You and Me, Anemone
A Story About Friendship and Personal Space
Published on 14. August 2025
Book
Hardback
32 pages
978-0-06-341472-3 (ISBN)
Description
Kirkus Best Book
"Don't boop this book away! Embrace this lively, creative look at asserting one's boundaries." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The clever art is an ideal partner to highly readable, percussive text that emphasizes the harmony that can arise from respecting others' spaces and needs." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A lyrical lesson on personal boundaries with illustrations guaranteed to help enhance young readers' vocabularies and imaginations." -School Library Journal (starred review)
Bestselling author Rachel Vail and multiple Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka shine a spotlight on the importance of personal space in this SEL standout that also celebrates the ocean and sea life. Includes back matter.
Don't want to be booped? No problem! A sea anemone in the ocean confidently sets itself some personal boundaries, encouraging young readers on land to do the same.
You and Me, Anemone is a nuanced, thoughtful, playful picture book for young children about the delicate challenge of boundaries-having them, maintaining them, and respecting them in others. The playful, rhythmic, interactive text by award-winning author Rachel Vail pairs the science of sea life with social-emotional learning for terrific classroom potential. Two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka's illustrations-created by painting and stitching on burlap-are a visual and emotional showstopper with a ton of kid appeal. Back matter includes an author's note and facts about the incredible sea anemone.
"Don't boop this book away! Embrace this lively, creative look at asserting one's boundaries." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"The clever art is an ideal partner to highly readable, percussive text that emphasizes the harmony that can arise from respecting others' spaces and needs." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A lyrical lesson on personal boundaries with illustrations guaranteed to help enhance young readers' vocabularies and imaginations." -School Library Journal (starred review)
Bestselling author Rachel Vail and multiple Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka shine a spotlight on the importance of personal space in this SEL standout that also celebrates the ocean and sea life. Includes back matter.
Don't want to be booped? No problem! A sea anemone in the ocean confidently sets itself some personal boundaries, encouraging young readers on land to do the same.
You and Me, Anemone is a nuanced, thoughtful, playful picture book for young children about the delicate challenge of boundaries-having them, maintaining them, and respecting them in others. The playful, rhythmic, interactive text by award-winning author Rachel Vail pairs the science of sea life with social-emotional learning for terrific classroom potential. Two-time Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka's illustrations-created by painting and stitching on burlap-are a visual and emotional showstopper with a ton of kid appeal. Back matter includes an author's note and facts about the incredible sea anemone.
Reviews / Votes
"In this nautical tongue-twister, readers follow the humble invertebrate's example to advocate for personal boundaries and consent in hopes of a more harmonious world. . . . Vail supplies melodious rhymes crafted with strong vocabulary. . . . Caldecott winner Raschka stuns with a tapestry that has no shortage of eye-catching spreads perfect for large groups. . . . A lyrical lesson on personal boundaries with illustrations guaranteed to help enhance young readers' vocabularies and imaginations. A must-buy for story hour shelves." - School Library Journal (starred review)"In this standout social-emotional book, Vail's assonant, songlike rhymes skillfully use a sea anemone to talk about personal space in a way that's at once empowering and playful. . . . The clever art is an ideal partner to highly readable, percussive text that emphasizes the harmony that can arise from respecting others' spaces and needs." - Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Vail's rhythmic, rhyming text has a playfulness to it that will propel readers forward, making it an ideal candidate for a vibrant, educational read-aloud. Raschka's clever art uses paint and embroidery on burlap to create an expressive world full of textures and colors. . . . Don't boop this book away! Embrace this lively, creative look at asserting one's boundaries." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Target group
Children/juvenile
US School Grade: Preschool, Interest Age: From 4 to 8 years
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 257 mm
Width: 231 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Weight
431 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-06-341472-3 (9780063414723)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Rachel Vail is the award-winning author of the critically acclaimed novels If We Kiss and Lucky, Gorgeous, and Brilliant (the Avery sisters trilogy) and more than a dozen other novels for young teens, including the Friendship Ring series. She has also written many beloved picture books, including Piggy Bunny and Sometimes I'm Bombaloo, and two hit novels for elementary school kids, Justin Case: School, Drool, and Other Daily Disasters and Justin Case: Shells, Smells, and the Horrible Flip-Flops of Doom. The author lives in New York City with her husband and their two sons.
Chris Raschka is the creator of many distinguished and award-winning books for children. He has received two Caldecott Medals-one for The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norton Juster, and one for his own A Ball for Daisy. He also received a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes? Chris Raschka was the US nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012 and 2016 and has been awarded a New York Times Best Illustrated Book citation seven times. He lives in New York City with his family.
Chris Raschka is the creator of many distinguished and award-winning books for children. He has received two Caldecott Medals-one for The Hello, Goodbye Window, written by Norton Juster, and one for his own A Ball for Daisy. He also received a Caldecott Honor for Yo! Yes? Chris Raschka was the US nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2012 and 2016 and has been awarded a New York Times Best Illustrated Book citation seven times. He lives in New York City with his family.