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A Long Way from Chicago
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From: Ginny Kruse <ccbcstu>
Date: Mon, 01 Mar 1999 12:10:47 -0600
I'm one of the readers who enjoyed A Long Way from Chicago - a lot!
Why? One reason is that the narrator Joey so obviously grows during the sequence of summer visits to his and Mary Alice's grandmother's home and small town. He grows in understanding his experiences, his sister and Grandma (a most memorable character - actually she's a surprising woman in many respects, which is an understatement to be sure!) The book is both humorous and poignant. I appreciated that.
I also appreciated Peck's construction of this sequence of stories and his great titles for them. So much happened in our nation between 1929 and 1942, and a surprising amount of that change is reflected in the stories in one way or another. The final, very touching two-page episode in which Joe rides on a troop train passing through Grandma's small town during the night reprises much more one immediately realizes - a perfect conclusion.
Has anyone mentioned the claim that most of the chapters can be read separately as works of short fiction? Can they? ...Ginny
********************** Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.soemadison.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) A Library of the School of Education (www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/)
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Received on Mon 01 Mar 1999 12:10:47 PM CST
Date: Mon, 01 Mar 1999 12:10:47 -0600
I'm one of the readers who enjoyed A Long Way from Chicago - a lot!
Why? One reason is that the narrator Joey so obviously grows during the sequence of summer visits to his and Mary Alice's grandmother's home and small town. He grows in understanding his experiences, his sister and Grandma (a most memorable character - actually she's a surprising woman in many respects, which is an understatement to be sure!) The book is both humorous and poignant. I appreciated that.
I also appreciated Peck's construction of this sequence of stories and his great titles for them. So much happened in our nation between 1929 and 1942, and a surprising amount of that change is reflected in the stories in one way or another. The final, very touching two-page episode in which Joe rides on a troop train passing through Grandma's small town during the night reprises much more one immediately realizes - a perfect conclusion.
Has anyone mentioned the claim that most of the chapters can be read separately as works of short fiction? Can they? ...Ginny
********************** Ginny Moore Kruse (gmkruse at ccbc.soemadison.wisc.edu) Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC) A Library of the School of Education (www.soemadison.wisc.edu/ccbc/)
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Received on Mon 01 Mar 1999 12:10:47 PM CST
