A Long Way from Chicago

I'm taking a class for state teacher certification.  Among other assignments, we are to read kids' books.  One that I chose was A Long Way from Chicago (Richard Peck, 2004).  One reason I was intrigued by this book was its setting in Central Illinois.  The author grew up in Decatur, IL, so he is writing about an area familiar to him.

A Long Way from Chicago describes annual summer visits Joey Dowdel and his sister Mary Alice make to their grandma's home "downstate".  Each chapter chronicles events of the summer from 1929 to 1942 when the siblings are away from their home and parents in Chicago and living with feisty Grandma Dowdel.  At times Grandma engages in more shenanigans than the kids!  The chapters are like short stories and are engaging although, at times, a bit hokey.  The reviewer in this video is more optimistic about the book than I was when reading it.