Reuben Runs Away

Reuben, a teddy bear, believes he isn't always treated with the respect he deserves. Sometimes Anna, his owner, washes him in the sink, then hangs him from the clothes line; sometimes she tosses him out of her treehouse with a hankerchief parachute. On the day that Reuben's ear is chewed up by Anna's dog, he has had enough. Reuben runs away to the city and discovers that life at home probably wasn't as terrible as he had thought. Galbraith has created a quietly comforting bookReuben's problem of returning home is satisfactorily resolved. In jovial watercolors that depict a world that is mostly warm and secure, Reuben's learning that home is best is no new lesson, but certainly one that, in these pages, bears repeating. Ages 3-7. (Mar.)