A Long Way From Chicago - Richard Peck

A Newbery Honor Book

A summer they'll never forget.

Each summer Joey and his sister, Mary Alice-two city slickers from Chicago-visit Grandma Dowdel's seemingly sleepy Illinois town. Soon enough, they find that it's far from sleepy...and Grandma is far from your typical grandmother. From seeing their first corpse (and he isn't resting easy) to helping Grandma trespass, catch the sheriff in his underwear, and feed the hungry-all in one day-Joey and Mary Alice have nine summers they'll never forget!


"A rollicking celebration of an eccentric grandmother and childhood memories." -School Library Journal, starred review

"Each tale is a small masterpiece of storytelling." -The Horn Book, starred review

"Grandma Dowdel embodies not only the heart of a small town but the spirit of an era gone by...Remarkable and fine." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review

A Newbery Honor Book
A National Book Award Finalist
An ALA Notable Book
An ALA Best Book for Young Adults

RICHARD PECK (1934-2018) was born in Decatur, Illinois and lived in New York City for nearly 50 years. The acclaimed author of 35 novels for children and young adults, he won the Newbery Medal for A Year Down Yonder, a Newbery Honor for A Long Way from Chicago, the Scott O'Dell Award for The River Between Us, the Edgar Allen Poe Award for Are You in the House Alone?, a Boston Globe-Horn BookAward Honor for The Best Man, and the Christopher Medal for The Teacher's Funeral. He was the first children's author ever to have been awarded a National Humanities Medal, and was twice a National Book Award Finalist.