When I was in fifth grade, in a one-room schoolhouse in Wisconsin, we had the most amazing reader. Completely unlike the usual mundane stories offered to children, this was a saga about a family's trip across America, full of adventures and suspense. Runaway Home is the only schoolbook from my childhood that took its place in my heart and imagination, the only one that I had to search for and buy myself a copy to treasure. ( )

One of my very favorite books as a youngster- i must've read it fifty times. Plus, the Tenggren illustrations are marvelous. ( )