Richard Peck Books In Order

Blossom Culp Books In Publication Order

  1. The Ghost Belonged to Me (1975)
  2. Ghosts I Have Been (1977)
  3. The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp (1983)
  4. Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death (1986)

A Long Way from Chicago Books In Publication Order

  1. A Long Way from Chicago (1998)
  2. A Year Down Yonder (2000)
  3. A Season of Gifts (2009)

Lost in Cyberspace Books In Publication Order

  1. Lost in Cyberspace (1995)
  2. The Great Interactive Dream Machine (1996)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. Are You in the House Alone? (1967)
  2. Don’t Look and It Won’t Hurt (1972)
  3. Dreamland Lake (1973)
  4. Through a Brief Darkness (1973)
  5. Representing Super Doll (1974)
  6. Monster Night at Grandma’s House (1977)
  7. Secrets of the Shopping Mall (1978)
  8. Father Figure (1978)
  9. Amanda/Miranda (1980)
  10. Close Enough to Touch (1981)
  11. New York Time (1981)
  12. This Family of Women (1983)
  13. Remembering the Good Times (1985)
  14. Princess Ashley (1987)
  15. Those Summer Girls I Never Met (1988)
  16. Voices after Midnight (1989)
  17. Unfinished Portrait of Jessica (1991)
  18. Bel-Air Bambi and the Mall Rats (1993)
  19. The Last Safe Place on Earth (1995)
  20. London Holiday (1998)
  21. Strays Like Us (1998)
  22. Fair Weather (2001)
  23. The River Between Us (2003)
  24. The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts (2004)
  25. Here Lies the Librarian (2006)
  26. On the Wings of Heroes (2007)
  27. Three Quarters Dead (2010)
  28. Secrets at Sea (2011)
  29. The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail (2013)
  30. The Best Man (2016)

Collections In Publication Order

  1. Past Perfect, Present Tense (2004)

Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. The Creative Word 2,: Teacher’s Manual (1973)
  2. The Creative Word (With: ) (1973)
  3. Urban Studies: A Research Paper Casebook (1974)
  4. Write a Tale of Terror (1987)
  5. Anonymously Yours (1991)
  6. Love and Death at the Mall (1994)
  7. Invitations to the World: Teaching and Writing for the Young (2002)
  8. Master Class on Writing the Novel for Young Readers (2021)

Anthologies In Publication Order

  1. Mindscapes: Poems for the Real World (1923)
  2. Edge of Awareness: Twenty-Five Contemporary Essays (1966)
  3. Sounds and Silences (1970)
  4. Pictures That Storm Inside My Head: Poems For The Inner You (1976)
  5. Acting Out (2008)

Blossom Culp Book Covers

A Long Way from Chicago Book Covers

Lost in Cyberspace Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Collections Book Covers

Non-Fiction Book Covers

Anthologies Book Covers

Richard Peck Books Overview

The Ghost Belonged to Me

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. Thirteen year old Alexander Armsworth sees lights in the barn, is identified by Blossom Culp’s spiritualist mother as gifted, and begins a series of Mississippi River adventures accompanied by his aged Uncle Miles and a curious female ghost.

Ghosts I Have Been

Blossom Culp is the outspoken outcast of Bluff City, always getting into trouble. No one wants to cross her, especially now that she’s revealed that she can see the Unseen. Then Blossom herself is stunned, because her lie turns out to be truth. She actually does have second sight…
and she is ‘on board’ the sinking Titanic.

The Dreadful Future of Blossom Culp

It’s Halloween, 1914. Teenage psychic Blossom Culp sneaks into the house where the rest of her class is having a party and that’s when everything goes haywire. Suddenly Blossom is hurled into a time warp. Her psychic powers have found a way to send her into the future our time. But will they be able to send her back?

Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death

Blossom, high school freshman and possessor of ‘second sight,’ helps an Egyptian princess, dead for 3500 years, to regain her tomb, and in addition saves a suffragette school teacher from losing her job in 1914.

A Long Way from Chicago

Each summer over the nine years of the Depression, Joey and his sister, Mary Alice-two city slickers from Chicago-make their annual summer visit to Grandma Dowdel’s seemingly sleepy Illinois town. Soon enough, they find that it’s far from sleepy…
and Grandma is far from your typical grandmother. From seeing their first corpse and he isn’t resting easy to helping Grandma trespass, pinch property, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry-all in one day-Joey and Mary Alice have nine summers they’ll never forget. Richard Peck’s laugh-out-loud funny, episodic novel makes sure that you never will, either!

The 1999 Newbery Honor Book-‘A small masterpiece of storytelling.’ –The Horn Book

Reviews for A Long Way from Chicago:

‘Peck deftly captures the feel of the times…
Remarkable and fine.’ –Kirkus Reviews, pointer review

‘Warmly nostalogic, beautifully written, and full of thought-provoking interpersonal relatinships.’ –Children’s Literature

‘A rollicking celebration…
Perfect for reading aloud and a great choice for family sharing.’ –School Library Journal, starred review

Awards for A Long Way from Chicago:

The 1999 Newbery Honor Book
A 1998 National Book Award Finalist
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
A Riverbank Review 1999 Book of Distinction

A Year Down Yonder

It was within the pages of Richard Peck’s Newbery Honor winning A Long Way from Chicago that Mary Alice and Grandma Dowdel first made their captivating debut. Now they’re back for more astonishing, laugh out loud adventures when fifteen year old Mary Alice moves in with her spicy grandmother for the year. Expect moonlit schemes, romances both foiled and founded, and a whole parade of fools made to suffer in unusual and always hilarious ways. Wise, exuberant, and slyly heartwarming, Mary Alice’s story is a fully satisfying companion to the celebrated A Long Way from Chicago, which, in addition to receiving the Newbery Honor, was a National Book Award finalist, an ALA Notable Book, and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

A Season of Gifts

One of the most adored children’s book characters of all time is the eccentric, forceful, bighearted Grandma Dowdel, 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 family in desperate need of her help whether they realize it or not. There s twelve year old Bob, shy on courage in a town full of bullies; his Elvis obsessed older sister, Phyllis, who just might be on the verge of spinning out of control; Bob s little sister, Ruth Ann, ready and waiting for a larger than life role model; and even Bob s two parents, the young minister and his wife, who are amazed to discover that the last house in town might also be the most vital. As Christmas rolls around, the whole family will realize that they ve found a true home, and a neighbor with remarkable gifts to share.

Lost in Cyberspace

Meet Josh Lewis, a sixth grader at the elite Huckley School. When his best friend Aaron announces that he can time travel with his computer, Josh isn’t fazed. But when Aaron actually microprocesses himself into cyberspace, the duo must deal with unexpected visitors from the past and find out more about Huckley’s history than they ever wanted to know! ‘Amiable characters, fleet pacing, and witty,in the know narration will keep even the non bookish interested.’ Publishers Weekly

The Great Interactive Dream Machine

Josh Lewis’s best friend, Aaron Zimmer, has turned his computer into a wish granting machine. Unfortunately, there are a few bugs in the system. Nobody knows when the computer will interactivate next! When a mysterious spy called The Watcher starts monitoring the boys’ every move in cyberspace, the trouble begins…
. ‘Humor, fantasy, science fiction, and mystery all cleverly combine to make this book guaranteed fun.’ School Library Journal

Are You in the House Alone?

THIS EDITION IS INTENDED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. A teenage rapist goes free because he’s the son of an influential family and the authorities will not bring charges.

Don’t Look and It Won’t Hurt

‘Out at the city limits there’s this sign that says WELCOME TO CLAYPITTS, PEARL OF THE PRAIRIE, and if you’d believe that, you’d believe anything.’Sixteen year old Carol Patterson is a girl in the middle: in the middle of her sisters, in the middle of her adolescence, in the middle of her family’s problems. It is the early seventies and the world is in turmoil, but hardly anything from the outside ever seems to creep in to effect the Pattersons, who live in half a house at the wrong end of town. But there is turmoil enough in Carol’s own life. The family is barely getting by on her mother’s waitress salary. Carol’s bookishness and shabby clothes make her an outcast. Then Carol’s older sister gets pregnant. Still, in the midst of it all there is hope: Carol’s first fledgling romance; her unexpected friendship with the preacher’s daughter. And suddenly a door opens, providing Carol with a glimpse of the world outside Claypitts and a glimpse of her own inner strength. Originally published in 1972, Don’t Look and It Won’t Hurt was Richard Peck’s first novel. It was adapted for the movie Gas/Food/Lodging in 1992.

Dreamland Lake

Flip and Brian have been best friends since grade school. But everything changes during the spring of seventh grade. That’s when they find a man lying dead in the leaves near Dreamland Lake. What happens in the summer that follows will change the course of their friendship and their lives forever.

‘A finely tuned shocker.’ Kirkus Reviews

Through a Brief Darkness

Forced to ask herself whether her father was indeed a criminal, Karen comes to rely on her own instincts and judgment as her situation becomes increasingly terrifying.

Monster Night at Grandma’s House

Two world renowned children’s book creators, Richard Peck and Don Freeman, collaborated on this picture book the evocative tale of a boy who takes on the monster lurking in his grandma’s home. This was one of Don Freeman’s last books after Corduroy, after Dandelion, after he’d won a Caldecott Honor for Fly High Fly Low. It is novelist Richard Peck’s only picture book. He wrote Monster Night about twenty five years before he won a Newbery Honor for A Long Way from Chicago, before he won the Newbery Medal for A Year Down Yonder. Now their beguiling collaboration is once again available, and includes a new introduction, full of warmth and reminiscence, by Richard Peck. It’s a classic treat a deliciously spooky journey through darkness into the comforting, clear light of day. Illustrated by Don Freeman.

Secrets of the Shopping Mall

Trying to escape the vicious King Kobra gang and troubled life at home, eighth graders Barnie and Teresa flee the city. With only four dollars between them, they hop a bus, hoping to find a new life at the end of the line. Destination: Paradise Park. But Paradise Park turns out to be a cement covered suburban shopping mall not quite the paradise they had hoped for. With no money and no home to retum to, they are forced to stay. And paradise park takes them in in more ways than one. Barnie and Teresa spend their days and nights in the climate controlled consumer paradise of a large department store. And just when they think they can live there unnoticed forever, Teresa and Barnie find that even Paradise Park has its secrets. Even in the dead of night, they are far from alone…
. From the Paperback edition.

Father Figure

Living with their mother and grandmother following the divorce of their parents, seventeen year old Jim Atwater and his younger brother, Byron, find their lives turned upside down by the death of their mother and the return of their long lost father. SLJ. AB.

Amanda/Miranda

A beloved story of a fateful impersonation on the Titanic is available againFor years fans of Newbery Honor author Richard Peck’s young adult novels have sought out hard to find copies of his first novel for adults, Amanda/Miranda. Published in 1980, this enthralling story of love and adventure against the backdrop of the sinking of the Titanic has been unavailable for over fifteen years. Now YA readers have an Amanda/Miranda all their own: a brand new edition, abridged by the author especially for an age twelve up readership. In 1911, eighteen year old Mary Cooke comes to stately Whitwell Hall to serve as maid for the strong willed young Amanda Whitwell. To Mary’ astonishment, her aristocratic new employer is her near double. A dutiful servant girl, ‘Miranda’ as her arrogant mistress renames her must stand by as Amanda ensnares both men whom Miranda herself loves. But when maid and mistress journey together on the Titanic, Miranda sees the chance to seize her destiny…
forever.

Remembering the Good Times

How well do we know our best friends?They were the best of friends. Sixteen year old Buck Mendenhall first met Kate Lucas the summer before seventh grade. In eighth grade they made friends with the brilliant and wealthy newcomer, Trav Kirby. They didn’t seem to need anyone else. Mostly they looked forward to the good times shared at Kate’s house. it didn’t matter if their classmates wondered about them; no one could unravel their binding ties. At least that’s what they thought. When one of the trio finds the future too great a threat, the other two can only wonder: ‘How well did we know our best friend?’ ‘With humanity, wit, and a quiet intensity, Peck’s novel depicts suicide as a turning point inward of the pressures in an alienated and violent society.’ Booklist, starred review. A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year.

Voices after Midnight

Living with their sister and parents in a rented house in New York City during the summer, Chad and Luke uncover a mystery involving the former tenants of the house when the two brothers slip back in time to 1888.

Unfinished Portrait of Jessica

A trip to Mexico to visit the divorced vagabond father whom she idolizes cures fourteen year old Jessica of certain illusions and helps her reconstruct her relationship with her mother.

The Last Safe Place on Earth

Walden Woods looks like the perfect place to be a 10th grader especially from Todd’s house on Tranquility Lane. He s even found the perfect girl, the mysterious Laurel. But when something frightens his little sister so that she has nightmares, and a parent group tries to ban evil books from the school libraries, Todd begins to wonder what dark forces are at work in this ideal community.A provocative new novel by a highly honored author that speaks to today’s issues of censorship and fundamentalism.

London Holiday

The perfect beach read and armchair travelogue a wry, engaging, stylish novel of three women’s escape into carefree London. London Holiday opens in Mrs. Smith Porter’s cozy, prestigious London bed and breakfast, where the hotelier curiously awaits her three new American guests…
Best friends since long ago childhood days, Lesley, a St. Louis society matron and do gooder, Julia, a successful but lonely Manhattan interior designer, and Margo, a newly divorced Chicago teacher with a teenage daughter, are all harboring unfulfilled dreams and desperate for a change from their ordinary lives. When a shocking act of violence reminds them how fragile life really is, the three friends decide it’s time for a reunion and embark on a long awaited trip to London. Safe in the confines of Mrs. Smith Porter’s bed and breakfast, the women enter a whirlwind of tea in the garden, antique markets, picture perfect countryside and…
romance. For each of them, the London Holiday holds many surprises and ‘the epiphanies they experience pour over readers with the light, dry sparkle of good champagne’ Publishers Weekly. Penguin Readers Guide Bound into Every Book

Strays Like Us

Molly Moberly knows she doesn’t belong in this small Missouri town with her great aunt Fay. It’s just a temporary arrangement until her mother gets out of the hospital. But then Molly meets Will, a fellow stray, and begins to realize she’s not the only one on the outside. In fact, it seems like the town’s full of strays only some end up where they belong sooner than others. Richard Peck has created a rich, compassionate story that will go straight to the heart of every kid who’s ever felt like an outsider.

‘This sensitive hero*ine is one readers will want to take under their wing.’ Publishers Weekly, starred review

‘Peck is at his best.’ Booklist, starred review

An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
A Child Study Children’s Book Committee Best Children’s Book of the Year
A Parents Magazine Best Children’s Book of the Year

Fair Weather

In his celebrated novels A Year Down Yonder and A Long Way from Chicago, Richard Peck carried us happily back to the Midwest of the 1930’s. Now he’s ready to transport us all the way to 1893, to the Chicago World’s Fair and its breathtaking mix of personalities and glimpses of the future. Here is a tour de force that combines the real people of the time with an enormously engaging new fictional family, spinning them all into a whirlwind of humor, misadventure, and charms beyond measure.

On the brink of adulthood not to mention a whole new century, Rosie makes her first trip to the big city, along with her wide-eyed siblings and their rascally old granddad. There, amidst the wonders of the fair, Rosie discovers the world and herself, while also coming face-to-face with some of the era’s most famous people-including showgirl Lillian Russell and Colonel William F. Cody a.k.a. Buffalo Bill.

The River Between Us

Richard Peck is a master of stories about people in transition, but perhaps never before has he told a tale of such dramatic change as this one, set during the first year of the Civil War. The whole country is changing in 1861 even the folks from a muddy little Illinois settlement on the banks of the Mississippi. Here, fifteen year old Tilly Pruitt frets over the fact that her brother is dreaming of being a soldier and that her sister is prone to supernatural visions. A boy named Curry could possibly become a distraction. Then a steamboat whistle splits the air. The Rob Roy from New Orleans docks at the landing, and off the boat step two remarkable figures: a vibrant, commanding young lady in a rustling hoop skirt and a darker, silent woman in a plain cloak, with a bandanna wrapped around her head. Who are these two fascinating strangers? And is the darker woman a slave, standing now on the free soil of Illinois? When Tilly’s mother invites the women to board at her house, the whole world shifts for the Pruitts and for their visitors as well. Within a page turning tale of mystery, adventure, and the civilian Civil War experience, Richard Peck has spun a breathtaking portrait of the lifelong impact that one person can have on another. This is a novel of countless riches.

The Teacher’s Funeral: A Comedy in Three Parts

‘If your teacher has to die, August isn’t a bad time of year for it,’ begins Richard Peck’s latest novel, a book full of his signature wit and sass. Russell Culver is fifteen in 1904, and he’s raring to leave his tiny Indiana farm town for the endless sky of the Dakotas. To him, school has been nothing but a chain holding him back from his dreams. Maybe now that his teacher has passed on, they’ll shut the school down entirely and leave him free to roam. No such luck. Russell has a particularly eventful season of schooling ahead of him, led by a teacher he never could have predicted perhaps the only teacher equipped to control the likes of him: his sister Tansy. Despite stolen supplies, a privy fire, and more than any classroom’s share of snakes, Tansy will manage to keep that school alive and maybe, just maybe, set her brother on a new, wiser course. As he did in A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder, Richard Peck creates a whole world of folksy, one of a kind characters here the enviable and the laughable, the adorably meek and the deliciously terrifying. There will be no forgetting Russell, Tansy, and all the rest who populate this hilarious, shrewd, and thoroughly enchanting novel.

Here Lies the Librarian

Peewee idolizes Jake, a big brother whose dreams of auto mechanic glory are fueled by the hard road coming to link their Indiana town and futures with the twentieth century. And motoring down the road comes Irene Ridpath, a young librarian with plans to astonish them all and turn Peewee’s life upside down. Here Lies the Librarian, with its quirky characters, folksy setting, classic cars, and hilariously larger than life moments, is vintage Richard Peck an offbeat, deliciously wicked comedy that is also unexpectedly moving.

On the Wings of Heroes

Davy Bowman’s brother and their dad hung the moon. Dad looks forward to Halloween more than a kid, and Davy s brother, Bill, flies B 17s. Davy adores these two heroes and tries his best to follow their lead, especially now. World War II has invaded Davy s homefront boyhood. There s an air raid drill in the classroom, and being a kid is an endless scrap drive. Bill has joined up, breaking their dad s heart. It s an intense, confusing time, and one that will invite Davy to grow up in a hurry. Still, Richard Peck is a master of comedy, and even in this novel of wartime uncertainty, he infuses his tale with humor: oddballs and rascals and boyhood misadventures alongside the poignant moments. This is one of Richard Peck s very finest novels a tender, unforgettable portrait of the World War II homefront and a family s love.

Three Quarters Dead

Kerry is chosen by the coolest clique in school and so she thinks life has finally begun. But then it seems all over when her three friends are killed in a shocking car accident. Or are they? Only weeks after the accident, Kerry receives a text from one of the girls: We’re all 3 here at my aunt’s in the city. Take the 3:50 train. B there.

Exhilarating, terrifying suspense is crossed with a thought-provoking examination of peer pressure in Richard Peck’s return to his contemporary teen- and ghost-story roots. This is a master author’s gift to the Gossip Girl/Twilight generation: his own smart, stylish, and fun take on the paranormal.

Secrets at Sea

Helena is big sister mouse to three younger siblings, living a snug and well fed life within the ancient walls of the Cranston family home. When the Cranston humans decide to sail away to England to find a husband for one of their daughters, the Cranston mice stow away in the name of family solidarity. And so begins the scamper of their lives as Helena, her siblings, and their humans set sail on a life changing voyage into the great world of titled humans…
and titled mice, and surprise endings for all. The masterful Richard Peck brings all of his talents to this tale of two branches of an American family, set on the eve of Queen Victoria’s diamond jubilee. There are plenty of laughs and thrills, and of course there s a ship s cat too. Will our Cranston heroes squeak by, or will they go entirely overboard?

Past Perfect, Present Tense

Though Richard Peck is best known as a novelist, he has been writing praised and popular short stories throughout his career. His first, Priscilla and the Wimps, is perhaps the most read children’s short story of all time. Others have inspired his award winning novels: A Long Way from Chicago and A Year Down Yonder began with a story called Shotgun Cheatham s Last Night Above Ground ; and The Electric Summer was the jumping point for Fair Weather. Now here are thirteen of Richard Peck s stories, including all of his previously published tales and two brand new ones. He has also written entertaining notes about the stories, an informative introduction about the genre, and tips on how to write short stories, including Five Helpful Hints that will be a valuable aid to aspiring authors.

Anonymously Yours

The award winning writer for young adults comments on the creative process; American values in schools, malls, and elsewhere; changing lifestyles and expectations; and how it all relates to the kinds of writing to which young readers respond.

Love and Death at the Mall

The award winning writer for young adults comments on the creative process; American values in schools, malls, and elsewhere; changing lifestyles and expectations; and how it all relates to the kinds of writing to which young readers respond.

Invitations to the World: Teaching and Writing for the Young

From one of the most respected voices in young adult literature comes this impassioned, inspiring book of observations and ideas. Part memoir, part writing manual, part social commentary, Invitations to the World spans Richard Peck’s entire career from his first days as a high school English teacher to his current life as a Newbery winning author and touches on the issues that have followed him throughout it: the dangers of conformity and censorship, the limits of our education system, and the desire to provide young people with books that will nourish their fragile individuality. Including strong, witty poems and excerpts from Peck’s award winning novels, as well as reproducible pages of tips for encouraging children to read, this is an invaluable book for all parents, librarians, teachers, writers, and readers.

Acting Out

Six masterful children’s authors have become master playwrights in this collection of one act plays that might just make you want to ACT OUT! In The Raven, Sharon Creech spoofs a publishing office while Susan Cooper shows the environment fighting back against overdevelopment in The Dollop. Patricia MacLachlan puts a twist on detention in The Bad Room and Katherine Paterson gives us a new twist on a classic fairy tale in The Billionaire and the Bird. Richard Peck’s Effigy in the Outhouse is the story of schoolboys doing their best to trick a spooky substitute while Avi’s Not Seeing Is Believing has words playing tricks on everyone. With a star studded lineup of writers there’s a stage full of drama, comedy, and great storytelling waiting behind these curtains! Newbery Medal winning and beloved authors Avi, Susan Cooper, Sharon Creech, Patricia MacLachlan, Katherine Paterson, and Richard Peck have come together and written six original one act plays to be read, shared, and acted out by the audience they know best. The playwrights could write about anything and anyone they wanted, but one thing would need to tie the stories all together. Each author had to choose one word and share it with the group. These six words then had to be written into each of the plays. The words they chose were ‘dollop,’ ‘hoodwink,’ ‘Justin,’ ‘knuckleball,’ ‘panhandle,’ and ‘raven.’ To find out the funny, odd, and creative ways they were used…
Well, you’ll have to read for yourself.

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