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A Long Way from Chicago: a Novel in Stories (by Richard Peck)

common sense media says

A hilarious look at summer in the country.

parents & educators say
See all 10 reviews | Review it

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.

Positive messages: Grandma lies quite a bit, though always for a good cause, including graphically killing a mouse, putting it into a milk bottle, and pretending it came that way. She also traps fish illegally.
Violence: Grandma uses a shotgun, a somewhat graphic train accident, John Dillinger is shot up, and a father beats his delinquent teens with a strap.
Sex: The children see a group of drunk men in droopy underwear.
Language: Not applicable.
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Men get drunk.
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More on A Long Way from Chicago: a Novel in Stories

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
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?

What's the story?

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?

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.

Book themes & details

Book Details
Author: Richard Peck
Publisher: Dial Books
Publication date: September 1, 1998
Number of pages: 148
Hardcover price: $15.99
This review was written by Matt Berman
 
 

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What parents & educators say

8

Most useful reviews by all members

jacknscottsmom
parent of 11 and 14 year old
8
 
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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krazypanda
teen, 16 years old
3
 
BORING
i read this in second grade and it wqas good but by fifth grade it becomes boring
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karatedude
teen, 18 years old
 
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I.Am.A.Nerd.
kid, 13 years old
8
 
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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rotfl16
teen, 15 years old
5
 
Booooooooooring
Its a fine book, but the beginning is pretty bad.
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jcsoblonde
adult
 
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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avidcritc
teen, 17 years old
8
 
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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SPD
teen, 14 years old
11
 
I want to read!
I havent read this book, but i think is going to be interesting. Just like jokes!!
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xonickj16ox
adult
 
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helped me decide (3) | had useful details (2) | read my mind (2)
krazypanda411
teen, 16 years old
5
 
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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