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A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories
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A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories Paperback - 2000

by Richard Peck

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 it's far from sleepy and Grandma is far from your typical grandmother.


Summary

What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice -- two city slickers from Chicago -- make their annual summer visits to Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town? August 1929: They see their first corpse, and he isn't resting easy.

August 1930: The Cowgill boys terrorize the town, and Grandma fights back. August 1931: Joey and Mary Alice help Grandma trespass, poach, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry -- all in one day. And there's more, as Joey and Mary Alice make seven summer trips to Grandma's -- each one funnier than the year before -- in self-contained chapters that readers can enjoy as short stories or take together for a rollicking good novel. In the tradition of American humorists from Mark Twain to Flannery O'Connor, popular author Richard Peck has created a memorable world filled with characters who, like Grandma herself, are larger than life and twice as entertaining.

From the publisher

A Newbery Honor Book A summer they'll never forget. Each summer Joey and his sister, Mary Alice--two city slickers from Chicago--visit 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, 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!
"A rollicking celebration of an eccentric grandmother and childhood memories." --School Library Journal, starred review "Each tale is a small masterpiece of storytelling." --The Horn Book, starred review "Grandma Dowdel embodies not only the heart of a small town but the spirit of an era gone by...Remarkable and fine." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review A Newbery Honor Book
A National Book Award Finalist
An ALA Notable Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

First line

You wouldn't think we'd have to leave Chicago to see a dead body.

Details

  • Title A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories
  • Author Richard Peck
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition later printing
  • Pages 176
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Puffin Books, New York
  • Date 2000-10-09
  • Features Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780141303529 / 0141303522
  • Weight 0.32 lbs (0.15 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.74 x 5.06 x 0.5 in (19.66 x 12.85 x 1.27 cm)
  • Ages 10 to UP years
  • Grade levels 5 - UP
  • Reading level 750
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 1930's
    • Chronological Period: 20th Century
    • Cultural Region: Midwest
    • Cultural Region: Upper Midwest
    • Demographic Orientation: Rural
    • Demographic Orientation: Small Town
    • Geographic Orientation: Illinois
    • Topical: Family
  • Library of Congress subjects Illinois, Depressions - 1929
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 98010953
  • Dewey Decimal Code FIC

Media reviews

Citations

  • Publishers Weekly, 09/25/2000, Page 120

About the author

RICHARD PECK (1934-2018) was born in Decatur, Illinois and lived in New York City for nearly 50 years. The acclaimed author of 35 novels for children and young adults, he won the Newbery Medal for A Year Down Yonder, a Newbery Honor for A Long Way from Chicago, the Scott O'Dell Award for The River Between Us, the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Are You in the House Alone?, a Boston Globe-Horn BookAward Honor for The Best Man, and the Christopher Medal for The Teacher's Funeral. He was the first children's author ever to have been awarded a National Humanities Medal, and was twice a National Book Award Finalist.

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