Does any child make it through growing up without wanting to run away at some point?  Little Loula is fed up with her little triplet brothers, so she decides to set off on her own, being sure to pack the true essentials:  her stuffed cat, her tea set, and her best drawing.  Wanting to get as far away as she can, she announces to her family that she’s leaving for Africa, and proceeds to climb a large tree in her front yard.  When the family chauffeur, Gilbert, stumbles across young Miss Loula, he enters into her adventure and accompanies her around town in their search for Africa, with all sorts of everyday things they encounter taking on African guises within their imaginations (e.g. the sandbox in the park becomes the desert they must cross, the kids on the monkey bars become chimpanzees).  After a full day, in which all the essentials she packed play a part, Gilbert leads his tired mistress home.  It’s just sweet, and I think kids will both relate to the sentiment and enjoy spotting the differences between the imagination-laden text and the reality portrayed in the illustrations.