Ok, Grandma rocks. I could tell you a million things about this book, but they sum up to "Grandma rocks."
Set during the Great Depression, in Piatt County, Illinois, Joey and his sister, Mary Alice are shipped off to spend the summer with Grandma. For each chapter, another summer episode is shown. This grandma certainly isn't like mine (although I love her)--this one is full of spitfire and sass. She can squeeze a dime from a nickel, and don't even mess with her shotgun.
I read most of this book on breaks at my "grown-up job", and I can tell you I was laughing out loud in the middle of our lobby at this story. Peck is a native of Decatur, and the pace of this book is much like the pace of every kid's summer vacation--nice and easy.
Each chapter covers a different summer, and we get to know Grandma at the same time as Joey and Mary Alice. You grow to love all the characters--including the upstanding men of the community singing in their scanties out at the Rod and Gun Club!
This would be a great story for boys or girls, and for readers of all levels and ages. My copy has made it around the office a little, and I have already started the sequel "A Year Down Yonder" (Newberry Medalist, by the way). Fabulous, fabulous!
