The Runaways

“I hate the food here,” Grandpa said. “ They’ve taken all the joy out of it. Not even the water tastes any good.” “Perhaps you should run away,” I suggested. “I did a lot of that when I was young,” he said. “But I think it’s a bit late now...” But by the time I had to leave for the bus, we’d made a plan.

"A touching, realistic, gently humorous story of how a sensitive boy copes with his treasured grandfather’s decline."

"Autumn-hued illustrations by Crowther (Stories of the Night) juxtapose the dull hospital against glorious piney islands and a light-filled sea. Stark straightforwardly conveys family tensions, end-of-life concerns, and intergenerational adoration alongside an archipelago’s worth of vivid details."

"Deftly drawn and sometimes amusing, the character portrayals are utterly convincing. Expressive full-page illustrations add color to the pages while supporting the story’s tone. An unusual adventure story with a core of mutual grandfather-grandson affection."

"The writing is unflashy and deadpan except for when it’s unflashy and musical. Crowther’s bright, naïve pencil illustrations fit the offbeat text."

Ulf Stark was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1944. He wrote around thirty books for children and young adults, translated into more than twenty languages. He won many prizes in Sweden and internationally, including the German Youth Literature Prize and the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. He was shortlisted for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2018.

Kitty Crowther lives in Belgium. With English and Swedish parents, and born in Brussels, she has written and illustrated over forty books which have been translated into twenty languages and won many awards. In 2010, she received the world’s most prestigious prize for children’s literature: the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

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