Runaway Ralph

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 of his adventures when he runs away on his mouse-sized motorcycle.

Ralph's destination is a summer camp, for medium-sized boys and girls, where he hopes crumbs are dropped from many peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. After an exciting ride through the night, the intrepid Ralph arrives. Instead of finding freedom. however, he lands in a cage, doing endless loop the loops on his exercise wheel. A lonely boy named Garf brings him sunflower seeds and water, but there is no communication between the two. How Ralph and 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 an amusing tour de force. On another, she says something important about running away that is all the more effective because it is unobtrusive. (front flap)