Rusty runs away by Sally Scudamore

Illus. by Lexie Watt. Little Steps, 2020. ISBN: 9781925839777. 32pp., pbk.
When the family go on their beach holiday without him, Rusty the Australian terrier is perplexed, but when Farmer Gruff and Grandma Jude whose care he has been left in are too busy to care, Rusty decides he will have a holiday anyway.
But when he hitches a ride on a truck to escape the fast cars and sore paws, he doesn't realise that he will end up far away from his home in Goondiwindi, Queensland - in Snowtown, South Australia!
Told in rhyme with different fonts distinguishing the different characters, this is based on the true story of a little dog on a big adventure. Accompanied by clever, detailed illustrations, the reader is taken on a remarkable journey through some of Australia's most isolated landscapes that will encourage young readers to get out the atlas and track his trail and with some calculations, determine just how far this little dog travelled.
First-time author Sally Scudamore has continued the family tradition of storytelling, particularly now she lives in the UK and they are in Australia, a tradition a lot of families may have implemented during these days of social distancing. Her debut book speaks of more to come.
Barbara Braxton