Maw Books Blog

About four years ago, I had the pleasure of listening to Richard Peck present a variety of workshops about writing.  Ever since then, I’ve been meaning to pick up something that he wrote.  It took me a while but I finally did.

A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck is a 1999 Newbery Honor book (see entire Newbery list here).  The book spans the time between 1929 and 1934 where Joey and his sister Mary Alice from Chicago are sent to visit with their “crazy old” grandma for a week each summer.  The novel loosely connects each summer as a different story.  At first, Joey and Mary Alice are apprehensive but as each summer arrives they are more and more eager to visit.  And why wouldn’t they?  Grandma gives them one crazy adventure after another.

There’s the time Grandma fires  a twelve-gauge Winchester out their living room window during a casket-side vigil, the time she put mice into their delivered milk, she also cheats in order to win the pie baking contest, and trys unsuccessfully to gain altitude in a two-seater airplane.  Joey and Mary Alice never know what their Grandma is going to do next.  And neither is the reader, which is what makes this such a fun read.

Richard Peck knows how to tell a story and keep the reader engaged.  I loved Grandma.    She’s strict, sassy, clever, bold and has the whole town scared of her.   She’s the type of Grandma you almost wish you had but thank your lucky stars that you don’t.  The only thing counting against this book is the cover which I don’t think gets kids begging to pick it up.  If you can get past that, there’s a great story inside that will keep you wanting more.  Luckily there is.  My review of the sequel, A Year Down Yonder, coming up next.