 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
A Long Way from Chicago: a Novel in Stories
- By Richard Peck
- Genre: Humor
Common Sense Media says
A hilarious look at summer in the country.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this novel is set in small-town Illinois during the Great Depression, which might prompt some curiosity about the time period and the challenges it created for American families. Grandma Dowdel has some unorthodox methods for achieving justice that you wouldn't necessarily want your own kids to emulate, but they're all presented with a sense of fun and outlandishness. That means that, as a role model, she's meant to be taken with a grain of salt.
What's the story?
In a series of related short stories, siblings Joey and Mary Alice from Chicago spend a week each summer with their eccentric grandmother in small-town Illinois during the Depression. She convinces a nosy reporter that a dead old reprobate was really a Civil War hero, gets local delinquent bullies the comeuppance they deserve, outwits the local sheriff to help poor drifters, helps a young couple to elope, and arranges for her oldest adversary to keep her house when the bank wants to repossess it.
Is it any good?
Richard Peck's comedy is his best since Bel Air Bambi and the Mall Rats. Filled with the kind of detail that can only come from memory, the book is blessed by Grandma Dowdel, a true original. Sharp-tongued and peppery, like so many of Peck's central characters, she reveals her heart to her grandchildren through action, not mawkish blather.
In a succession of summers she outwits the press, local hooligans, and the sheriff, all for the benefit of the town and its residents, whom she appears to despise. Her clever, no-nonsense approach to problems is wicked and original, though often mystifying to her grandchildren, and Peck's perfect blend of outrageous humor and unsentimental warmth make this a true rarity in comic novels -- one that is at once richly funny, memorable, and deeply satisfying.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the historical realities of the Great Depression and what it must have been like to be a young person during that time. If you had grown up in the 1930s, where would you have preferred to live -- in Chicago or in rural Illinois? What are some of the ways in which life would have been different in the big city vs. the country?
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AGE
BORING
i read this in second grade and it wqas good but by fifth grade it becomes boring
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AGE
Heartwarming, funny for kids 8 and up along with their parents
We LOVE this book and have read/listened to it more than 5 times. My mother even bought it and it's sequel to listen to in her car on long trips. It makes us laugh and think about life as it used to be and the value of family. We often quote the book and remember the delightful characters in this story.
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AGE
Fun
Last year, this book was taught in my class. (I was in fifth grade.) I read at an adult level, so therefore this was much too easy for me, but it was a fun book that I enjoyed reading. We read it during school, but it would make a great summer read for younger kids.
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AGE
i loved it...
such a charming story and a true original to-be classic! i loved it and its a book u can read more than once! i also recommend its sequel 'A Year Down Yonder.' its even better if u get it on tape/cd the reader is fantastic!
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AGE
Booooooooooring
Its a fine book, but the beginning is pretty bad.
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AGE
well done
i don't particularly like this type of book (back-in-my-day-a-cheeseburger-was-a-nickel) but this book was really well done. well written, entertaining, and just plain funny. really goos.
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AGE
I want to read!
I havent read this book, but i think is going to be interesting. Just like jokes!!
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AGE
BORING
this book is so boring and i did not enjoy it but i was required to read it for school. SO DULL
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| Author: | Richard Peck |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Humor |
| Publisher: | Dial Books |
| Publication date: | September 1, 1998 |
| Number of pages: | 148 |
| Hardcover price: | $15.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 12 |
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