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A Season of Gifts Review

It's not fun to be the new kid, especially "P.K.s," meaning "preacher's kids." Young Bob arrives in a new town just so his dad can preach. With a teenage Elvis fanatic and a little know-it-all as his two sisters, twelve-year-old Bob is in for a tough year. But unexpected help appears in the form of an eccentric next-door neighbor, Mrs. Dowdel.

An unforgettable character who shoots rats, grows pumpkins, and makes up a wild legend about an Indian princess, Mrs. Dowdel aids Bob's family in more ways than one. This includes assisting his parents in establishing their new church. She also saves Bob from bullies. Mrs. Dowdel has more to share than anyone ever imagined.

A companion to the award-winning novels A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, A Season of Gifts is the next adventure of the spry Grandma Dowdel and takes place two decades later. Although I had not read the previous two books, I had no trouble understanding the newest story, and enjoyed getting to know the main character. More than a Christmas book, A Season of Gifts is perfect for any time of the year.
--Reviewed by Veronica L. Hernandez

A Season of Gifts Feature

ISBN13: 9780803730823
Condition: New
Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed

A Season of Gifts Overview

The return of one of children's literature's most memorable characters is a gift indeed.

The eccentric, forceful, big-hearted Grandma Dowdel is the star of the Newbery Medal–winning A Year Down Yonder and Newbery Honor–winning A Long Way from Chicago. And it turns out that her story isn’t over—not even close.

It is now 1958, and a new family has moved in next door to Mrs. Dowdel: a Methodist minister and his wife and kids. Soon Mrs. Dowdel will work her particular brand of charm—or medicine, depending on who you’re asking—on all of them: ten-yearold Bob, who is shy on courage in a town full of bullies; his two fascinating sisters; and even Bob’s two parents, who are amazed to discover that the last house in town might also be the most vital.

As Christmas rolls around, the Barnhart family realizes that they’ve found a true home—and a neighbor who gives gifts that will last a lifetime.

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Customer Reviews

Another Grandma Dowdel Great - E. D. Wetherholt - Columbus, Ohio
Richard Peck returned to Grandma Dowdel in this book and got it right. I adore A Long Way from Chicago and this book achieves the same perfection. While A Year Down Yonder was good, this book has the same humor and the right "voice" for its character that A Year Down Yonder did not quite find. There is one chapter that is a rather graphic description of a severe bullying which might be a bit much for a child under middle school, and might upset even some middle schoolers, but Grandma, in her own inimitable way, makes it right.

Mrs. Dowdel Revisited - L. Bradley -
This latest book in the series brings the reader back into the world of Mrs. Dowdel in the 50's. While she is aged a bit, she is still as cantakerous and lovable as ever. The story is told through the eys of the young boy next door, a Methodist preachers' kid. While Mrs. Dowdel still delights, one really senses the changes in the world and times, with some real cruelty in the "pranks" of the bullies our narrator faces at school. The bullying may upset young readers. However, if you are enchanted by Mrs. Dowdel it is still worth reading to see how her story continues. As is always the case Mrs. Dowdel comes through in the end.

Peck and Dowdel are great, but have been better - S. Silverman - California
After thoroughly adoring A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, and believing that there is no adult character in YA literature who holds a candle to Mrs. Dowdel,I was thrilled to see her reappearance. As readers found in those other two books, she has a closet heart of gold and an irreverent, perhaps eccentric, way about her. She lives by the strength of her convictions, which doesn't always sit well in a small Midwestern town ca. 1960 as in this book or in the `40s in the earlier ones. Peck's delightful and reliable style shines as it always does. The new family next door to Mrs. Dowdel is cleverly created. So are the situations which always are in Peck's books. All that to say, this is awfully good. What it isn't, however, is as good as the earlier two. I'd like to see Mrs. Dowdel again. It would be nice to see her when Mr. Dowdel was still alive and maybe when her own children were with her. Read it, and enjoy it, but be sure to get to the other two books with her as Grandma Dowdel to her two grandchildren.

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Children's Books

Wednesday, July 28, 2010