My Mama Needs Me

by Mildred Pitts Walter, Pat Cummings (Illustrator)

Jason stops playing with his friends and stays at home hoping his mother or new baby sister will need him

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1984

About the author

Delegate to the 2nd World Black and African Festival of the Arts & Culture in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1977. Graduate of Southern University with an MA in education from Antioch College. She lives in Denver, Colorado, and travels widely as an educational consultant.

Reviews

[Tippy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute! A little boy stays home, waiting to be of help to his mama and new baby sister.

I read this book as part of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards 50th anniversary challenge promoted through the LA Public Libraries.

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Winner of the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustrator in 1984 for Pat Cummings illustrations. This is a great book about a brother welcoming his new baby sister and making some adjustments. Contains a very tasteful reference and illustration of breastfeeding. This was a good book to read with my 6yo.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mother used to read this to me when I was very little. I loved it and I have so many good memories of snuggling up with her while reading this. Thank you to the author and thank you to my momma for making my childhood so sweet.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Alissa loved the nursing scenes.

[Tess Upchurch · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book tells the story of a young boy named Jason who, with the addition of a new baby, is struggling to learn his new role in the family. He consistently attempts to go outside and play but always quickly rushes home in fear that his mother needs him. He is unsure of how he fits into this new life where most of his mother’s attention is focused on the new addition to the family.

The illustrations in this story are done with pastels which perfectly reflect the child-like curiosity of Jason and seamlessly fit into the new baby theme. While I thought that the pastel color pallet was appropriate for this book I did not find the illustrations very visually appealing. Additionally, I felt that the flow of the book was a bit awkward. The end seemed a bit rushed and unfinished. I would have liked to know more about how Jason fits into the new family dynamic.

I would not use this book in the classroom. The illustrations are unappealing, and it lacks an educational aspect. It may be helpful for students that have recently added a new family member at home, but aside from this I do not think I would recommend this book.

[Prachi]

This book follows the journey of a kid names Jason who gets a new baby sister. He is a sweet and unselfish boy. Usually when there is a newborn that needs more attention, older sibling can get jealous. Not Jason, he is constantly thinking of his mother and even refuses to go out in case his mother might need him. However, he is also conflicted about the newborn, he doesn’t understand why she sleeps so much or what babies even do. I though the illustrations were a great mirror of Jason’s emotions.
This is a great book to give as a gift to children who might be getting a new family member. It can be a hard time for them, and this book can help them realize that they aren’t alone in their concerns. IT helps them to deal with the attention not being always on them and how to help their mother. I think children might be inspired by Jason’s commitment to helping his mother care for their baby.

[Laetitia]

La maman de Simon rentre de la maternit� avec sa "nouvelle petite s�ur". Il prend son r�le de grand fr�re tr�s � c�ur, il veut toujours "aider sa maman", m�me si ce n'est pas toujours �vident.L'histoire et le vocabulaire est tr�s simple, adapt� aux jeunes enfants. Pour une fois, les personnages principaux sont noirs, probablement afro-am�ricains. Les illustrations sont tr�s classiques, traditionnelles, voire un peu d�su�tes.

[Kris Dersch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute if dated story of the love a new big brother has for baby and for mom and the longing of older siblings to just be included.

[Karin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely read about a boy who just wants to help out and hold his new baby sister.

[Kyja Wilburn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet story of a boy waiting and hoping for a way to care for his mom and new baby sister, which he eventually gets. I enjoyed the very 80s illustrations. There's a nice illustration of breastfeeding. There's also a part about feeding bread to birds, which is outdated.

[Madison · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a book about a young African-American boy whose mother just gave birth to a baby girl. The main character of the story, Jason, wants to help out his mother, but does not know how to.

The illustrator draws his characters in a way that is not very realistic. While the images themselves look like people, when looking closer, there are strange lines through the face and shapes that are not normally there. The pictures have some bright color but are mostly dull. The parts of the pictures that are supposed to be emphasized are in bright colors. Without the text, you would not know what the pictures were saying, but a story could be made up easily.

This is a good book about bringing a new sibling home because it tells the story through the eyes of the big brother, which is how a lot of older children feel. They are unsure about how to react and what to do in their situation. The book itself would be good for children to read who are expecting a baby in their family.

[Sharia A. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is about a young African American male named Jason. Basically, Jason was asked to do many task and Jason was not able to help because he had a new born baby sister. I enjoyed this book because it showed the African American family unit in a positive way. This book would be helpful to me for my students because they are always showed other races of fathers when their are black fathers in a positive way. Mildred Pitts Walter is African American which gives the book an honest trutht to what black boys deal with and see while growing up in a growing family. I would not use this book in instruction because it is drawn to fit African American stereotypes and the langauge use is way too basic. I would not recommend this book because it dislays the boy's place as pointless when he should be valued more from his family.

[Stephani Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book to prepare children who have never had a sibling before what life is going to be like. The boy in this story wants to help out his mom and thee baby but can't understand why sometimes the mom just doesn't need his help, like when the baby is already asleep or she just got to sleep.

Picture book

[Tierra · Rating 5 out of 5]

"My Mama Needs Me" by Mildred Walter shows the excitement from an older brother for his new baby sister. When his new baby sister comes home all he want to do is help his mom with her. He don't play with his friends , don't accept the neighbors offer of cookies and ditch his friend at the pond to go help his mother. I enjoyed the book because it shows joy for being a big brother.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the excitement from an older brother for his new baby sister. When his new baby sister comes home all he want to do is help his mom with her. He does not play with his friends , does not accept the neighbors offer of cookies and ditch his friend at the pond to go help his mother. I enjoyed the book because it shows joy for being a big brother.

[Sammie Ortiz · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting.... It can help if students in the class are dealing with a new baby sibling. They can relate to the character. But apart from that, I wish there was more to it. Also, I found the picture of the mother breastfeeding almost too much for a children's book.

[Ama · Rating 2 out of 5]

Illustrations are very dated. Text is OK.

[Amanda Davenport · Rating 1 out of 5]

what mama needs is a good nanny so she can spend some time with that older child. lol

[Brindi Michele · Rating 2 out of 5]

1984 CSKing Illustrator Winner

Cute story but the illustrations were horrendous.