A Long Way From Chicago

Tue, 07/29/2014 - 7:30pm by eapearce

There are so many fun kids’ books out there from recent years that sometimes we forget about the great older books that are still fantastic reads today! If you or your children are looking for something new to read, why not try something “old?” One of my personal favorite books, A Long Way From Chicago, was published in 1998 and won the 1999 Newbery Honor. Written by Richard Peck, the book is really a series of short stories, told from the perspective of a young boy who visits his wild grandmother with his sister during the summers of the Great Depression and early World War II. Joey and Mary Alice consider themselves worldly—they are from the big city after all!—and can’t imagine what the tiny Illinois town where their grandmother lives could have to offer.

They are quickly proven wrong when they help their grandma tresspass, catch the town sheriff in his underwear, aid their grandma in catching catfish illegally (in a stolen boat!), and see their first dead body. The vivid story-telling that Peck employs allows readers to share in the experiences that Mary Alice and Joey have, and to make memories along with them. The wonderful, heart-warming story that is A Long Way From Chicago has stuck with me since I first read the book as a child and I still recommend the book to readers of all ages. It is worth noting too that this book and its companion novel, A Year Down Yonder (winner of the 2001 Newbery Medal), are both wonderful to read aloud or listen to on audiobook. The AADL has copies of A Long Way From Chicago, A Year Down Yonder, and both on audiobook available!