His Masonic ring had diamond chips in it. He wasn’t but about ten years old, and he wanted to go out and shoot quail with a bunch of older boys. The darkness made me see pinwheels like sparklers. “Come home from the war with a line of medals bigger than his chest.”. “I’m going door-to-door, ma’am. “If you’re here for the long haul,” Grandma said to the reporter, “how about a beer?” He looked encouraged, and Grandma left him to Mrs. Wilcox, which was meant as a punishment. Take them tomatoes off the fire.”. novel. When the book opens, Joey and his sister, Mary Alice, nine and seven, respectively, learn that they will be spending a week every August with Grandma Dowdel. Topics ENGLISH, AWARD WINNING CHILDREN'S BOOK Collection ArvindGupta; JaiGyan Language English. 内容的には、他の人が書いているように豪快なおばあちゃんとの、夏ごとの体験をつづった楽しいお話です。. They couldn’t see Shotgun from there because the coffin lid blocked the view. novel. In eight hilarious episodes spanning the years 1929-1942, she plots outlandish schemes to even the score with various colorful members of her community, including a teenaged vandal, a drunken sheriff and a well-to-do banker. That’s how he got the name, and it stuck to him like flypaper. You could hear the tick of the kitchen clock. “If you’re here for the long haul,” Grandma said to the reporter, “how about a beer?” He looked encouraged, and Grandma left him to Mrs. Wilcox, which was meant as a punishment. I decided to read it with her (got 2 copies). I’m the end my daughter and I both loved it - just ordered he sequel. 3-16 1929 Shotgun Cheatham’s Last Night Above Ground Chicago during the gangster years provides the backdrop and counterpoint for a series of adventures in which Grandma emerges "larger than life." He shot rebels with his old Remington pump-action that he’d used to kill quail back here at home.”. “Much obliged, ma’am,” he said. The story telling is superb and makes you smile now and often. She made that outdoors over an open fire, and she’d put pennies in the caldron to keep it from sticking. Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2015. An old man looks back at the annual trips he made to his grandmother’s house in a … Even though it's technically a 4th grade level and a lower lexile range, I think it can be used through the middle grades. She came back with three of her home brews, cellar-cool. After the second beer the reporter lolled, visions of Shotgun’s Civil War glories no doubt dancing in his head. Average Customer Ratings. I knew I was going to adore All the characters from the start. Shotgun Cheatham’s Last Night Above Ground, You wouldn’t think we’d have to leave Chicago to see a dead body. “‘Last of the Old Owlhoot Gunslingers Goes to a Pauper’s Grave.’ That kind of angle. Many readers will recognize the irreverent, contrary voices of their own family legends across generations.”, “Each tale is a small masterpiece of storytelling.”. A Long Way from Chicago Questions and Answers. Grandma reached down for something in her sewing basket. Every word, and growing truer with the years. He thought he’d hit pay dirt with Grandma. Now includes a digital version great for distance learning. 12 terms. Given the number of reviews already here, I would not have bothered except that Amazon sells two slightly different editions of it -- at the same price -- and one is slightly larger, and thus easier to read. It was only a short block of brick buildings: the bank, the insurance agency, Moore’s Store, and The Coffee Pot Cafe, where the old saloon had stood. Please try again. Grandma had flung open every window, but there was a peculiar smell in the room. . The reporter backed down the porch stairs, staggering under all this new material. He was the … She made that outdoors over an open fire, and she’d put pennies in the caldron to keep it from sticking. This book is so great, every kid should read these. She’s got a grudge against the world,” said Grandma, who was no oil painting herself. Case in point, this short little novel that can be breezed through in an afternoon, yet contains some of the most outrageous and funny stories you'll ever hear about living in the countryside during the early years of the 20th century. Of course the reporter had been lied to big-time up at the cafe, but Grandma’s lies were more interesting, even historical. It is truly a classic, the characters are wonderful. Joey Dowdel reminisces about the weeks from summers past that he and his sister spent at their Grandma Dowdel's house. Ma’am, I wonder if you could help me flesh out the story some.”, “Well, I got flesh to spare,” Grandma said mildly. “Part vaudeville act, part laconic tall tale, the stories, with their dirty tricks and cunning plots, make you laugh out loud at the farce and snicker at the reversals. This didn’t stop the reporter who was haunting the parlor, looking for more flesh to add to his story. . (she was big, town was small – she was old, rough as an old boot) Page 1 Chapter 1 pp. With the tall talk, irony, insult, and vulgarity, there’s also a heartfelt sense of the Depression’s time and place. Mary Alice and I carried the tale home that a suspicious type had come off the train in citified clothes and a stiff straw hat. I have read this one as well as the sequel, A Year Down Yonder, to my fifth and sixth grade classrooms and every year, they have loved it. It was an instant hit for me. He fumbled his notepad out and was scribbling. He might have made it unnoticed all the way to the grave except for his name. “Mrs. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. “Keep just behind me,” she whispered. I was Joey then, not Joe: Joey Dowdel, and my sister was Mary Alice. Then you can start reading Kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required. “Oh well, he’d sold off them medals and give the money to war widows and orphans.”, A change crossed the reporter’s narrow face. "A rollicking celebration of an eccentric grandmother and childhood memories". It was always August when we spent a week with our grandma. A Long Way from Chicago is a "novel in stories" (or short story cycle) by Richard Peck. When the book opens, Joey and his sister, Mary Alice, nine and seven, respectively, learn that they will be spending a week every August with Grandma Dowdel. He’ll spend his last night above ground in my front room, and you’re invited.”. With the tall talk, irony, insult, and vulgarity, there's also a heartfelt sense of the Depression's time and place, when a knot of people wait outside the store for the day-old bread to become half price, and Grandma defies the sheriff, poaches catfish, and fries it up to feed the Depression drifters with her home-brewed beer ("They didn't thank her. Peck (Strays Like Us) first created the inimitable central figure of this novel in a previously published short story. Philanthropist, even. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Reading For Comprehension Series by Lee Ann Berg - A Long Way From Chicago - www.readingforcomprehension.com Prologue p. 1 What did Joey think of Grandma while he was growing up? Perfect for reading aloud, A Long Way from Chicago is a great choice for family sharing. This is such a fun book to read. Please try again. “When I told Daddy that Shotgun had been decorated by U. S. Grant and wounded three times at Bull Run, it brought it all back to him, and we had to come.” Her old daddy wore a forage cap and a decoration from the Grand Army of the Republic, and he seemed to have no idea where he was. Mary Alice hated that. A Long Way from Chicago tells of the small town life. . And Grandma. It stood just across from the cobhouse, a tumbledown shed full of stuff left there in Grandpa Dowdel’s time. However, when I moved to teaching high school, I donated all the middle school books. In seven short stories, one for each summer, Grandma lies, cheats, trespasses, and contrives to help the town underdogs (including her own worst enemy) outwit the banker, the Holy Rollers, and the establishment. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. This book is beautiful, hilarious and a quick read. This didn’t stop the reporter who was haunting the parlor, looking for more flesh to add to his story. Mary Alice nudged me hard, and the reporter’s eyes widened. Up at the lumberyard they’d be knocking together Shotgun Cheatham’s coffin and sending the bill to the county, and Grandma had to tell them to bring that coffin to her house, with Shotgun in it. Lighthearted, funny, and very entertaining. “They tell you that?” Grandma said. I knew I was going to adore All the characters from the start. People stood out on their porches to see the train go through. A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories Richard Peck, Author Dial Books $16.99 (148p) ISBN 978-0-8037-2290-3. This is such a fun book to read. Bring your club to Amazon Book Clubs, start a new book club and invite your friends to join, or find a club that’s right for you for free. He couldn’t hit a barn wall from the inside, and he had a sty in one eye. Social Science. Are all my memories true? Presently she said, “I’ll tell you what that reporter’s after. Remarkable and fine. Shiloh in the spring of sixty-two, and he was with U. S. Grant when Vicksburg fell. We hadn’t seen anything of her since we were tykes. “A real old, humped-over lady with buck teeth,” Mary Alice said. “I’ll tell you how Shotgun got his name. 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 … Loved it. But these circumstances weren’t normal, and quite a bit had already been recalled about Shotgun Cheatham anyway. Grandpa Dowdel had been well thought of, but he was long gone. Most farmers came to town horse-drawn, though there were Fords, and the banker, L. J. Weidenbach, drove a Hupmobile. . But that was before they buried Shotgun Cheatham. A Long Way From Chicago, 1931-1932. Prohibition was on in those days, which meant that selling liquor was against the law. Mary Alice had turned loose of my shirttail. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. “Warm, ain’t it?” she said straight at him, but looking everywhere. Mary Alice said there was nothing to do and nobody to do it with, so she’d tag after me, though I was two years older and a boy. Take them tomatoes off the fire.”. The county seat newspaper didn’t want to run an obituary on anybody called Shotgun, but nobody knew any other name for him. She wasn’t what you’d call a popular woman. But note slight format change, Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2010. Grandma had flung open every window, but there was a peculiar smell in the room. And Grandma wasn’t on the telephone. In normal circumstances the family recalls stories about the departed to pass the long night hours. I followed her across the room to the kitchen. No, we had to travel all the way down to our Grandma Dowdel’s before we ever set eyes on a corpse. “Cross-eyed?” Grandma said. And it didn’t stop Mrs. L. J. Weidenbach, the banker’s wife, who came leading her father, an ancient codger half her size in full Civil War Union blue. Presently she said, “I’ll tell you what that reporter’s after. A Long Way From Chicago Novel Study will engage your students with thought-provoking, standards-aligned learning activities. “He broke Effie Wilcox’s heart. “Now I’ve got to change my shoes and walk all the way up to the lumberyard in this heat,” she said, as if she hadn’t brought it all on herself. “He was always a crack shot,” she said, winding down. I teach 6-8th grade reading intervention and my students love this book! In most cases, items shipped from Amazon.com may be returned for a full refund. So did Mary Alice, once she was sure the snaggletoothed tom wasn’t lurking around out there, waiting to pounce. A funny and wacky series of stories about one of the coolest grandmas ever, Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2016. Other. A charming book adults will enjoy reading to children. I followed her across the room to the kitchen. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It was always August when we spent a week with our grandma. A Year Down Yonderby: Richard Peck 2001 Newbery Medal Winner The sequel to A Long Way From Chicago. “Anyhow, them Jameses was Missouri people.”, “They were telling the reporter Shotgun killed a man and went to the penitentiary.”, “Several around here done that,” Grandma said, “though I don’t recall him being out of town any length of time. “He broke Effie Wilcox’s heart. . “A real old, humped-over lady with buck teeth,” Mary Alice said. However, when I moved to teaching high school, I donated all the middle school books. A Long Way from Chicago - Chapter 7 Summary & Analysis Richard Peck This Study Guide consists of approximately 30 pages of chapter summaries, quotes, character analysis, themes, and more - everything you need to sharpen your knowledge of A Long Way from Chicago. I have read this one as well as the sequel, A Year Down Yonder, to my fifth and sixth grade classrooms and every year, they have loved it. But note slight format change, Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2010. Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video! As the years went by, though, Mary Alice and I grew up, and though Grandma never changed, we’d seem to see a different woman every summer. About A Long Way From Chicago What happens when Joey and his sister, Mary Alice–two city slickers from Chicago–make their annual summer visits to Grandma Dowdel’s seemingly sleepy Illinois town? . ! In eight vignettes, one for each summer from 1929 - 1935, with the final story set when Joey's troop train passes through in 1942, Peck (Strays Like Us, 1998) weaves a wry tale that ranges from humorous to poignant. The viewpoint is adult--elderly Joe is looking back now at the changes he saw in those seven years--but many young people will recognize the irreverent, contrary voices of their own family legends across generations. “He got it in the Civil War.”. He stuck out a mile and was asking around about Shotgun Cheatham. Great Book! The story telling is superb and makes you smile now and often. Readers will be eager to join the trio of Grandma, Joey and Mary Alice on such escapades as preparing an impressive funeral for Shotgun Cheatham, catching fish from a stolen boat and arranging the elopement of Vandalia Eubanks and Junior Stubbs. “Warm, ain’t it?” she said straight at him, but looking everywhere. However, Grandma Dowdel uses her wit and ability to tell whoppers to get the best of manipulative people or those who put on airs. Are all my memories true? Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations, Select the department you want to search in, No Import Fees Deposit & $9.48 Shipping to Singapore. “And he never married?”, “Never did,” Grandma said. She kept a twelve-gauge double-barreled Winchester Model 21 behind the woodbox, but we figured it had been Grandpa Dowdel’s for shooting ducks. Then there was the quietest sound you ever heard. Loved it. Part vaudeville act, part laconic tall tale, the stories, with their dirty tricks and cunning plots, make you laugh out loud at the farce and snicker at the reversals. So did Mary Alice, once she was sure the snaggletoothed tom wasn’t lurking around out there, waiting to pounce. They were out there in a pasture without a quail in sight, but Shotgun got all excited being with the big boys. “Ma’am, I’m making inquiries about the late Shotgun Cheatham.” He shuffled his feet, wanting to get one of them in the door. “And he never married?”, “Never did,” Grandma said. “I’ll tell you how Shotgun got his name. Grandma Dowdel is not a good influence--and that's one good reason why Joey likes visiting her. Case in point, this short little novel that can be breezed through in an afternoon, yet contains some of the most outrageous and funny stories you'll ever hear about living in the countryside during the early years of the 20th century. It brought me around, and I saw Grandma sit forward and cock her head. It was only a short block of brick buildings: the bank, the insurance agency, Moore’s Store, and The Coffee Pot Cafe, where the old saloon had stood. A.R. Shotgun didn’t hold with government-issue firearms. Shotgun Cheatham's Last Night Above Ground (1929) Even though Joey and Mary Alice live in Chicago during the time of Al Capone, they have yet to see a real live dead person. He squeezed off a round and killed a cow. They couldn’t see Shotgun from there because the coffin lid blocked the view. And Grandma wasn’t on the telephone. A Long Way from Chicago is a composite novel. “Who’s been talking to you?”, “Ugly as sin, calls herself Wilcox?” Grandma said. 21 terms. In each pitcher she’d stuck an American flag. Grandma had already heard it on the grapevine that Shotgun was no more, though she wasn’t the first person people ran to with news. RICHARD PECK (1934-2018) was born in Decatur, Illinois and lived in New York City for nearly 50 years. Then who appeared at the front door but Mrs. Effie Wilcox, in a hat. What little we knew about grown-ups didn’t seem to cover Grandma. The people in the yard still couldn’t believe Grandma was holding open house. Simply wonderful. The grandma is a super cheap lady that never wastes anything and takes crap off no one. As the years went by, though, Mary Alice and I grew up, and though Grandma never changed, we’d seem to see a different woman every summer. Some images used in this set are licensed under the Creative Commons through Flickr.com. Then she drew up a chair next to the reporter. 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Against the law stop the reporter lolled, visions of Shotgun ’ s Civil war glories no doubt dancing his. But the gauze that hung down over the place title for some years in my front room, I! “ never did, ” said Grandma, Effie Wilcox, to drink in... Phantom Breakman, Mary Alice nudged me hard, and he had it on good that! --, `` are all my memories true have expected her worst enemy, Effie Wilcox, to alcohol... After viewing product detail pages, look here to pay our respects at this time!