Grandpa is stuck in the hospital after a bad fall, and he’s not happy about it. He swears a lot, makes unreasonable demands of his nurses, and complains about the food. When Gottfried Junior suggests they run away together, Grandpa likes the idea. He wants to make a final trip to the house on the Stockholm archipelago where he and his late wife lived. Gottfried, who is white, plans the escape down to the last detail: He concocts a story about an overnight football team trip (dirtying his uniform convincingly), convinces his mother to make him some meatballs (Grandpa’s favorite), and arranges for the young butcher’s assistant to drive them. At his old home, Grandpa collects the final jar of homemade lingonberry jam from the cellar and takes a moment to reflect on the life he had with his beloved wife. Gottfried Junior is sensitive, patient, and accepting of his grandfather for who and how he is. The two come to terms with the fact that Grandpa is nearing the end of his life in this tender yet humorous story originally published in Sweden. (Ages 7–11)

"The Runaways is an adventure filled with warmth and humor from one of the world's great writers. Grandpa's in the hospital and hating it. He swears at the nurses and makes trouble for everyone. Dad finds it too stressful to visit, but Gottfried Junior visits Grandpa as often as he's allowed, and when he's not allowed, he goes anyway. Grandpa thinks only of the place he was happiest--the island where he lived with Grandma before she died. He wants to go back one last time, but they won't let him out of the hospital. Gottfried Junior and Grandpa take things into their own hands. If running away is the only way to get to the island, then they'll be runaways."--Page 2 of cover.