On the Other Side of the Garden

From one of the great creative teams in picture books, 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 at the center of this story 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. And she is very happy that the girl and she will get to know each other.

Buitrago's stories are noted for conveying large truths through understatement and suggestion. This story, beautifully illustrated by Yockteng, shows how a child can use her own bravery and curiosity to confront frightening and potentially destructive realities such as a parents' separation and being left with an almost unknown relative through what we must assume is a situation where her father had no choice.

There is an endnote about the plants and animals that might be found in such a garden.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Published: 03/06/2018
ISBN: 9781554989836
Pages: 56
Weight: 1.20lbs
Size: 9.50h x 9.80w x 0.70d

Review Citations: Publishers Weekly 12/18/2017
Kirkus Reviews 01/15/2018 pg. 73
Booklist 02/01/2018 pg. 61
School Library Journal 02/01/2018 pg. 56
Foreword 02/26/2018
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2018
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2018 pg. 86
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2018 pg. 26 - Superior,Well Above Average