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| Cover of my copy of The New Runaway Home (1954 Edition). Illustrations by Gustaf Tenggren. |
A few years ago, I thought it might be fun to buy an RV and travel cross country to see the sights when I retire. The New Runaway Home (The Alice and Jerry Books) by Elizabeth Coatsworth gave me a sense of what that might be like.
The book is about the Harding family's adventures as they travel from Maine to Tacoma, Washington. Father is a portrait painter but business has not been great lately, Fortunately, his Uncle John invites them to join him on his apple farm in Tacoma since they will eventually inherit it anyway. So they sell their house, buy a small house trailer and hit the road to Washington state. Many adventures along the way.
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| Mother reads Uncle John's letter to Mark, Father, Lucy, & Persia |
The Harding family consists of Father (Jim), Mother, Mark (17), Jim (aka Bumble), and Lucy and her cat Persia. The story begins in March and ends on Christmas day (i.e., 10 months).
I found this book at a used book sale recently. It wasn't on my list and I didn't know anything about it but I was attracted by the illustrated cover and similar illustrations throughout the book as well as black & white pictures. The book was illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren who is known for his work with Disney and Little Golden Books (e.g., The Poky Little Puppy). Originally from Sweden, Gustaf immigrated to the US when he was 24 and joined his sister in Cleveland.
The book was originally published in 1942 as The Runaway Home. My copy is a 1954 edition now titled, The New Runaway Home. Apparently, the book is intended for 6th graders (Sixth Reader). It is 384 pages including a Glossary and a work list consisting of 1,059 words that were not in previous books of the series.
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| Persia the cat is rescued from a hawk. |
The Hardings adventures include New York City, the Outer Banks (NC), New Orleans, Ozarks, Denver, Sante Fe (NM), Inscription Rock (NM), a dude ranch (AZ), see the swallows of San Juan Capistrano, a stunt double in a movie, wildfire in California, Lucy almost dies on a beach in CA, and end up in Washington in time for Christmas dinner with Uncle John.
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| Merry Christmas Uncle John. We made it. |
I really enjoy these children's books because they are easy, with wonderful illustrations, and pretty good stories too. Relaxing and enjoyable. Would love to take a trip like this someday.
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Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustaf_Tenggren
https://www.scenicusa.net/081606.html
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Written Saturday 21 December 2019.
https://www.scenicusa.net/081606.html
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Written Saturday 21 December 2019.