The Green Otter (English Language Edition)
Eduardo Halfon and María José de Tellería
Spanish language edition available here!
A blue horse was all he asked for. What he loved most was the green otter.
In The Green Otter, a father sets out with a simple mission: to bring home a blue horse for his young son. But when he returns, nestled beside the horse is a tiny green otter—an unexpected gift that captures his son's heart in ways no one could have foreseen.
Told with tender prose and a whimsical visual narrative, this beautifully illustrated picture book explores the magic of childhood attachment, the unpredictability of love, and the quiet dramas of parenting. The illustrations vividly portray a child's emotional world—where toys are companions, adventures await around every corner, and even the smallest creature can hold the biggest place in the heart.
The Green Otter is a gentle, timeless story about unexpected love, childhood devotion, and the quiet magic of everyday moments. Perfect for bedtime reading or classroom discussion, it's a celebration of the small things that become everything.
This picture book, inspired by the tender short story “The Green Otter” by Guatemalan author Eduardo Halfon, is brought to life through the whimsical visuals of Argentinian illustrator María José de Tellería. Available in both English and Spanish editions.
_
ISBN: 979-8-9930820-0-4
7.8” (W) x 9.8” (H) • 36 pages • Hardcover
$19.95
){kind=link}
REVIEWS
★"A boy asks for a blue horse; he gets that—and something better. Based on a short story by Guatemalan writer Halfon, this picture book follows a father preparing for an upcoming trip ... Argentinian illustrator de Tellería brings this sweet story to life in a style that feels genuinely childlike—loose pencil sketches paired with bold swashes of blue and green ... When the otter arrives, the palette shifts: Green floods the illustrations, coloring furniture, climbing trees, warming beds. De Tellería’s compositions are pleasingly restless—figures scattered across spreads like a child’s imaginative play, toys and rooms sketched in gray while the otter blazes in vivid lime. The father’s quiet anxiety about the otter’s habit of going missing gives the book an additional emotional flavor, a parental layer invisible to the child but legible to any grown-up in the room ... A gentle, visually inventive book that understands exactly what small objects mean to small people.” —Kirkus Reviews
★"Based on a short story by Guatemalan author Halfon, this tender tale explores a child’s devotion to a beloved toy ... The otter, not the wished-for horse, captures the boy’s heart and becomes his constant companion. Argentinian illustrator de Tellería thoughtfully shifts the color palette to mirror this growing attachment ... echoing the otter’s increasing importance ... There are gentle hints of magical realism ... De Tellería’s soft watercolor illustrations tenderly capture the everyday moments they share, while subtle visual details underscore the story’s emotional arc. Young readers will readily connect the boy’s steadfast affection to their own cherished companions. A tender, visually nuanced story about the profound importance of small things in a child’s life.” —School Library Journal
★"This original and unique picture book was inspired by the tender short story "The Green Otter" by Guatemalan author Eduardo Halfon. Here it is delightfully brought to life through the whimsical visuals of Argentinian illustrator Maria Jose de Telleria. Available in both English and Spanish editions, "The Green Otter" from Tapioca Stories is especially and unreservedly recommended for family, elementary school, and community library pet themed picture book collections for young readers ages 5-9.” —Midwest Book Review
★"In this adaptation of one of Halfon’s short stories (he’s a well regarded Guatemalan author of adult fiction), a man recounts the tender tale of his son’s fixation with a green otter that dad brings home from a trip ... Parents who must travel for work may enjoy this slightly melancholy story with its unusual but striking artwork. This could be a good read alike suggestion for fans of other books about toys that take on an outsized role in a child’s life, such as Mo Willems’s Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, Shirley Hughes’s Dogger, or Angélique Leone’s A Winter’s Morning.” —Youth Services Book Review