A Long Way From Chicago (Puffin Modern Classics)
by Richard Peck
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Book Summary Information
Author: Richard PeckBrand: Puffin Books
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-04-12
ISBN: 0142401102
Number of pages: 148
Publisher: Puffin
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780142401101
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of A Long Way From Chicago (Puffin Modern Classics)
Book Review: Grandma Lies, Cheats, Smokes and Drinks Beer
Summary: 5 Stars
As the country slides into the Great Depression, Joey and his sister Mary Alice are shipped out to the sticks to spend a week at Grandma Dowdel's. They batten down for seven days of boredom and country chores, but nothing could have prepared them for a storm like Grandma. She lies, cheats, smokes, and drinks beer. A mountain of a woman, she answers the door wielding a shotgun, welcoming visitors with a "What now?" or a "Whatever you're selling, I don't want any." But over time, Joey and Mary Alice learn to cherish their adventures with Grandma and to see through her gruff exterior to the heart and soul of a country town.
Richard Peck's novel in stories A Long Way from Chicago (Dial Books for Young Readers: 1998) is a throwback to the heyday of American storytelling, carrying on the tradition of Mark Twain, Sherwood Anderson, Ring Lardner, and James Thurber. He brings Middle America to life with a pitch perfect ear for dialogue and a wonderfully humorous touch. In "A One Woman Crime Wave," Grandma and the kids trespass on the local Rod and Gun Club's stream to trap catfish that they'll later feed to the drifters on their way out of town, complete with bottles of home brewed beer despite Prohibition. Joey's describes their stop to visit Grandma's old boss: "She was by many years the oldest person we'd ever seen up till then. Bald as an egg, but she needed a shave. And not a tooth in her head." Later, in "The Phantom Brakeman," they harbor a fugitive girl and facilitate her elopement. Grandma fends off the girl's irate mother: "And I'll tell you something else for free. If you set a foot over that doorsill, I'll ring your red neck." Peck has the natural storyteller's talent for making us laugh at ourselves while conveying something meaningful about life. Through Joey and Mary Alice's outlaw adventures with their renegade Grandma, readers learn the virtue of defiance, the meaning of courage, and the essence of pride while laughing out loud at this deserving Newbery Honor Book.
Summary of A Long Way From Chicago (Puffin Modern Classics)
Join Joey and his sister Mary Alice as they spend nine unforgettable summers with the worst influence imaginable-their grandmother!
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