Kadir Nelson's "The Man with the Whole World in His Hands" - A Captivating Portrait of Human Connection

Deirdre: This is a must have classic for children. The illustrations are incredibly beautiful.
The words you might know.
I am a librarian for youth services. Kids love this book.

United States on May 07, 2023

Sileas Campbell: This is a lovely book, as described. The crayon pictures don't really capture my baby's attention, but I'm sure they will when she is older, and she does enjoy the song. Personally, though, I think the pictures are wonderful and I'm looking forward to when I can explain them to her.

United Kingdom on May 14, 2022

Marion L. Brown: First and foremost we loved the big smile on the cover. Breaking down of the song into terms that children would enjoy is just on point. An excellent read for young children.

United States on Nov 26, 2021

jsomner: The pictures are absolutely beautiful! My preschool class will sing the song as we turn the pages. It was liked so much that it disappeared from my classroom so I bought it again!

United States on Jul 26, 2021

So so: What a beautiful and simple book. The illustrations are just beautiful, displaying positive images of a young black boy and a glimpse into his experience of life with his family. So charming, full of such strong positive images with a main black character.

United Kingdom on Oct 24, 2020

J.: Absolutely beautiful illustrations!

We have too many kids books with animals in them and I wanted some featuring families of different races and this was recommended. It’s perfect! The words are the song lyrics that many know so well, so I sang the words versus read them to my toddler and we paused on each page and talked about the pictures. If you don’t know the song the music for it is on the back page so you can learn the tune!

The song is about God so if you don’t believe in God this probably isn’t a book for you. That being said it does not directly say God, it just say “He/His” and it does not reference Jesus or any other religious figures so I think it’s suitable for those of any monotheistic faith!

I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for gorgeous illustrations of families that look like you, or families that don’t!

United States on Jun 04, 2020

DM: The art in this book is beautiful. The words are just the song lyrics exactly, which works for us because my little ones love to sing along.

Canada on Mar 07, 2019

Tracy Harris: Where do I begin?? LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. I actually just ordered 6 additional copies to give out as Christmas gifts. I was looking for a book that my 4yr old son could see himself in because at age 4, he was now very much aware of the color of his friends and family. I am yellow, his dad is black, one day he said I want to be yellow like you mommy, not brown. So, I immediately ordered 5 books about the beauty of diversity and how we are all different but all beautiful etc. This was one of them. When bedtime came and I pulled out all 5 books, he immediately grabbed this one with the beautiful brown boy on the cover and exclaimed "I want this one!" Wow is all I can say! The pictures are absolutely breathtaking and rich. The story is very simple but the illustrations bring the pages to life. It is such a plus that by age 4 most children know the song already, so after the story you can sing the song with your child. I highly recommend this book to everyone! Out of all 5 books, this was the best!

United States on Dec 11, 2013

Nele: - Schöne Bilder, liebevoll und ansprechend (anspruchsvoll) gestaltet
- mir persönlich gefällt es auch, wenn BIlder etwas weicher gezeichnet sind als hier... bin mir nicht sicher, wie Kinder das sehen
- Junge in New York, der die Schönheit der Welt betrachtet, zusammen mit seinem Vater
- Liedtext im hinteren Teil des Buches, mit Noten
- Habe das Buch noch nicht mit Kindern zusammen gelesen... bin gespannt, ob es ihnen gefällt und was sie daraus ziehen / was sie darin entdecken

Germany on May 19, 2013

Alison: I could buy up every book that Kadir Nelson has illustrated, cut out the pages and frame them all over my home. That's how much I love this mans work!

I am in awe at the beautiful images of humanity that he captures, the way light falls on skin, the glint in an eye, he just creates beauty.

With regards this book, it is just a simple sing song of the gospel/campfire favourite that has now surpassed any particular Religious denomination or creed and can just speak for humankind. The "He" of the original can be translated to whatever you wish it to be. Each page is a refrain from the song.
Like most of Kadir Nelson's work this book is another beautiful portrayal of African people thankfully adding to the still sadly limited portrayal of black people in children's publishing. He shows a mainly african-american family seen through the sons eyes, but with multi-cultural additions, as most families are in this day and age.

It is a lovely book. My two year old has already made this one of her nightly favourites, joining in with every page.

Just buy this for the superb illustrations, and then go and order every other book he has graced with his art, you will...

United Kingdom on May 15, 2012