NEWBERY AWARD WINNER. Meet Richard Peck
author of the Caldecott award winner, A YEAR DOWN YON-
DER. Richard Peck spent the first eighteen years of his life
in Decatur, Illinois, “a middle-American town in a time
when teenagers were considered guilty until proven inno-
cent.” Since then his vivid and clear-eyed exploration of the
teenage mind and heart has produced over twenty-five
acclaimed novels, including the 1999 Newbery Honor Book
A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO. Among the honors he
has received are Edgar Allan Poe Awards, ALA Notable
Books and Best Books for Young Adults, and the Margaret
A. Edwards Award, given for his distinguished body of work.