Hoping to stop his parents' impending separation and keep them from getting a divorce, eleven-year-old Charlie runs away from their house in the California countryside and finds a ride to the coast.

The school year is over and Mandie is coming home for the summer. Ever since Mandie's mothe told her she was going to have a baby, the thought of having to share her mother with a brother or sister has caused problems.

"The exasperating Gingerbread Man, famous for leading a host of townsfolk and animals in a wild chase about the countryside, lives at 398.2 on the library shelves. But the Gingerbread Man is not the type of cookie that stays in one place for very long, and one day he just can't help himself. With a leap and a whoosh, he escapes the librarian's grasp, and the chase for the wily Gingerbread Man is on again!"--p. [2] of jacket.

Jenny runs away from home because her mother and sister are too busy for her, but being independent is only fun for a little while.

Born with an ability to float in the air, Barnaby Brocket is entreated by his parents to hide his unusual trait until a fateful day when he finds himself on a journey that takes him all over the world and into outer space.

When twelve-year-old Nick runs away from his uncle's in the middle of a blizzard, he stumbles onto a very opinionated bookstore. He also meets its guardian, the self-proclaimed Evil Wizard Smallbone, who calls Nick his apprentice and won't let him leave, but won't teach him magic, either. It's a good thing the bookstore takes Nick's magical education in hand, because Smallbone's nemesis--the Evil Wizard Fidelou--and his pack of shape-shifting bikers...

Describes the life of runaway youths, situations they are trying to escape, and programs that try to help them solve their problems.

"When Cricket's Aunt Belinda accidentally forgets her in the grocery store, Cricket decides to run away once and for all. But Cricket has to stay close by because even though her mama hasn't been in touch since she disappeared, she'll surely come back. And Cricket has to be there when she does. Because she needs answers"--

"Connie the Cuddly Cat is feeling lonely, but all her AlphaPet friends are busy and have no time to play with her. Connie thinks that nobody cares for her and decides to run away. When the AlphaPets discover she's missing, they realize how lonely and sad she was feeling. Can they find her and let her know how much they really care?"--Prelim.

Tired of the way she is treated by her big sister, Dee Dee, and Dee Dee's friends, a little girl decides to leave home.