On her first night at her grandmother’s house, Isabel is lonely and uncertain. She doesn’t know her grandmother and she doesn’t know how long her father will be gone. Then an owl, a frog and a mouse appear at the window and lead her outside. The owl, a gentle caretaker, the frog, forthright and full of questions, and the mouse shy and hoping for a snack, tell her about her grandmother, who is kind, and perhaps a little lonely, too. She tells them about her mother, who lives in another country and writes her letters, and her dad, who is looking for work. The dark night eventually becomes a bright morning, and waiting for Isabel is her grandmother, offering matter-of-fact reassurance. The warm colors and rounded shapes of the three animals against dark-sky pages, the small moments of humor throughout the striking digital illustrations reminiscent of pen-and-ink, and the brightening palette mirroring Latina Isabel’s shifting outlook all contribute to the sense of comfort this picture book provides, however children choose to make sense of the events taking place: magical realism, dream, or imaginative flight of fancy. (Ages 4–7)

Highlighting the fear and loneliness of children separated from their parents, On the Other Side of the Garden tells the story of Isabel, who is sent to live with the grandmother she hardly knows in the country while her father looks for work and her mother is abroad. On her first night in the unfamiliar house, Isabel is befriended by an owl, a frog and a mouse, who gently show her the beauty of her new surroundings as they take a late stroll together. Isabel's mood is reflected in the sombre deep blue tones of the artwork, but color suddenly returns to her world when she is embraced by her grandmother in the morning and she settles in for a longer stay.

USBBY 2019 Outstanding International Books List.

Author lives in Mexico.

Spanish. Originally published in Chile as Al otro lado del jardín by Planetalector Chile in 2014. English translation by Elisa Amado published in the United States by Groundwood Books in 2018.

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.