I’ll Always Come Back to You by Carmen Tafolla. Illustrated by Grace Zong

A young girl is distressed as she watches her mother get ready to leave for work. Sensing her daughter’s fear of abandonment, the mother shares comical scenarios for her day and promises that, no matter what, she will always come back to her daughter: “I might have to go to the office, / I might have to run to the store. / I might have to trudge up a mountain, / or drive way, way down to the shore. / I might have to visit a very sick friend, / or rescue a sinking canoe … / … but I’ll always, always, ALWAYS / come / back / to you.”   

The mother shares other outlandish circumstances she might possibly encounter—dragging a very slow car, riding on a whale, traveling on a camel, fighting off bears, sweet-talking a caribou, scaring off pirates with kung fu moves, swimming through an ocean, and more. But she tells her daughter, “But you can keep this promise— / you can count on this being true— / I will always, always, ALWAYS / come / back / to you.” And the mother does just that, arriving home and welcoming her waiting daughter with a loving hug.  

Author Carmen Tafolla’s humorous, rhyming verse and illustrator Grace Zong’s amusing, touching artwork offer a lovely portrait of a faithful parent who keeps her promises and a loved child who benefits in immeasurable ways because of her mother’s trustworthiness. (Eerdmans Books for Young Readers)