Peck, Richard. (2009). A Season of Gifts. New York: Random House/Dial. 156 pp. ISBN 978-0-8037-3082-3 (Hardcover); $16.99.

Good news, readers, Grandma Dowdel is back! This time she is rescuing Bob, our protagonist who has moved next door, from her privy (and from bullies). Despite not being a churchgoer, she builds a congregation for Bob’s preacher father. Despite not being neighborly, she models the true essence of the best neighbor. Despite not seeming to care about anyone other than herself, she demonstrates over and over again compassion in the truest spirit of the Christmas season. These, however, are NOT the reasons to read this book. The humor is still fresh and I think this is because we have a different non-family, narrative perspective. The characters of Bob and Elvis-loving-Phyllis are authentic. Peck, as he often does, has many levels in which readers of all ages may appreciate the book. Grandparents will see the details of the historical period and understand the play on words. Younger readers will appreciate the fierce independence and fearlessness of Grandma Dowdel. Most importantly, perhaps, the underlying sweetness and heartfelt goodness of Grandma Dowdel (who does not go to Church, but knows the Bible and perhaps understands the Church better than the pastor) is not force-fed to readers, which explains why Bob’s youngest sister, Ruth Ann, idolizes this witchy woman. The message is very clearly there, but it is wrapped carefully as if it were the last present to be opened on Christmas Day.

Richard Peck has given us a marvelous character in Mrs. Dowdel. She drives the adventures and humor in this novel which will make you laugh out loud. ( )

Relates the surprising gifts bestowed on twelve-year-old Bob Barnhart and his family, who have recently moved to a small Illinois town in 1958, by their larger-than-life neighbor, Mrs. Dowdel. ( )

Grandma Dowdel, who helped Richard Peck win both a Newbery Honor and Mewbery Medal is back and this time she works her magic on her new neighbors. The Barnhart's have moved to this "podunk" town so dad can take over as the minister of the Methodist Church. Classic Peck-style down home humor. ( )

The sequel to the sequel of "A Long Way From Chicago" is itself a gift to fans of the earlier Richard Peck books about Mrs. Dowdel, the tough as black walnuts grandmother who metes out an original kind of justice to the citizens of a downstate Illinois town.

This third book is not as gut-busting hilarious as the original and is more overtly sentimental, but the separate chapters make fine read-aloud stories and the entire book is a warm blanket on a winter's night.

Readers who wonder what happened to Joey, the grandson who narrated the first book, will be somewhat disappointed. And those hoping for more books about Mrs. Dowdel may be saddened to find that many years have already passed since "A Year Down Yonder." It is now 1958, and how much longer can even this larger-than-life woman keep on going? ( )