from here to there and back again. (Of course, I eventually did read it linearly). But, I know that these stories do stand alone. I do a fair share of multi-generational programming (yup, I'm a big hit at nursing homes on Sunday grandchildren day) + knew this collection of short stories would grab my audience. I've only had positive experiences from all age young readers (grades 4, if I had to think about it) and their parents, grandparents. I doubt/know that one of the Newbery criteria is: "Does this work in bringing child readers together with other generations?" But, for me, a real benchmark of a medal book is that it can be enjoyed + shared by more than its intended audience.
And how Richard Peck did this in A Year Down Yonder? He captured that sense of place which snagged not only the characters, but the readers too: and together they lived happily ever after.
Karen Sue...who clearly thinks this Newbery deserved the medal...
We have art so that we may not die of reality.
-Nietzsche Karen L. Simonetti email: klsimonetti at earthlink.net phone: 312.337.7114
Received on Thu 25 Jan 2001 08:42:10 AM CST
Date: Thu, 25 Jan 2001 08:42:10 -0600
Ah, that I could only tell this vignette as well Richard Peck, but here goes nothing. I believe it was two or three years ago that the Chicago Humanities Festival theme was "place" and Richard Peck was one of the invited speakers. Ironically, he spoke at the University of Chicago's new, ultra-modern, downtown campus (read: neo-ugly). He had met with a group of high school students from both a public + private school prior to the 1:00PM speaking engagement. Those approximately 50+ students and their teachers were in the audience along with another 75 or so people (and yes
-gasp- from eavesdropping on their conversations, I would say that most were school librarians + English teachers. For the record, I used to work in the public libraries.)
After a brief introduction, Mr. Peck then began to read from A Long Way
From Chicago. I had read the collection of short stories + enjoyed the work, but wasn't all that impressed (hanging head in shame). Richard read the first two chapters of the book + I was transported. His voice triggered the mysterious beauty and complexity behind the language in the printed book. He took me to that place, a long way from Chicago. Of course, afterwards I ran home (walked fast, it was a cold Saturday in November) and re-read A Long Way From Chicago. The magic was still there! Peck's reading had slowed down my urban-girl-gotta-get-it-done tempo and put me in the place of that story.
I was more than delighted when A Year Down Yonder was published. I was totally taken away and put back in the place + times where Peck's charismatic characters interact. And, in typical Karen Sue impatient fashion, I did not read the book cover-to-cover. I jumped from here to there and back again. (Of course, I eventually did read it linearly). But, I know that these stories do stand alone. I do a fair share of multi-generational programming (yup, I'm a big hit at nursing homes on Sunday grandchildren day) + knew this collection of short stories would grab my audience. I've only had positive experiences from all age young readers (grades 4, if I had to think about it) and their parents, grandparents. I doubt/know that one of the Newbery criteria is: "Does this work in bringing child readers together with other generations?" But, for me, a real benchmark of a medal book is that it can be enjoyed + shared by more than its intended audience.
And how Richard Peck did this in A Year Down Yonder? He captured that sense of place which snagged not only the characters, but the readers too: and together they lived happily ever after.
Karen Sue...who clearly thinks this Newbery deserved the medal...
We have art so that we may not die of reality.
-Nietzsche Karen L. Simonetti email: klsimonetti at earthlink.net phone: 312.337.7114
Received on Thu 25 Jan 2001 08:42:10 AM CST
