Running away

It is something most people have thought about at some point in their lives: running away.  Who knows how many Reginald Perrins there really are.  As an adult sometimes the pressures of life and the responsibilities it brings can make some yearn for freedom and to get away from it all.  This is why that two week holiday/vacation is so important to so many.

I often wish I could be a child again - free to play and have fun as most children should be.  Free of the burdens that adult life can bring.  But then I recall times as a child when I wanted to run away too...

My mum often regales me with her recollections of me attempting to run away.  She says how well I must have been brought up because my small vanity-style case was always packed with clean underwear, slippers and clean nightclothes oh and my toothbrush!  I'm not sure where I thought I was going, so ill prepared, but I was very young and never made it past the garage at the end of the garden...

I asked my mum why she never ran after me and she laughed and said, "I could see you from the kitchen and I knew you would always come back!"  Which I did!  I can't recall why I ever decided to run away but it would have been something very insignificant, I have no doubt, as I certainly had no cause to run away.

Sadly there are children who feel they have no other choice than to run away.  Their home lives are possibly unbearable as they have to deal with treatment no children should...

According to The Children's Society, Make Runaways Safe campaign, 'every five minutes a child in the UK runs away from home'.  They also state that 'over 100,000 children in the UK run away every year'.  These are alarming statistics.  It is encouraging that there are such campaigns doing such wonderful work to help our vulnerable young.

With each Larry the Liger story, I touch upon issues children often have to deal with including bullying, fitting in, making friends, accepting others, starting school, understanding dangers... 

The final story: Larry the Liger - the Lost Liger, finds Larry making a decision because he feels he has no other choice.  He feels unwanted and unsafe so he runs away.  Just like that.  Just like countless numbers of children do each year the world over...

In The Lost Liger, Larry finds himself in strange surroundings and realises the animals he meets do not always have good intentions towards him.  He also wishes he had not run away but he has no idea how he can go home.  The story follows the young, liger cub as he tries to cope with being away from home.

I hope this story will help children understand the realities of running away.  I also hope children will learn there can be great dangers 'out there'.  This story is suitable for children, and adults, of all ages.  It has no real violence but very mild threat to highlight some of the dangerous situations Larry faces so far away from those that love him.

Larry the Liger - the Lost Liger is coming very soon.  I hope you will all share news of this new release with families and friends everywhere.  I would love to think the Larry the Liger series creates an opening for families to discuss sometimes delicate subjects.  We can all help our children learn and we should all do our best to keep our children safe from harm...

Happy reading everyone and I look forward to saying "Larry the Liger - the Lost Liger" is now available on Amazon to download.  I promise it will be very soon :)

You can download the other Larry the Liger stories here:
http://www.tinyurl.com/c4totfu UK
http://www.tinyurl.com/bnxc42r US

You can support the great work of the Make Runaways Safe campaign and the Children's Society here:
http://makerunawayssafe.org.uk/