To the End of the World, Far, Far Away

In a cozy, stone-floored cave, bear cub Louis spills his milk. When his mother gets upset, Louis cries, then packs up his things and storms toward the door: “I’m leaving today, I’m going away. You don’t love me anymore!” Planning to make for the end of the world, he nevertheless takes a beat: “Will you be sad when I’m gone?” Over-the-top reassurances follow: “I’ll cry night and day,” his mother declares via operatic lines from Armitage (A Mighty Bitey Creature); “I’ll cry so much that my tears will make a great sea.” Fanciful colored pencil illustrations by Turnbull (A Home That Means the World) visualize the parent’s claims as waves of tears appear to flood the cave. Through weepy eyes, she peers over to see how Louis is reacting, then doubles down: “All my sobs will fill the sky.” She works this seam with zest (“Wind, Wind, please help me find him”), but Louis remains unmoved, until his mother points out that his absence will leave his toys bereft, too. Children sometimes wonder, at low moments, if caretakers and parents really love them; in extended scenes of playacted peril, Louis’s mother offers all the reassurance he needs. Ages 3–7. (Feb.)