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Alfie Runs Away

By

Kenneth M. Cadow, illustrated by Lauren Castillo
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010. Unpaged. Picture Book.

There are several things around the house Alfie doesn't like to do, but when his Mom decides to give away his favorite shoes because they are too small, he's had it. "I'm going to run away," he tells her. She tells him not to run away in those shoes because they are too small for him. "They are not," he says and giving in to the inevitable, she helps him get ready. Will he need a flashlight? does he want his stuffed bear? will he need a drink of water? Alfie and Buddy Bear make it part way across the back yard when Alfie decides to stop because his feet hurt. When he and Buddy have had crackers and peanut butter, have read a story, and Alfie is hot and uncomfortable he looks in his sack for the hug his mother packed for him, and there she is coming across the lawn to give it to him! A delightful story of a determined young man and a wise mother, this story should appeal to young children as well as their parents who ran away in their day, too. (And Buddy Bear's new red shoes fit him quite well, thank you very much.)
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