cbarbacki's Blog

I chose A Year Down Yonder  by Richard Peck because it was a Newbury Award Winner, which means it was recognized as a really good book.  In this book, a 15 year old girl named Mary Alice has to move from city life in Chicago where she lived with her family, to Grandma Dowdel’s hick town where she would be with just her Grandma and cat.  Her parents couldn’t afford the home they had in Chicago so they all needed to split up.  Her brother went elsewhere and Mary Alice and her cat Bootsie went to Grandma’s.   It was a hard year because they were all separated and only corresponded with postcards, but in the end, Mary Alice realized how much she liked the hick town life and even went back to marry someone she met there and she got married in Grandma’s house.

It was during the recession in 1937 when Mary was sent to live with her Grandma.  Throughout the book  Grandma appeared to be a tough woman, but she really had a soft spot for those less fortunate that couldn’t take care of themselves.  She never openly announced her love for people, but showed them in her own way.  She thought everyone she be treated as equals.

It was much colder here than in Chicago and Mary Alice had to learn many things. Grandma helped show her a new appreciation for nature; taking her out in the middle of the night . The girls in her class were not kind to her at first, they thought she was a rich girl from Chicago.  Grandma tried to right all the wrongs in her own cleaver way; for example,  when a girl named Mildred said Mary Alice owed her a buck, Mary Alice had her come to the house and grandma invited her in, served her cornbread and then sent her own her way only after Grandma untied Mildred’s horse and it trotted away.  Grandma had known the horse was stolen and thought it best for it to go back to its owner and Mildred would have to hike the 5 miles back home on foot.  Then when some boys tied twine to her cat as a prank, grandma set up a trap with a tray a glue and picture wire so when the boys returned, they scrambled and fell into it which resulted in one boy getting his head shaved since it was difficult to get the glue out.  When Mrs. Weidenbach tries to appear better than a few other older ladies, Grandma points out in front of the older women’s friends that she was related to those she feels are less than superior to her. Grandma  had many pranks and sometimes started trouble when she wanted to fix something.  When Mary Alice’s parents are ready to take her back to Chicago, Mary Alice feels a little remorse and Grandma tries to make it like she won’t miss Mary Alice, but she will.  At the end of the book, Mary Alice realized how special that year she spent with her grandmother was.  She came to the town as an outsider and broke down many social walls to be accepted.

I would recommend this book because it is kind of like today’s economy.   Some families  in this town do not have enough money and may have to move or they may not be able to buy what they want.  Sometimes we forgot that everyone is equal and should be treated kindly and not judged by what they own.  I also think Grandma’s pranks are funny and clever and many would enjoy reading them.

          I read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Peter Selznick.  The story is about a boy who lived with his dad.  His dad use to be a clock maker who worked in a museum. In the attic of the museum he had found an incredible machine called an automaton. This one was special because it could write. It is like a windup figure, but more mechanical.  This figure did not work, but both Hugo and his dad knew it could be fixed.  Many automatons were made by  magicians, who had knowledge of clock making and how the gears worked, this is how they would put them together and they would amaze their audience.  Late one night while Hugo was home, his father was in the attic of the museum working on the machine, the guard was unaware he was still there and locked the door. Unfortunately, the museum caught on fire, and he was trapped inside and died.  Hugo was forced to live with his drunk uncle who lived and worked in the train station.  His uncle’s job was to make sure all the clocks in the station had the proper time.  Hugo learned how to take care of the clocks without any one knowing and kept his presence a secret.  One day his uncle disappeared, and Hugo kept the clocks going so he could still live in the station.  He would steal food and other stuff to survive.  After his father died, he went to the museum where the rubble from the fire was, and amazingly he found the automaton.  He wanted to repair the machine so he took it back and cleaned each gear piece by piece, making careful note in his notebook of how the machine went together.

Hugo needed parts for his machine, so he would steal them from a nearby toy shop when the owner wasn’t looking.  When the old man caught him, he took Hugo’s notebook and demanded to know what it was, otherwise he would burn it. I think he knew what the notebook was. Hugo wouldn’t say.  The man made him help in in the shop.  Hugo made friend’s with the old man’s goddaughter Isabella, who was around Hugo’s age.  She helped get his notebook back to him.  Over time, he shared his secret about the automaton with Isabella.  She also had a special key around her neck the Hugo noticed would fit the machine. She had stolen it from her godmother  Hugo was convinced the automaton would write a message to him once it was repaired.  When it finally repaired, the automaton signed the name George Mieles, this was actually Isabella’s godfather, the owner of the toy shop.  

The automaton had originally belonged to George Mieles who had been a magician.    Both Isabella and Hugo were confused by the finding.  Georges Mieles had packed away his life as a magician after the death of Isabella’s parents, there were  too many painful memories.  Georges had made many films and had been a magician.  With the help of their friends, he became well known again when his films were rediscovered.

I like this book because it was very different than what I usually read.  It had many pages of pencil sketched drawings that went along with the story.  It had a lot to do with mechanics and magic.  It was interesting that Hugo could live on his own for a long period of time without an adult to take care of him.

I would recommend this book to a friend because it has many cool pictures.  The author had talent not only as the writer, but also as the illustrator.  It is a really cool  book and I want to read his  newest one, Wonderstruck.