Between You and Me

by Rob Sanders, Raissa Figueroa (Illustrator)

When a new kid moves to town, a beautiful friendship filled with wonder and imagination blooms in this lushly illustrated, inventive, and empathetic picture book.

Between strangers and friends . . . "Hello."

Lean into the in-between moments in this poetic picture book that celebrates all the small steps in a budding friendship between two new friends.

Between friends and friends forever . . . Promises and pinky swears.

Two young kids meet for the first time and a playful friendship begins. From their backyard to the rolling hills of their neighborhood to the unlimited dreamscape of their imaginations, the two discover what it's like to connect with a true friend in real life and make-believe.

With vibrant illustrations, Between You and Me is an exploration of the big and small ways we can empathize with one another, and it's the perfect book to share, whether it be with someone you love or someone you are just getting to know. Scenes flow from realistic depictions of playing in cardboard boxes to portrayals of magical landscapes, capturing the childhood spirit of make-believe perfectly.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens, Fantasy

32 pages, Hardcover

Published December 31, 2024

About the author

There is more than one author with this name

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've never experienced my own voice reading aloud causing the same reaction in me as hearing nails on a chalkboard. The way words were put together in this book irritated me. It's an otherwise innocuous book about friendship between two girls, but the affectation of the sentence structure . . . GRRRRARRRAGHHHHH!!!!!

Just flipping through this book to write my review is causing me to tense up again. Go away!

[Patricia N. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moving to a new neighborhood can be scary, but between the past and present is a space to explore like these two kids do in this story. The in-betweens can be full of delightful surprises: “between ordinary and magical . . . daydreams”; “between once upon a time and the end . . . stories”; “between good night and morning light . . . starry skies.” And brand-new friends we would have never met if we hadn’t moved from there to here. Colorful illustrations depict the many ways in which kids can connect, especially through co-creative adventures.

[Adele · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting concept, but I don't think it quite works. My husband read this aloud to me and he positively hated it - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show... - which probably had some impact. I read it again by myself and more of the "between's" worked for me, but some still didn't and in the end I was left with a lot of confusion. The pictures are bizarre - what is up with the little monster/insect/stuffy things? - but if they had been more straightforward and representational there would have been nothing left of the friendship. The words can't carry the story on their own.

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Endearing picture book of a little boy living next to an empty house until a new family moves in with a little girl. They begin playing and exploring together with their vivid imaginations jumping right off the page. This is also a fun book to get kids to guess what comes between x and y, for example the opening page, "Between yesterday and tomorrow...today." I really enjoyed the illustrations, this would be perfect for a 3-5 year old storytime.

[Melanie Hetrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

A young dark-skinned girl makes friends with the new light-skinned new neighbor girl.

As beautiful as the illustrations are, this book will not reach its target audience. The concept of being 'between' two objects needs to be presented in concrete terms and objects before the concept of sequencing. For example, "Between 'what?' and understanding...Listening." Young children are not going to understand that.

Recommended for one-on-one sharing; best used to storywalk the pictures.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the book opens, a young girl stares wistfully out of her window. The house next door is for sale. Could a new friend move in? Yes! Now all she has to do is introduce herself and maybe, just maybe - they can become best friends who have tons of adventures.

This is a book about finding a new friend and the joy that can bring.

Lovely, magical illustrations. Peek under the dust jacket!

[Sheri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about moving and meeting new friends and playing with paper cup telephones to communicate. Young readers might want to try this idea and other creative play with boxes. They have creative playtime with boxes and other items and use their imaginations and seem to have fun, showing another way to play and meet a new friend.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was cute and a fun bedtime story about two girls who become friends. The poem is all about before this thing, and the end of this other thing there is. Ex. Before Once a upon a time and the end there are stories.

[Pink · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
I don't normally add picture books on here because I read so many and I don't want them to conflate my goal numbers but I was so excited to see corook and didn't see anyone mention it!

The illustrations are beautiful but it wouldn't be a great storytime book.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Between you and me.....it's awesome

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, clever word play and bright, active illustrations by Raissa Figuera bring home the concept of building friendship and shared experience.

[Y.Poston]

beautiful capture of friendship

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute art, nice representation of a friendship developing. Not sure the deeper meaning would really sink in for young readers, but they will definitely appreciate the friendship elements.

[Bridgitte Rodguez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely, lyrical text. Great read aloud with lots of descriptive words. A story of friendship is told through the vibrant illustrations.

[elstaffe]

The art in this: yes.

[Bri · Rating 4 out of 5]

The images are just... out of this world and a beautiful message to go with it.

[Alyssa Gudenburr · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was ok

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet friendship story. The illustrations are dreamy.