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A rollicking celebration of an eccentric grandmother and childhood memories. Set in the 1930s, the book follows Joe and Mary Alice Dowdel as they make their annual August trek to visit their grandmother who lives in a sleepy Illinois town somewhere between Chicago and St. Louis. A woman with plenty of moxie, she keeps to herself, a difficult task in this small community. However, Grandma Dowdel uses her wit and ability to tell whoppers to get the best of manipulative people or those who put on airs. She takes matters into her own hands to intimidate a father who won't control his unruly sons, and forces the bank to rescind a foreclosure on an elderly woman's house. Whether it's scaring a pretentious newspaper man back to the city or stealing the sheriff's boat and sailing right past him as he drunkenly dances with his buddies at the Rod & Gun Club, she never ceases to amaze her grandchildren with her gall and cunning behavior. Each chapter resembles a concise short story. Peck's conversational style has a true storyteller's wit, humor, and rhythm. Joe, the narrator, is an adult looking back on his childhood memories; in the prologue, readers are reminded that while these tales may seem unbelievable, "all memories are true." Perfect for reading aloud, A Long Way from Chicago is a great choice for family sharing.

理查德·派克所著的《远离芝加哥的地方》是一本短篇故事集，记录了乔伊和妹妹玛丽童年时暑期到乡下去看望老奶奶的有趣经历。面对各种困难，老奶奶的乐观与豁达使两个孩子增添了信心，渡过了难关。老奶奶爱吹牛、爱抠门儿、不按常规行事、不向富贵权势低头、具有侠义心肠的形象被塑造得异常丰满。老奶奶并不完美、独具魅力的人生，让孩子们感受着该如何做人，如何生存。《远离芝加哥的地方》荣获1999年国际纽伯瑞儿童文学银奖，进入全美图书大奖的决选名单，还获得了美国图书馆协会颁发的青少年最佳图书奖