Banjo is about to tuck into his sausage when it jumps right up off the plate and runs away. But the sausage - whose name is Melvin - isn't alone. He's followed by the fork, the knife, the table, the French fries and even the peas. And so the chase begins. Will Banjo ever catch up with his runaway dinner?
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"Funny, touching, ridiculous and dramatic - a treat from start to finish." The Guardian"
About the Author
Allan Ahlberg is one of the most popular children's authors writing today. His titles include Each Peach Pear Plum, Peepo!, the Gaskitts series and The Jolly Postman, which, with its sequels, has sold over five million copies worldwide. He lives in Bath. Bruce Ingman, who won the 1996 Mother Goose Award for best newcomer to children's picture books, is the creator of When Martha's Away (winner of the 1996 National Art Library Illustration Awards) and Bad News, I'm in Charge! (1-84428-456-5). He lives in London.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a fantastic story of a little boy called Banjo, who every day, rain or shine, summer or winter, has a sausage for his dinner. On this particular day, Melvin, the sausage, decides he doesn't want to be eaten. He gets up and runs away, pursued by the rest of his dinner, his cutlery, the furniture and finally Banjo and his parents.
Each of the items in the story is given a name, and as Melvin makes his escape we move through an increasingly surreal and fantastic landscape in which the doings of all the other items are also narrated.
The illustrations are quite unusual, and in themselves provide a lot of the impact and the talking points of the story. My kids, aged 8, 4 and 15 months love this story and never tire of hearing it. The greatest thing about it, in my opinion is the fact that it is interesting for adults as well because it never dumbs down. The use of language is interesting and even poetic in places and it has a lovely rhythm and narrative pace which gives it the shape of an old fashioned classic, rather like the gingerbread man, from which it undoubtedly took its inspiration. Inspired work.
Each of the items in the story is given a name, and as Melvin makes his escape we move through an increasingly surreal and fantastic landscape in which the doings of all the other items are also narrated.
The illustrations are quite unusual, and in themselves provide a lot of the impact and the talking points of the story. My kids, aged 8, 4 and 15 months love this story and never tire of hearing it. The greatest thing about it, in my opinion is the fact that it is interesting for adults as well because it never dumbs down. The use of language is interesting and even poetic in places and it has a lovely rhythm and narrative pace which gives it the shape of an old fashioned classic, rather like the gingerbread man, from which it undoubtedly took its inspiration. Inspired work.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is such a strange story and yet my kids love it! A little boy (called Banjo) has a sausage for his dinner - then the dinner runs away and there is a race around the park. It is totally surreal, imaginative and brilliant. My daughter loves to spot the runaway pea! Fantastic book. It just works.
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book is utterly foolish, completely absurd, and as a result my boys (2 and 5) think its absolutely fantastic. Ahlberg's books range from really-quite-sensible to brilliantly-delivered lunacy and this is at the latter end of the spectrum. A sausage called Melvin jumps off the plate and runs away followed by the cutlery and crockery, table and chair, not to mention a little crowd of peas, carrots and French fries (called Francois, Fifi etc.). The carrots escape in a paper bag, two of the three peas meet untimely ends, and most of the French fries sit down to enjoy the cricket in the park. The chair gets sat on, the sausaage befriends the cricket ball in the long grass, and Banjo the boy goes home hungry for pudding.....
The illustrations are good - with a bright fun feel that perfectly matches the story - and the whole package is a great delivery of a quirky tale.
And if you enjoy this, then follow it up with Half a Pig or The Cat who got carried away, by the same author.
The illustrations are good - with a bright fun feel that perfectly matches the story - and the whole package is a great delivery of a quirky tale.
And if you enjoy this, then follow it up with Half a Pig or The Cat who got carried away, by the same author.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book, daughter loves it
Instantly became favourite book of my daughter, would strongly recommend. Have given as a present several times and the reaction is always the same
Published 22 days ago by paul
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastically random!
If you are after a quirky story with a difference, then this is the book for you. Read this to my five-year old nephew who loved it. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Linners
4.0 out of 5 stars
runaway dinner by allan ahlberg
My 4 yr old grandson likes this. Not quite so much as Bill the Burglar but he has only had it for a week and has already asked for it to be read several times. Read more
Published 2 months ago by patricia ann dunderdale
5.0 out of 5 stars
Laugh out loud book
My 4 year old son loved this book and requested multiple readings. It's a very funny and engaging story. Highly recommend this.
Published 7 months ago by Jenny Hagan
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
Very funny and quite educational too, plenty of unusual words, counting introduced in a clever way, plus really stretched the imagination.
Published 8 months ago by Steady
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great fun!
A little boy named Banjo has a sausage every day for his dinner. One day the sausage jumps up and runs away! Read more
Published 14 months ago by C. Barry
5.0 out of 5 stars
Perfect bed time story.
Bought this for my 4 year old son as he loves "The Pencil" by the same author, however both my son and my 8 year old daughter love this one equally. Read more
Published 15 months ago by James B. Spencer
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Runaway Dinner
What an amusing little story with great illustrations. Highly recommended for ages 4+. Buy it! We & our grandson laughed & laughed.
Published 19 months ago by Pat45
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent book!
Entertaining story that captures the imagination and is written beautifully, in a style that is part over-the-fence gossip and part race commentary. Read more
Published 19 months ago by J. Benson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Funny story
A great story from a great author. The illustrations are excellent, just as expected. The story is funny and odd and will make both children and adults chuckle. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Miss W
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