A Long Way from Chicago
Encyclopedia
A Long Way from Chicago is a "novel in stories" (or short story cycle
) by Richard Peck. It was awarded the Newbery Honor in 1999. Peck's sequel to this book, A Year Down Yonder
, won the Newbery Medal
for children's literature in 2001.
"Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground - 1929" (originally printed in Twelve Shots: Stories About Guns, edited by Harry Mazer,1997).
The first summer they went to their grandmother's house alone a reporter was doing a report on Shotgun. Grandma held an open house for Shotgun and lied to the reporter by saying he was a war hero. Grandma's enemy Effie Wilcox came too but then the coffin started to move, Ms. Wilcox and the reporter ran out but it was the cat who moved the case.
"The Mouse in the Milk - 1930".
The next summer, the Cowgill boys were tormenting the town and blew up Grandma's mailbox! Grandma told one of the boys she wasn't going to be home at her daily milk delivery and knew they were going to steal something from her. That night she turned the lights off and waited for them to come and steal, she caught them and had Joey get their parents. Grandma told Mr.Cowgill that if his boys wouldn't stop she would tell everyone that she found a mouse in her milk and run his business to the ground, and then she pointed to her evidence.
"A One-Woman Crime Wave - 1931". Grandma uses traps(which are illegal) to get catfish from the lake while using the sheriff's boat which she stole to feed the drifters.
"The Day of Judgment - 1932". Grandma's gooseberry pie goes up against Rupert Pennypacker's to win her town's honour and a flight in a biplane.
"The Phantom Brakeman - 1933". Mismatched families of local lovers converge on Grandma's house and she uses an old ghost story to aid them.
"Things with Wings - 1934". While Joey is having a love affair with a Hudson Terraplane 8, Grandma is finding a way to force banker Weidenbach to return Mrs. Effie Wilcox to her foreclosed home with rumours of Abraham Lincoln.
"Centennial Summer - 1935". Grandma has a showdown with Mrs. Weidenbach about whose family has the most talent and the county's oldest living citizen.
"The Troop Train - 1942". Joey, now Joe and in the Army Air Corps, is heading through Grandma's town on a train and hopes to catch a glimpse and a wave of this strong woman as he goes off to fight in World War II.
Short story cycle
A short story cycle is a collection of short stories in which the narratives are specifically composed and arranged with the goal of creating an enhanced or different experience when reading the group as a whole as opposed to its individual parts...
) by Richard Peck. It was awarded the Newbery Honor in 1999. Peck's sequel to this book, A Year Down Yonder
A Year Down Yonder
A Year Down Yonder is a novel by Richard Peck that won the Newbery Medal in 2001. It is a sequel to A Long Way from Chicago, which itself received a Newbery Honor.-Plot:...
, won the Newbery Medal
Newbery Medal
The John Newbery Medal is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association . The award is given to the author of the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children. The award has been given since 1922. ...
for children's literature in 2001.
Plot Summary
The stories involve several week-long vacations two children, Joey and Mary Alice Dowdel, spend with their resilient and crafty grandmother in rural Illinois."Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground - 1929" (originally printed in Twelve Shots: Stories About Guns, edited by Harry Mazer,1997).
The first summer they went to their grandmother's house alone a reporter was doing a report on Shotgun. Grandma held an open house for Shotgun and lied to the reporter by saying he was a war hero. Grandma's enemy Effie Wilcox came too but then the coffin started to move, Ms. Wilcox and the reporter ran out but it was the cat who moved the case.
"The Mouse in the Milk - 1930".
The next summer, the Cowgill boys were tormenting the town and blew up Grandma's mailbox! Grandma told one of the boys she wasn't going to be home at her daily milk delivery and knew they were going to steal something from her. That night she turned the lights off and waited for them to come and steal, she caught them and had Joey get their parents. Grandma told Mr.Cowgill that if his boys wouldn't stop she would tell everyone that she found a mouse in her milk and run his business to the ground, and then she pointed to her evidence.
"A One-Woman Crime Wave - 1931". Grandma uses traps(which are illegal) to get catfish from the lake while using the sheriff's boat which she stole to feed the drifters.
"The Day of Judgment - 1932". Grandma's gooseberry pie goes up against Rupert Pennypacker's to win her town's honour and a flight in a biplane.
"The Phantom Brakeman - 1933". Mismatched families of local lovers converge on Grandma's house and she uses an old ghost story to aid them.
"Things with Wings - 1934". While Joey is having a love affair with a Hudson Terraplane 8, Grandma is finding a way to force banker Weidenbach to return Mrs. Effie Wilcox to her foreclosed home with rumours of Abraham Lincoln.
"Centennial Summer - 1935". Grandma has a showdown with Mrs. Weidenbach about whose family has the most talent and the county's oldest living citizen.
"The Troop Train - 1942". Joey, now Joe and in the Army Air Corps, is heading through Grandma's town on a train and hopes to catch a glimpse and a wave of this strong woman as he goes off to fight in World War II.