A Long Way from Chicago Tough-o-Meter

(4) Base Camp

A Long Way from Chicago tells the story of two kids going to see their grandmother, so a lot of the language is simple and easy to follow. The "novel in stories" format of the book is also simple to follow because each chapter tells of a different story or situation that happens in each subsequent summer that Joey and Mary Alice go to see their Grandma Dowdel.

The complexity in the story comes from the tough (and not-so-fun) depictions of poverty—since this book takes place during the Great Depression and all.