Next to Me

by Daniel Salmieri, Daniel Salmieri (Illustrator), Sophia Haas, Sophia Haas (Illustrator)

Overview

This joyful and soothing read-aloud, about noticing all the wonderful things around you, is a bedtime gem that's illustrated in gorgeous cut-paper collages by husband-and-wife team Sophia Haas and New York Times Best Illustrated winner Daniel Salmieri.

A walk home from school is an opportunity to observe all the happy details along the way: puffy clouds next to an airplane, the twisty slide next to swinging swings, a backhoe next to a big hole. When you really take the time to observe, there are so many interesting things to see in every moment of every day. What's next to you?

From school to home, afternoon to bedtime, this cheerful book invites children to look closely and with delight at the objects all around them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593462003
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/13/2025
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Daniel Salmieri is the creator of the New York Times Best Illustrated winner Before, Now and the critically acclaimed Bear and Wolf, as well as the illustrator of numerous picture books, including the #1 New York Times best seller Dragons Love Tacos. His editorial illustrations can be seen in The New Yorker and The New York Times.

Sophia Haas is a Filipina American artist born and raised in New York City. Formerly a teacher, she collages, weaves, dyes fabrics, marbles paper, and illustrates. You can usually find her digging in the dirt at her local community garden or stirring dye pots.

Daniel and Sophia are married and live in Brooklyn with their son and a pet dog.

Editorial Reviews

"Salmieri and Haas’ matte collage illustrations, made from paper colored with acrylics and plant-based inks, have a lovely touch of Lionni-esque color and boldness about them. Vibrant outdoor urban scenes pulse with activity and enough changes in perspective to keep things interesting.
A reassuring meditation about noticing and appreciating your place in the world." —Kirkus

★"It’s an absorbing look at how a child interprets their surroundings, which become more personal as the protagonist eats dinner and heads to bed.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2025-02-01
A look at the people, places, and objects, both novel and familiar, that make up a child’s world.

School’s out, and Mama and two pups are waiting to escort their kiddo home. As they journey through their neighborhood, the child’s rhythmic, repetitive refrain names landmarks large and small: “I see ORANGE CONES / Next to a BACKHOE / Next to a BIG HOLE.” Look around, the book urges; there’s always more to see. The lists encompass kid-friendly favorites, from the “PUFFY CLOUD” to the ever-popular “TWISTY SLIDE,” while specifics such as the “SPINNY CLOTHES” laundromat ground readers in the child’s world. As the family arrives home, the list transitions to the cozier, more intimate elements leading to bedtime: supper, bathtime, and a story before a “SOFT / Next to SOFT / Next to SOFT” ending that young readers will melt into. In the tub, the “FLOATING BOAT” is festooned with the words SS LIONNI—a reference to kid-lit collage master Leo Lionni—and indeed, Salmieri and Haas’ matte collage illustrations, made from paper colored with acrylics and plant-based inks, have a lovely touch of Lionni-esque color and boldness about them. Vibrant outdoor urban scenes pulse with activity and enough changes in perspective to keep things interesting; more subdued indoor scenes focus on small moments, capturing the closeness between parent and child as they share a story. Mama and the child are tan-skinned; their neighborhood is diverse.

A reassuring meditation about noticing and appreciating your place in the world.(Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews