Fiction:
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A Long Way from Chicago: A Novel in Stories by Richard Peck
Kindle | Audiobook | Paperback | Hardcover | Audio CD
Joe and Mary Alice Dowdel go to visit their lively grandmother who lives in a sleepy Illinois town during the 1930’s.
- Age Range: 8 – 12 years
- Publisher: Puffin Books (April 12, 2004)
- ISBN-10: 0142401102
- ISBN-13: 978-0142401101
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
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Mary Alice Dowdel spends a year with her grandmother, in a follow-up to A Long Way from Chicago.
- Age Range: 8 – 12 years
- Publisher: Puffin Books; Reprint edition (November 21, 2002)
- ISBN-10: 0142300705
Project Mulberry by Linda Sue Park
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Set in Plainfield, Illinois, Julia Song and her friend Patrick raise silkworms for their science fair project. Will their neighbor help?
- Age Range: 8 – 12 years
- Publisher: Yearling; Reissue edition (January 23, 2007)
- ISBN-10: 0440421632
- ISBN-13: 978-0440421634
Rosie in Chicago: Play Ball! by Carol Matas
Historical fiction set in Chicago in the early 1900’s, featuring Rosie as a young girl who disguises herself as a boy to fill in for an injured player on the baseball team.
- Age Range: 9 – 12 years
- Publisher: Aladdin (November 11, 2003)
- ISBN-10: 0689857152
- ISBN-13: 978-0689857157
Nonfiction:
Exquisite: The Poetry and Life of Gwendolyn Brooks by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Cozbi A. Cabrera
A lovely picture book biography of Gwendolyn Brooks, who grew up in Chicago and was the poet laureate of Illinois in 1958.
Reading age : 6 – 9 years
Publisher : Harry N. Abrams; Illustrated edition (April 7, 2020)
ISBN-10 : 1419734113
ISBN-13 : 978-1419734113
L Is for Lincoln: An Illinois Alphabet by Kathy-jo Wargin and illustrated by Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen
Kindle | Paperback | Hardcover
Part of the Discover America State by State series, learn about diverse aspects of Illinois, from famous presidents to John Deere tractors.
- Reading age : 6 – 9 years
- Publisher : Sleeping Bear Press; 1st edition (October 9, 2000)
- ISBN-10 : 1585360163
- ISBN-13 : 978-1585360161
W is for Windy City: A Chicago City Alphabet by Deborah Dover Layne, Steven L. Layne and illustrated by Judy MacDonald
Take a “tour” of Chicago, seeing such famous locations as the Shedd Aquarium, the Art Institute, Michigan Avenue’s mile-long Magnificent Mile, or Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs.
- Reading age : 6 – 9 years
- Publisher : Sleeping Bear Press; 2nd Print edition (April 8, 2010)
- ISBN-10 : 1585364207
- ISBN-13 : 978-1585364206
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