Which Richard Peck novel won the 2001 Newbery Medal?

Which Richard Peck novel won the 2001 Newbery Medal? The answer is A Year Down Yonder.

Published by Dial Books for Young Readers, the novel follows fifteen-year-old Mary Alice, who leaves Chicago to spend a year with her formidable grandmother, Grandma Dowdel, in rural Illinois. The setting is the Great Depression, specifically the recession-era year of 1937.

Peck built the book as a linked series of comic and tender episodes. Grandma’s schemes often create chaos, but they also reveal her generosity and fierce loyalty to her neighbors. A common mix-up is A Long Way from Chicago, which features the same characters and won a Newbery Honor in 1999 rather than the Medal.

A Year Down Yonder was Peck’s Newbery Medal winner in 2001. Its blend of regional history, family humor, and Mary Alice’s growing admiration for Grandma Dowdel made it a distinctive Depression-era coming-of-age story.