Runaway Ralph (U)

One of the most popular characters ever created by Beverly Cleary is the small brown mouse named Ralph, whose modest appearance disguises the soul of a daredevil. Now he returns in a book that tells how he runs away from home on his mouse-sized motorcycle in search of freedom and adventure.Ralph's destination is a summer camp, where he hopes crumbs from peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches will be plentiful. But instead of finding freedom, he lands in a cage, doing endless loop the loops on an exercise wheel. The story of how Ralph and a lonely boy named Garf discover they speak the same language involves a villainous cat, a grouchy hamster, and many campers. Each episode is funnier than the last.On one level, Mrs. Cleary's story is a delightful tour de force. On another, it delivers a message about running away that is all the more effective because it is unobtrusive.Horn BookThe same combination of simplicity, realistic detail, ingenuity, and humor that made The Mouse and the Motorcycle a resounding success.