Books like A Long Way from Chicago

"I don't think Grandma's a very good influence on us," Mary Alice said. Every August, Joey Dowdel and his kid sister Mary Alice spend a week at their Granny's house. She was so big and the town was so small. She was old too, or so we thought -- old as the hills. And tough! She was tough as an old boot, or so we thought. 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. Over the years, Grandma Dowdel gets the kids involved in all sorts of hilarious adventures - catching criminals, helping some star-crossed lovers elope, and showing up the snooty banker's wife. Grandma is not above stretching the truth or stealing borrowing someone's boat to achieve her goals. The sheriff even calls her a "one-woman crime wave." She may indeed seem to be as tough as a boot - after the first summer, Grandma doesn't even meet the kids at the train station; she figures that they can find their own way to her house, but Joey, Mary Alice, and the reader soon come to realize that she's something of an old softy inside. And she's also one of the most delightful literary characters I've ever encountered.This book has already made the jump onto my favorites list; it's one of those feel-good stories I look forward to reading again and again.