TO THE END OF THE WORLD, FAR, FAR AWAY, by Ronda Armitage and Victoria Turnbull, Candlewick, Feb. 25, 2025, Hardcover, $18.99 (ages 3-7)
When a little bear threatens to run away, his mom explains how much she’d miss him in To the End of the World, Far, Far Away, by Ronda Armitage and Victoria Turnbull.
“The splashing waves will call to me,
Louis’s mother, why do you cry?”
Louis has just spilled his milk, and Mom is a little frustrated, so her little bear decides it’s time to head to the end of the world, far, far away. But just as Louis is prepared to depart, he can’t help but ask Mom, “Will you be sad when I’m gone?” So, Mom relays her tale—of a mama bear whose tears create a great sea, who searches for her boy under waves and on mountaintops and beseeches the wind and the swaying trees to help her find him. Will the sadness end there, or will even the child’s toys begin to cry, with no one to tuck them in or hold them tight? —Synopsis provided by Candlewick
To the End of the World, Far, Far Away is reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown’s The Runaway Bunny. Both are bedtime stories full of imagination and love. And yet, both books stand on their own.
To the End of the World, Far, Far Away has a modern, but classical, feel to it, particularly in Victoria Turnbull’s illustrations. Ronda Armitage’s text offers up a warm adventure.
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