The year is 1893, and the World Columbian Exposition is opening in Chicago. For 13-year-old Rosie Beckett, who lives with her family on a rural Illinois farm, the Exposition might as well be in a different country. The expense and extravagance of traveling all the way to Chicago is unimaginable. However, when Aunt Euterpe sends train tickets for Rosie, her older sister Lottie, and their younger brother Buster to visit her in Chicago and attend the Exposition, Rosie’s horizon broadens in unanticipated ways. The siblings’ eccentric and uninvited Grandfather accompanies them on their journey. The four of them dive headlong into all the Exposition has to offer. At the same time, the sisters plot to deliver Aunt Euterpe from her prolonged period of mourning, and alleviate her feelings of exclusion from Chicago high society. Grandpa and Buster provide comic relief, while Rosie and Lottie hold their own in an unfamiliar urban setting, returning home both enriched, and appreciative of their unique family. Cameo appearances by historical figures Buffalo Bill and Lillian Russell add to the rich historical setting. (Ages 10–15)

Thirteen-year-old Rosie Beckett has never strayed further from her family's farm than a horse can pull a cart. Then a letter from her Aunt Euterpe arrives, and everything changes. It's 1893, the year of the World's Columbian Exposition-the "wonder of the age"-a.k.a. the Chicago World's Fair. Aunt Euterpe is inviting the Becketts to come for a visit and go to the fair! Award-winning author Richard Peck's fresh, realistic, and fun-filled writing truly brings the World's Fair-and Rosie and her family-to life.