Hugo's Runaway Legs by Alys Jackson and Leigh Brown

With rhyming language that just begs to be read aloud, this amusing picture book is sure to be a hit with young children.

Hugo Holt woke up one day
to find his legs had run away.
Without the slightest sigh or fuss
they hopped aboard a local bus.

Hugo is determined to recover his runaway legs and tries out different legs to see if they are fast enough to catch up with the bus. He tried a toad’s legs and children will laugh out loud at the pictures of him hopping and leaping. Then he tries out a deer’s legs, hippo’s legs, penguin’s feet, brown bear’s legs, cheetah’s legs and giraffe’s legs none of which can catch the bus. Each set of feet is accompanied by hilarious illustrations by Leigh Brown that complement the text and very small children will have lots of fun guessing what animal owns the legs before the verse is read out to them.

The refrain is sure to be one that children will want to sing out as well.

' This,' he wailed, ' is pure disaster.
These legs are fast
but the ... bus ... is ... faster! ’

They will be relieved when Hugo finally uses a horse’s legs to catch the bus and discover that Hugo’s legs have run away because they were not used enough. The final stanza will have children in fits of giggles, while they learn about appropriate amounts of exercise and sitting:

And so his legs agreed to stay
and Hugo plays and plays ... all day!
In fact he never thinks of sitting
and that is why his ... bum is quitting!

The humour, easy flow of language and illustration on the front cover will ensure that this is a favourite with young children.

Themes: Legs, Exercise.

Pat Pledger