Jamela'S Dress

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Mama is very pleased with the dress material she has bought for Thelma's wedding. Jamela can't resist wrapping the material around her and dancing down the road, proud as a peacock, to show Thelma her beautiful dress! When things go wrong, Mama is very sad indeed, but there's a happy ending just in time for Thelma's wedding day - and guess who has the biggest smile...Kwela Jamela, African Queen, that's who!

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

In South Africa, Jamela's mother purchases some costly fabric for a wedding and leaves the girl in charge of it. Jamela struts through the town trailing the fabric like a train. "The affectionate interaction between mother and daughter is particularly well delineated," wrote PW in a starred review. Ages 3-6. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

K-Gr 2-Who could resist playful, imaginative Jamela? She falls in love with the fabric her mother buys to make herself a dress for a friend's wedding. Caressing its brightly colored patterns and wrapping herself in its softness, the child parades through town to cheers and chants of "Kwela Jamela African Queen!" Caught up in the moment, she doesn't realize that the beautiful fabric has been stained by bicycle grease and torn by chickens. Everyone is angry with her; "Even Jamela was cross with Jamela," but the day is saved by a young man who has captured the hilarity on film. A few days later, the photo wins a prize and the photographer offers Jamela some of the award money to replace the ruined fabric. Mama makes a magnificent dress for herself, as well as one for "Kwela Jamela African Queen!" The story is filled with the musical language of South Africa. Daly's illustrations are vibrant and colorful, and impart a child's-eye view of the world. Particularly effective are the endpapers that repeat the patterns of the bright orange, yellow, and green fabric. In a final note, the author reflects on his childhood memories, explaining the old and new meanings for the Nguni word kwela. A delightful read-aloud that will be enjoyed by a wide audience.-Joan Zaleski, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Ages 3-7. In a happy wedding story set in a lively South African black township, Jamela gets in trouble when she messes up the special fabric her mother bought to make a dress for a family wedding. Daly's light-filled, rhythmic double-page spreads show Jamela dressed up in her mom's high-heeled shoes, dreamily stepping out with the brightly patterned fabric wrapped around her, parading through the streets, trailing through the dust, bumping into chickens, while the kids sing and chant "Kwela Jamela African Queen." Then there's a rude awakening when she suddenly realizes that the fabric is torn and dirty and Mama has nothing to wear to the wedding. Of course, everything ends happily for Mama and for Jamela. Kids will relate to the dressing up and the street commotion and also to the close-up scenes of Jamela and Mama in their house together. The fascinating, brief afterword about the role of "kwela" pennywhistle music played on the streets of Cape Town--under apartheid and now--will have readers wanting to know more about it. (Reviewed March 15, 1999)0374336679Hazel Rochman

Horn Book Review

(Preschool, Primary) Mama ""needs something special to wear for Thelma's wedding,"" and she's worked hard to earn the money for the beautiful new dress material. Jamela proudly helps wash and hang the material, and earnestly promises, ""I'll look after it, Mama."" But the lovely colors and patterns are too inviting, and, inevitably, Jamela is soon parading through the town wrapped in the material and trailing the extra behind her, oblivious to the damage being done by a bicycle, dog, and chicken. Of course, when she realizes what she's done, Jamela is crushed; a full-page picture of the small, tearful girl in short-legged overalls elicits total compassion. All is saved when a prize-winning photograph of the fabric-adorned Jamela brings money for a new length of material-enough for dresses for Mama and Jamela both. Daly's sun-lit watercolors capture the distinctive setting of the South African town as well as the emotional rollercoastering of a small child. Exuberant in the flowing fabric and Mama's high-heeled shoes, Jamela affects grown-up airs, but melts contentedly into little girl in Mama's forgiving embrace. Her longing for the material is made palpable by the sumptuous pattern on the opening endpapers, enticing viewers to run their fingers over the cool pages. The brilliant fabrics depicted in clothing throughout the book add visual pleasure to the empathetic story of a very real child. l.a. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.