4 out of 4 stars
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I'm Running Away! is a short, illustrated children's book about the pains of being a middle child. Told in rhyming couplets the story follows Sam, a boy who simply never gets any attention from his family. When he can't take it anymore, he decides to run away immediately!
After Sam decides to run away, he has to figure out what he needs to pack. A backpack doesn't have much space for packing, so Sam has to be selective, but not so selective he can pass up his share of the toy cars or his height chart that shows off his growth. He wants cookies and milk too but ponders how to put milk in a backpack. On his way out the door he's caught and ends up receiving a surprise that makes him feel special, leading him to change his mind about running away.
The idea of running away to make a point is one that I can personally relate to very well. I grew up in Chicago where public transportation could get you anywhere you wanted to go. With such an easy way to get fun places (like the mall) I too decided to run away. I didn't want to run forever, just a few days, and took only my backpack (like Sam!). After a few hours of boredom I felt bad and returned home, returning at the same time my father did when he was out looking for me. Things went about as expected - he was far more elated to see me than angry I left, and I felt so bad about doing it that I never thought about it again. The reason I mention all of this is that when Sam says "When they notice I'm gone, what will they say?", I 100% relate to it. These 9 words pack a lot of punch, and they brought me back to my teens when I did the same. While the book is short (12 pages each of alternating images and text), it packs a lot of emotion and a good lesson.
I enjoyed the art in I'm Running Away! as well. Illustrated by Lynn Costelloe, all the art in the book is clearly hand-drawn. It also pulls off matching emotions with the text from author Lisa Beere, highlighting Sam's loneliness as his siblings get all of the attention from his parents. The writing is also done well, and the rhyming flow of the writing is done well. Between the art and the rhymes it's very fitting for reading to young ones and showing off the images. The recommended age on Amazon is listed as 3-8 years old which is perfect both for the way this book is written and for the ages that seem most likely to have a new sibling added to the family.
Above all, I'm Running Away! is the perfect book for a middle child. Middle Child Syndrome is a real, studied thing that many middle children experience as they feel ignored and grow resentful and jealous of their siblings. Lisa, the author, also mentions that she wrote this book to help parents with any child going through the "adjustment period" of a new sibling, like when she had her own second child. A child who is used to getting all of the attention can have just as much trouble, or even more, when a new baby is brought into the family. In these situations, I highly recommend I'm Running Away!. My official rating of the book is 4 out of 4 stars, although I wish Sam would've been able to run away for a bit to show that successfully running away isn't all it's cracked up to be.
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I'm Running Away!
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