A funny, fast moving, and ultimately heartwarming story that will stay with listeners long after its telling has been completed.
Every summer, from the time he was nine, Joey and his sister Mary Alice took the train from Chicago to spend a week with their Grandma in small town Illinois. And when they got there they never knew what to expect, because, you see, Grandma Dowdel was the scandal of the town. As a matter of fact, each year the surprises grew more outrageous with their never predictable grandma.
Newbery Honor Winner
National Book Award Finalist
Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults (American Library Association)
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Reviews
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For those who grew up in storytelling families, there's nothing more comforting than a voice settling in to tell a family tale. A LONG WAY FROM CHICAGO will put you in mind of storytelling afternoons on the front porch. Peck's Newbery Honor title fairly begged to be recorded, for it's the seven episodic chapters--one for each summer that Joey and Mary Alice visit their gun-totin' Grandma Dowdel in her Illinois town--that make the book memorable. Ron McLarty adopts the perfect unruffled tone as he relates the series of outrageous tales, all taking place from 1929 to 1935 and starring the gruff and grumble Grandma Dowdel and her two Chicago grandchildren. A cast of small-town characters--eccentric, pompous, or unpretentious in turn--complements the story. A gem! T.B. (c) AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine
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Are all my memories true? Every word. And growing truer with the years. Joey Dowdel reminisces about the weeks from summers past that he and his sister spent at their Grandma Dowdel's house. Chicago during the gangster years provides the backdrop and counterpoint for a series of adventures in which Grandma emerges "larger than life." Richard Peck's Newbery Honor book is full of assertive characters, exaggeration, understatement, and strong family attachments. Ron McLarty shares his delight in the emergence of Grandma as mastermind and keen judge of character through his skillful development of each summer's episode. Pace, intonation, and emotion are those of an engaged storyteller. Vivid supporting characters also make this performance is rich and full. Be prepared for tears of mirth and tears of compassion. A.R. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
