Rafael Yockteng

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,...

A simple, imaginative story depicting the complex emotional reality of a girl whose father no longer lives at home. The girl conjures up an imaginary companion - a lion - who will join her on the long walk home from school. He will help her to pick up her baby brother from daycare and shop at the store (which has cut off the family's credit), and he'll keep her company all along the way until she is safely home. He will always come back when she needs...