JAIRO BUITRAGO is a children's book author who has collaborated with Rafael Yockteng on several picture books, including Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews), Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews), Walk with Me (three starred reviews, Kirkus Prize shortlist), Lion and Mouse (two starred reviews) and most recently, Cave Paintings. They won the "A la Orilla del Viento" contest for the Spanish edition of Walk with Me, which was also named to IBBY's Honor List. Their books have also appeared on "Los mejores libros del año" (Venezuela's Banco del Libro), Kirkus Best Books, the Horn Book Fanfare and in the White Ravens Catalogue. Jairo has also won the Hispanoamericano Castillo prize for children's literature and the Antonio García Cubas Award. He lives in Mexico City.

 

Jairo Buitrago's profile page

Rafael Yockteng has illustrated many highly acclaimed children’s books, including Sopa de frijoles / Bean Soup by Jorge Argueta (USBBY Outstanding International Books) and Jimmy the Greatest! (six starred reviews), Two White Rabbits (three starred reviews), Walk with Me (three starred reviews, Kirkus Prize shortlist) and On the Other Side of the Garden (three starred reviews) by Jairo Buitrago. Together, Jairo Buitrago and Rafael Yockteng have won the “A la Orilla del Viento” contest, and their books have been included on IBBY’s Honor List, “Los mejores libros del año” (Venezuela’s Banco del Libro), Kirkus Best Books, the Horn Book Fanfare and in the White Ravens Catalogue. Rafael lives in Bogotá.

Rafael Yockteng's profile page

Elisa Amado's profile page

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.

Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

This lavish picture book is a magical blend of mystery, strangeness and friendly comfort; a subtle, compassionate expression of the uncertainty and hurt of being separated from parents because of divorce. It’s also a celebration of the companionship, space and beauty nature has to offer.

Toronto Star

A subtle and affecting journey to resilience.

School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW

A hopeful book about a child’s confusion and fear of abandonment.

Booklist

This understated picture book looks innocent on the surface, but holds the framework for understanding the huge impacts of parental separation and divorce. . . . [An] excellent resource to read one-on-one with a child who is going through big life changes . . .

Resource Links

This is a creative, reassuring take on disruptive relocation . . . The indirectness of the approach is the story’s strength, making this a pleasing alternative to more overtly didactic tales of disrupted lives and turning time with a relative into literal magic.

The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Simply outstanding . . .

Kirkus, STARRED REVIEW