Please, Baby, Please by Kadir Nelson

Please, Baby, Please Reviews

• 
  Kathryn

  Please, readers, please! Choose this book if you are a fan of Kadir Nelson's work. And if you haven't ever encountered his work, please begin. The illustrations are so wonderful! I just love the baby's expression on the front cover. This is one beautiful, spirited baby! The text is just fine, I really enjoyed the variations on the "please, baby" refrain and felt exhausted just reading about the baby's antics as each hour in the day passes. Whew! But the illustrations are the star.
  
  One thing I would have liked better is if the father had been included in the story more. It seems like the mother is the one doing everything with the baby during the day (baby wakes her up in the morning, and she puts baby to bed at night) but then Daddy is seen sitting in bed with the mom later on. He just kind of appeared out of the blue.
  
  Spoiler:
  I wish the baby had wanted a kiss from both mommy AND daddy, at the end. It was sad seeing the dad yet the baby only asked Mama for a kiss. Since the book is a collaboration by a husband-wife/father-mother team, I expected more there. (And, yes, it's *that* Spike Lee.)
• 
  Emily Green

  Bug LOVES this book. She “reads” it to herself and repeats it when she’s nowhere near the book. The illustrations are super cute, but she also loves the repetition of “please, baby, please” in varying order on every page.
  
  We recently discovered the animated reading by Spike Lee from Nick Jr. on YouTube. Why should Mom read when Spike can?
• 
  Mushi

  This book, now in its third month in pre-bedtime reading, still manages to entertain.
• 
  Lin

  I liked the illustrations, not so much the text.
• 
  Breanna

  So cute!! Especially the end!
• 
  Alexis

  Read and discussed this in class. Loved it. Thought the baby resembled my nephew (around 1 at the time), so I bought it and brought it home at the end of the semester. He loved it and made sure someone read it to him multiple times before he went to bed. African American Children’s Lit is important!!
• 
  Julie

  Enjoyable story with good rhythm. Works well with a group. Everyone seems to like the diaper in the toy box page. Reading one-on-one, you can see the clock on each page showing when things happen in Baby's day.
• 
  N.D.

  I purchased this children's book years ago for my daughter. And it was absolutely wonderful - beautifully drawn and humorously written. A great family read.
• 
  Bianca Orellana

  A super cute story made even cuter by the illustrations! My son loved the repetition of "baby baby baby" (because he knows, at this point, that he's a baby, too). A very sweet book.
• 
  Maggie Tokuda-Hall

  The illustrations are so cute
• 
  Elizabeth

  My baby’s favorite part was, “Mama, mama, mama” 😀
• 
  Nicole Gathany

  cute to read to kids!
• 
  Carly Lewis

  An accurate depiction of what a day in the life is like caring for a baby. I am not a mother myself, but I babysit A LOT. Most often, I am with a two year old for the majority of the day. It was so funny how I saw so much of him in this little girl! I feel like I am always using the phrase, "Baby, please." with him in order to get him to do something-or not do something-for me. The illustrations were just incredible. So much emotion is shown on the child's face and it allows the reader to understand exactly how she is feeling without her saying a word. I loved the detail of the time shown on every page. This time aspect invited the reader into the mom and child's day-to-day life, which is something that was so enjoyable to be a part of. This book paints a beautiful picture of what parenting is, in terms of grace and sacrifice. The whole book the mother is asking the baby to "Please do this," or "Please don't do this," while the baby just does as she pleases without caring what the mother is asking for. At the end the baby requests for the mother to come kiss her goodnight and without hesitation the mother gets out of bed to come to her. Very heartwarming when I think of all the times my parents have chosen to love me regardless of how often I obeyed them. My only gripe with this book is the fact that the dad is very uninvolved. To me, it was a sad portrayal of how the wives are supposed to be the caretakers, while the husbands are out and generally uninvolved in the child's life. I would have liked to have seen more partnership is taking care of the child and for the child to desire the father to kiss her too.
• 
  Megan Ewald

  This story is a rhyming book that goes through the baby's day and the different things he does. On each page you see him doing something naughty followed by his mother stepping in to say something. This book also helps to tell the time of day it is with a clock at the beginning of each sentence on the naughty pages. The illustrations and story are very well organized and clearly present.
  
  I love this book and how it is told. The clock is a great added feature to help students run through the day. It is also going over all naughty actions and how they are not appropriate. I love the illustrations and content in this book too. They are so clear and very well done. This is a great book to read to students to practice telling time, rhyming or demonstrating positive behaviors. It is a short and simple reading that is so fun!
• 
  Roy

  My daughter immediately took to Spike Lee's legendary catch phrase, the adorable narrative which seemed to be written specifically about her, and the fantastic illustrations. I'm really glad I found this book and only wish I had learned of it sooner.
• 
  Abigail

  This is definitely one of the better children's book written by a celebrity. The illustrations by Kadir Nelson are hilarious and beautiful. Anyone who's spent time around a toddler can appreciate this delightful book.
• 
  jacky

  Most likely this is another book that parents like to read to their children, but our story time librarian today framed it as a great book for older siblings to learn about babies. It was accurate, but really is more about toddlers.
• 
  Davonni

  This book is a wonderful read! It perfect for younger children grades Pre-K through first grade. It is great for teaching responsibility and following directions. The pictures are also very detailed and colorful.
• 
  Earl

  I'd been wanting to read this since I'm always curious when celebrities write books. Cute book about how much of a handful a baby can be. Kadir Nelson's illustrations alone are worth picking up this book.
• 
  Amy

  My daughter loves the repetition in this book and I love the artwork by Kadir Nelson. It is also fun to repeat the title to her whenever we catch her at her toddler antics, for example, pulling egg shells out of the garbage or pots and pans out of the cupboard.
• 
  Mary

  A gift book for new parents of a daughter, or siblings of a baby sister. This is a humorous look a the mischief and messes made by babies. Repeated words make this appealing for early readers also. Discussion possibility: Is "please" really the best way to get baby to learn appropriate behavior?
• 
  Donna Mork

  Cute book about all the trouble a little one can get into, from not wanting to share, to eating things they shouldn't, to trying to wear things they should eat, etc. But at the end of the day, all baby wants is love.
• 
  Mrs Tupac

  Loved this. Based off Marz Jones infamous saying begging !!!
  Haha the pages gave me nostalgia ") I loved reading it to my boys BECAUSE like the baby in the book they do stuff I wish they didn't but with calmness and love we get & go through it:D.