Spotted: A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck

Where: R-train

What’s that big gold circle on the cover? That’s the prestigious Newbery Medal.

Who was reading: A Park Slope dad-type in khaki pants and a wind-breaker. Little tags on his shoes shouted “GORE-TEX!”—but what part of a shoe could possibly be made out of Gore-tex, I ask you?

Peeking out from under a modest shelf of belly… Just a sliver of alpaca-wool belt could be seen. I started to snicker, but was quickly sobered by the realization that my own dad dresses just like this.
The reviews are right! Or at least School Library Journal was right in saying that, “Even high school and adult audiences will enjoy A Year Down Yonder.”

And even though it’s totally acceptable for adults to read children’s books… This guy was super-furtive, making it nearly impossible to figure out the title. He had his paperback copy folded back so that the covers touched, and although I kept twisting into odd positions to see better, the only thing I succeeded in doing was drawing plenty of weird looks from the teenager across the way. After many failed attempts, I copied down a sentence from the interior and used it to track down the title later.