Status
Available
Series
Genres
Publication
Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (2004), Paperback, 32 pages
Description
Jamela gets in trouble when she takes the expensive material intended for a new dress for Mama, parades it in the street, and allows it to become dirty and torn.
User reviews
LibraryThing member conuly
Jamela (who must be about the age of five) set herself to the task of watching her mother's fabric for her new party dress.
Buuuuut... well... she got a little carried away taking it to show everybody. And the fabric is ruined. There's a bit of a contrived happy ending, though I guess children
I love how realistically Jamela is portrayed. Volunteering to keep the fabric safe and the forgetting is *exactly* how children act. And I like that "Even Jamela was cross with Jamela" at the end - children really can be their own harshest critics. But what I really love is the final sequence - armed with new fabric, Jamela's mother (clearly having learned her lesson) stays with her and sings and plays as the fabric dries on the clothesline, and then she makes a dress for her daughter. It's clear how much they love each other, and it just sends warm fuzzy feelings everywhere.
Buuuuut... well... she got a little carried away taking it to show everybody. And the fabric is ruined. There's a bit of a contrived happy ending, though I guess children
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mightn't realize it.I love how realistically Jamela is portrayed. Volunteering to keep the fabric safe and the forgetting is *exactly* how children act. And I like that "Even Jamela was cross with Jamela" at the end - children really can be their own harshest critics. But what I really love is the final sequence - armed with new fabric, Jamela's mother (clearly having learned her lesson) stays with her and sings and plays as the fabric dries on the clothesline, and then she makes a dress for her daughter. It's clear how much they love each other, and it just sends warm fuzzy feelings everywhere.
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LibraryThing member bplma
When her mother buys material to make a new dress for a friend's wedding, Jemela falls so in love with the beautiful fabric that she wraps it around herself and parades throught the street. But this is a busy neighborhood and on the way the fabric gets ruined. What will mama do?
Warm and earthy
Warm and earthy
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illustrations complement this wonderful story. Filled with images of modern South African street scenes, as well as Nguni works, children everywhere will love the story and identify with its heroine. Kwela Kwela! Show Less
LibraryThing member meallen1
The genre of this book is multi-cultural. This book is also fictional. The art in this book is illustrations. The content in this story is that a young girl messes up some valuable material by not being careful, but in the end the girl does not get in trouble. The reading level for this book would
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be third grade.There are also no curricular connections present in this story. Show Less
LibraryThing member whitneyw
I love this book because its is a great rich story and very colorful and fun to look at. Little Jamela learn a lesson about taking her moms material and its an all around good book
LibraryThing member kmacphee
ESL classroom use: sentence structure, word usage, proper nouns.
LibraryThing member ArielDean
I liked this book because Jamela has a big imagination. Her mom bought new material to make a dress but she went parading down the street and messed it up. The picture taken of her won money so the man went with Jamela to buy her mom the same material. It was a happy ending and even Jamela got a
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new dress with leftover material. Show Less
LibraryThing member ronicadibartolo
I like Jamela!!.. She's got spunk. She gets into trouble but is smart enough to find her way out of it. My daughter and I really like the way Daly illustrates his books. Fun and easy on the eyes. Who doesn't like a happy ending?
LibraryThing member kaitanya64
Jamela is a clever, spirited little girl who happens to live in South Africa. When she falls in love with her mother's new dress fabric, trouble ensues. My daughter and I loved Jamela, and Daly's pictures and text present Africa in a positve and realistic way.
LibraryThing member Kalei808
A young girl Jamela living in South Africa, is left in charge of the new cloth her mother had purchased. Along the time, Jamela urges to play dress up with the new cloth.
Awards
Language
Original publication date
1999
Physical description
32 p.; 10.62 inches
ISBN
0374437203 / 9780374437206