On the Other Side of the Garden by Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng

 



Buitrago, J., Yockteng, R., & Amado, E. (2018). ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GARDEN. Groundwood Books. ISBN 9781554989836.

 

ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GARDEN is about a city girl learning to accept the change brought about by her parents’ separation when she is taken to her grandmother’s house in the country and befriended by an owl, a frog, and a mouse.

When her father leaves her at her grandmother’s house, the young girl feels abandoned and lonely. Her mother has moved to another country, and the girl wasn’t paying attention when her father explained what was happening. And she hardly remembers her grandmother.

After going up to her room she decides to venture out into the nighttime garden where she meets an owl, a frog, and a mouse. They take her on a tour of her extraordinary new world. When she gets back in the morning, her grandmother explains that her father won’t be back for a long time. The girl tells her that she wants to be able to spend time in the garden with the plants and animals of this new world, and her grandmother doesn’t seem to be either surprised or alarmed by her nighttime adventures.

 

The book is beautifully illustrated. It shows a dark blue/green and white world with pops of color on the girl’s dress, the frog, the owl, and the mouse. The story shows how a child can use her curiosity to confront frightening and potentially destructive realities such as a parents’ separation and being left with an almost unknown relative. She finds comfort in nature.

There were no obvious cultural markers in the book, so I did a bit of research and found that the book was originally written in Spanish. I studied the first pages of the story which is of her grandmother’s home in the country. The landscape has a tropical look with palm and fruit trees. The architecture of the house has a Spanish influence with the slate roof tiles. Something else I noticed in the story was the young girl called her mother Mum instead of Mom. It could have translated that way, but it is not an American custom.

 

2019 Outstanding International Booklist

Publisher’s Weekly:  “Buitrago’s story reaches deep into Isabel’s feelings of abandonment. Though a fantasy, it’s not one that wipes her difficult circumstances away. Instead, Buitrago and Yockteng (Walk with Me) imagine the kinds of comfort that might console Isabel most, and readers share in the beginning of her healing.”

School Library Journal: “ In sharing their perspective, the animals help the girl see her guardian as a lonely, kind person, and in the warm light of a full color morning, Grandmother welcomes her with hugs and nourishment. Buitrago and Yockteng exhibit a keen understanding of a child’s interior life. VERDICT Those who feel physically or emotionally distant from beloved adults will take comfort in the idea that there are others who care. A subtle and affecting journey to resilience best shared one-on-one to pore over the spectacular artwork.–Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library “

 

Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng have collaborated on many projects. This link is to an interview they did with Roger Sutton of Horn Book Inc. https://www.hbook.com/story/jairo-buitrago-and-rafael-yockteng-talk-with-roger

Other books by Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng:

WALK WITH ME ISBN 9781554988570

LION AND MOUSE ISBN 9781773062242

WOUNDED FALCONS ISBN 9781773064567

TWO WHITE RABBITS ISBN 9781554987412

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