Please, Puppy, Please

My daughter liked this a lot when she was six thanks to the rambunctious puppy who rarely pays any attention to all the futile "pleases" thrown his way by the children as he engages pure chaos mode.

The repetition of the text wore out its welcome with me after a while, but the pictures are so dynamic I can't really care.

Two young children of color share some of the ideas of having a pet. These children understand that there is joy and also challenge to owning a pet. This little puppy is energetic, and loving at the same time. The author seems to understand how children would react to a new pet and captures it very well. The illustrator captures the children and puppy perfectly and puts great detail into the puppys folds of skin and the childrens curly hair. His pictures are bright and exciting they dominate the page and keep it interesting.

A brother and sister try to corral their puppy in a rhythmic and repetitive text. Kadir Nelson's illustrations are expressively realistic and beautiful.

In my opinion this a good book because of the relatable and realistic plot. Two siblings beg for a new puppy and are surprised by how much work it is to take care of the puppy. This realistic plot shows readers who may also want a puppy of their own the time and effort that goes into raising an animal. The initial want for the puppy and the eventual frustration the puppy causes the siblings is very relatable to owners of baby animals, as I experienced these same emotions when I bought my bunny. The big message is that time and effort pay off, as the time and effort the siblings put into raising their puppy paid off once the puppy was trained, well behaved and much less stressful.

Summary:
This book is about the struggles of having a puppy. Puppies have a mind of their own. Trying to train them is not easy. Throughout this book the kids are trying to control this puppy. Their frustration and failure is shown through the changing size of font. You can tell they are begging this puppy to do what it's supposed to do, but it doesn't. At the end of the day you can tell they are still happy to have him.

Personal Reflection:
My children and I just got two puppies. This book brought to life the struggles everyone has in raising puppies. I absolutely loved the illustrations in this book. They were so detailed that I felt like I was apart of the story. This book showed that begging for a dog to do something you want doesn't show more help. A puppy will do what a puppy wants to do.

Classroom Extensions:
1. Have a show and tell pet day.
2. Draw pictures of their pets.
3. Talk about pet safety. show less

This book tells a cute short story about two little children’s adventure with their new puppy. The puppy goes outside, finds a hole in the fence, and escapes. The children chase after him to discover he has found a mud puddle. The children give him a bath once they have caught him. After the puppy has had its bath and is all dry the children begin to play.

This is an adorable book with very few words. I think the illustrations are extremely cute. The book is really told through the illustrations due to the lack of words, your imagination really gets a chance to explore. Children could really follow and interact with this book.

This book would be a great book for children to learn about the responsibly of a pet puppy. It could be show more used as a great interaction book. For little older children you could use the illustrations and have the children create a story. I would also use this book as a sit down and enjoy a few minutes of reading and imagination time. show less

In this picture book, a pair of toddlers attempt to care for a puppy. The text is fairly unexciting and unimportant. The book would be better if it had only pictures, no text. The setting of the book is in what appears to be a suburban backyard. The style of the text is repetitive and the words appear in different places on each page. The illustrations are what make this book worth reading (and sharing). There is no white space! Pictures are bold, energetic, and take up the entire page (often two pages).

Recommended for preschool and elementary school libraries.