Runaway Ralph

Runaway Ralph

File:Runaway Ralph.jpg First edition
Author	Beverly Cleary
Illustrator	Louis Darling
Country	United States
Language	English
Series	The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Publisher	William Morrow
Publication date	1970
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
Pages	192 pp
ISBN	0-380-70953-8
OCLC	25097417
Preceded by	The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Followed by	Ralph S. Mouse

Runaway Ralph is the second in a children's novel trilogy written by Beverly Cleary, first published in 1970.

Plot summary

Fed up with his bratty family, Ralph the mouse hops onto his toy motorcycle and speeds down the road away from the Mountain View Inn toward Happy Acres Camp, where he encounters Sam, a nosy watchdog, and is captured by a boy named Garfield (or Garf) and kept as a pet. Separated from his motorcycle, Ralph must endure life in a cage with an annoying hamster named Chum. Over time, Ralph and Garf form a relationship similar to the one Ralph and Keith had in the original book in the series.

Ralph's adventures at Happy Acres Camp include escapades with an evil cat, the return of a missing watch, the escape from his cage, and being reunited with his beloved motorcycle. He eventually begins feeling homesick and strikes a bargain with Garf: return the motorcycle and bring him back to the Mountain View Inn, in exchange for clearing Garf's name (the rest of the children at Happy Acres Camp believe Garf was the one who took the missing watch). Eventually the watch is returned, and Garf reassures Ralph that he will go back home the next day.

Animated adaptation

Churchill Films produced an adaptation of Runaway Ralph directed by Ron Underwood in 1988. The film was distributed by Strand Home Video in 1991 and by Anchor Bay Entertainment in 1999.

External links

• Runaway Ralph at IMDb (1988)