Fair Weather by Richard Peck

Life will not be the same for the Becketts after a letter arrives from rich Aunt Euterpe  with train tickets to Chicago! Rosie Beckett, her younger brother Buster and older sister Lottie are about to make their first trip away from the family farm to visit Chicago for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. Their Grandfather surprises them all when he appears on the train and he becomes their hero during the trip. Aunt Euterpe changes as well, her quiet life as a widow is turned upside down with the presence of her country  relatives. The girls and grandpa help her leave the mourning period behind. The girls' life changes unexpectedly (at least for Rosie) when they're invited to a dinner party at the Evan's mansion on their last day of their trip.

 

Richard Peck describes in a very detailed way how the World's Columbian Exposition was one of the most influential movements in Chicago after the fire that destroyed the city. I loved the way Mr. Peck described Buffalo Bill's show and grandpa Si's adventures at the fair, his love and care for his family and how Rosie remembers her grandpa with so much affection in her adult years.

A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

In 1937, Mary Alice must go live with Grandma Dowdel until her parents can get back on their feet after father lost his job and Joey is working far away from Chicago. Mary Alice arrives to grandma's town and goes straight to school where she joins various students from different levels and learns quickly that she will be treated as a stranger in the small town.
Mary Alice begins enjoying Grandma Dowdel's company and appreciates all the hard work that they both do in order to have basic things sucha as food, clothes and shoes. During her year with grandma, Mary Alice learns life lessons and becomes fond of her grandmother.
Grandma Dowdel in her very special way, shows Mary Alice to survive and take care of her self. Mary Alice must make a tough choice at the end of the school year and Grandma Dowdel is there to support her with her some loving and tough advice.

I fell in love with the sequel to A Long Way from Chicago, this book describes a wonderful bond created between young Mary Alice and her grandma. During the hard times after the Depression Era, Mary Alice's family is split apart but Grandma helps her teenage granddaughter survive her last year at a small town High School. I enjoyed how Grandma Dowdel was the same lady, getting her way and then some; "watching" Mary Alice grow into a mature and loving granddaughter was a great conclusion to this historical fiction story.

And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon By Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

..."They didn't come back!"
"What do you mean they didn't come back? Dish and Spoon always come back."
"Not this time... They're gone for good!"

Cat, Dog and the jumping Cow go looking for Dish and Spoon, the nursery rhyme can't continue its daily routine without them! While looking for the runaways, Cat, Dog and Cow find various nursery rhyme characters that try to help a bit, including the big bad Wolf that has a broken piece of china.What happened to Dish and Spoon!? After they get it all sorted out, all the characters go back to their own land and the rhyme begins once more... except that this time Dish and Spoon stay home.

I like the humor and word play of this book, the adventures will attract young children and the many subtle references to nursery rhymes and some fairy tales will draw clever older readers. This book reminds me of David Wiesner's The Three Pigs, with the references to their own stories using various points of view. I'd like to recommend this book to children who are familiar with nursery rhymes, it is a great book for early elementary students to revisit their "old" friends from the nursery rhymes in a clever way.

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck

Joey and Mary Alice Dowdel, two Chicagoans, must visit their grandmother in a small town every summer, they both learn life lessons and despite all, they both secretly enjoy visiting their grandma and the adventures with the townspeople. After a few years of visiting, it all must end. Grandma knows that the now teenagers might not come back so she sends a small present back to Chicago with them.

I enjoyed this story because grandma Dowdel's wit has no end. She teaches her grandchildren about helping others in very unique and authentic ways. I'm looking forward to the sequel A Year Down Yonder to see what other adventures grandma and Mary Alice will go through!

The Teacher's Funeral a Comedy in Three Parts by Richard Peck

"If your teacher has to die, August isn't a bad time of the year for it." Russell Cluver relates the story of one of the most important events in his life, the one-room schoolhouse teacher, Ms. Myrt Arbuckle, died before school started. This is by no means a sad story, Russell, his brother Lloyd and the few other students in the rural Indiana setting, are so happy that mean old Ms. Myrt is no more. What Russell wasn't expecting is that his older sister Tansy, decides to become their teacher. Tansy has a goal, she is going to keep the school going and recruits even the undesirable kids from their town.
After a few incidents, Russell's dream of going away to the Dakotas and be free of school comes down crashing and he finally settles for life in his small town. It is after Tansy gets a teacher's provisional certificate that she reveals her goal to oblivious Rusell, now he really has to get an education and have a better life for him and for their younger brother's sake.

I love the humor in this story, I'd find myself laughing at the situations that the kids put themselves in. As a historical fiction fan, going back to 1904, the way it all used to be, the details about what people used in those days and the limitations that they had, have made this book a favorite one. My grandfather used to tell me about his life in the early 1900's so it hits close to home. It's a humorous book that will take you to a simple life with simple folks but not without complications!

Ten-Gallon Bart and the Wild West Show By Susan Stevens Crummel

Ten-Gallon Bart retired from being sheriff, after a while he was bored to death so he went looking for something interesting to do. When he saw a poster about Buffalo Chip's Wild West Show, he decided to try riding Crazy Bull to become the star of the show. Ten-Gallon Bart found a way to wake up and ride Crazy Bull but in the end, he decided to remain in retirement, however, he kept a souvenir from this "wild" adventure.

My children enjoyed this book, I read it several times to my 4 year-old who enjoyed the pictures and the characters. We especially enjoyed talkin' with the western accent,the word play and the character names. The textured paper illustration make this book different from other picture books, many young kids will find this attractive and there might be some creative kids that might like to replicate the characters with paper and other materials.

Cook-a-Doodle-Doo! by Susan Stevens Crummel and Janet Stevens

Big Brown Rooster was tired of eating chicken feed, he decides that he will have no more of that, determined to change his meal, he looks for his great-grandmother's, Little Red Hen, cookbook. After looking through the book, Big Brown Rooster decides to make the strawberry shortcake. Turtle, Iguana, and Pig join Big Brown Rooster in his quest for a good meal, each one contributes to the making of the delicious strawberry shortcake in their own funny way. When the cake is done, Iguana accidentally drops the cake to the floor and Pig eats the whole thing! What a disaster! Big Brown Rooster tells his friends that they can make another cake and so they make another magnificent strawberry shortcake.

As I read and enjoyed this book, I thought of the many times I've cooked with my friends or my daughter, the book depicts the way things happen when three or more "cooks" are putting together the same meal so accurately!! It's disastrous and funny!

The pictures in this book are colorful and give support and more details to the story. An additional feature of this book is a sidebar explanation of the ingredients, kitchenware and safety. And the best part is at the end of the book where the reader can find the strawberry shortcake recipe, yum!!