A Long Way From Chicago
by Richard Peck
In A Long Way from Chicago, Joey Dowdel and his younger sister, Mary Alice, are sent to spend a week every summer from 1929-1935 with their grandmother in her small Illinois town located halfway between Chicago and St. Louis. Not even the big city crimes of Chicago offer as much excitement as Grandma Dowdel when she outwits the banker, sets illegal fish traps, catches the town's poker-playing businessmen in their underwear, and saves the town from the terror of the Cowgill boys. Now an old man, Joe Dowdel remembers these seven summers and the "larger than life" woman who outsmarted the law and used blackmail to help those in need.
The kids have always known that their Grandma Dowdel is a tough old lady but it is only when they start spending time with her in the summers that they get a real sense of how tough she is. It is the Depression and times are hard. Grandma Dowdel, like so many other people, has to adapt to the changing circumstances. Some things don’t change though; Grandma Dowel pretty much always gets what she wants – in the end. Joey and Alice are shocked to discover that there is very little that Grandma Dowdel won’t do to get her own way. She will intimidate, blackmail, bully, lie, and steal, among other things, and she will do it all with great aplomb and not the slightest bit of regret.
What they also discover is that their large overall wearing grandmother has soft spots. She will not tolerate bullies, she does her best to help those in trouble, and in her own crusty way she takes care of the people she cares for. In the nine years that Joey and Alice go to visit their grandmother they see their first dead body, watch their grandma fire a shot gun, feed hungry hobos, and “borrow” a boat to fish from. Not even the big city crimes of Chicago offer as much excitement as Grandma Dowdel when she outwits the banker, sets illegal fish traps, catches the town's poker-playing businessmen in their underwear, and saves the town from the terror of the Cowgill boys.
Laugh out loud scenes and larger-than-life characters make this book a joy to read. At the same time it is thought-provoking and it paints a portrait of a very hard time in America’s history. Grandma Dowdel is a force of nature whom the reader will be compelled to admire.
This title was a 1999 Newbery Honor Book.
Links:
Author Info: http://www.edupaperback.org/showauth2.cfm?authid=68
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Peck
NoveList Page: http://web.ebscohost.com.oh0248.oplin.org/novelist/detail?vid=11&hid=106&sid=73b655e0-0a9e-4aeb-8e01-55d69645e355%40sessionmgr108&bdata=JnNpdGU9bm92ZWxpc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d
Book Info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Long_Way_from_Chicago
Comments (1)
Archergirl said
at 6:54 pm on Feb 8, 2009
This was defentally one of my favorite books included in this years festival. I loved all of the characters and the crazy adventures. I read this book in one night. I could not help but laugh when Grandma scared the journalist out after going on a shooting spree inside of her house. Normally we do not think as our elders as lieing, stealing, and playing pranks, but those are Grandma Dowel's favorite things to do. I loved how the children were in awe of her and could not believe that this lady was their own grandma. Grandma Dowel is quite a character and at times she made me wonder what kind of a role model she was for her grandchildren, but what she did was to the benifit of others and taught them that it is okay to question authorty at times and to do what they feel is right.
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