A Season of Gifts by Richard Peck

One of the most adored characters in children's literature is the eccentric, forceful, bighearted Grandma Dowdel, star of the Newbery Award winning A Year Down Yonder and Newbery Honor winning A Long Way from Chicago.  And it turns out that her story isnÕt over.  It's now 1958, and a new family has moved in next door to Mrs. Dowdel: a minister and his wife and kids.  Soon Mrs. Dowdel will work her particular brand of charm on all of them, and they will quickly discover that the last house in town might also be the most vital.