Jamela's Dress [Hardcover]

Niki Daly (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up | Series: Jamela

"Jamela's mother purchases a length of costly fabric for a wedding, and after washing it, leaves Jamela in charge of the cloth while it dries. Jamela, however, can't resist playing dress-up...[A] warmly evocative picture book, set in South Africa."-Starred/Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Daly (Bravo, Zan Angelo!) splashes luminous watercolors across the pages of this warmly evocative picture book, set in his native South Africa. Jamela's mother purchases a length of costly fabric for a wedding, and after washing it, leaves Jamela in charge of the cloth while it dries. Jamela, however, can't resist playing dress-up with the gorgeous material. As she struts through town trailing the fabric like a train, passersby greet her with the refrain "Kwela Jamela African Queen!" She poses for a triumphant photo, but is crestfallen when a boy on a bike accidentally spoils the fabric. But all's well that ends wellA when her photographer friend wins a cash prize for the photo he took of regal Jamela, he replaces the ruined material. Daly displays a knack for pinning down domestic details that will resonate with his audience, from Jamela teetering about in her mother's red shoes to the look of contrition on her face as she gets a scolding. The affectionate interaction between mother and daughter is particularly well delineated; the bond of love between them emanates from the warmth of the oranges and yellows in the fabric at the center of the tale. Subtle accents add to the exotic flavor of the setting, from the Nelson Mandela poster hanging on a shop's wall to the chickens running loose in the streets. A sympathetic and light-hearted slice of life. Ages 5-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

Set in South Africa, Jamela is to guard the material for her mother's dress drying on the line. Attracted by its bright hues, Jamela forgets her duty in the quest for fun. Other fun-lovers will feel empathy for her self-induced problems. A 1999 Parents' Choice® Silver Honor Winner. (Kemie Nix, Parents' Choice®). -- From Parents' Choice®

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (April 9, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374336679
• ISBN-13: 978-0374336677
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 8.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,231,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The African Queen, October 19, 2004

By 

E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jamela's Dress (Paperback)

I've read French, and British, and Australian, and American, and a whole host of picture books from around the world. Yet one of the countries I've never really read a picture book from is beautiful South Africa. Here we have a country steeped in color and beauty and yet the schoolchildren of America know relatively little about it. Heck, I'll go so far as to say that MOST U.S. schoolchildren probably couldn't even find it on a map. Fortunately, that's all changed with the presence of author/illustrator Niki Daly and his heroine Jamela. If you've met Jamela in the past, you know what to expect from her. If you've never met her before, you're in for a real treat.

Jamela and her mother, residents of South Africa, are out shopping for dress fabric on fine and frolicksome day. After locating a beautiful but costly skein of orange/yellow weave, the two buy it up and wash the stiffness out of it. As the fabric dries on the line, Jamela's mama tells her daughter, in no uncertain terms, to keep the dog off of it. She doesn't want anything messing it up. Technically, Jamela obeys her mother's orders. The dog never gets the fabric dirty. Jamela, on the other hand, takes it on a joyous walk down the street, drawing the attention of many friends and neighbors. Too soon, however, Jamela must face the consequences of her actions and her mama is left unconsolable. It's only through an odd quirk of fate that Jamela is inadvertently responsible for her mother's new dress and a little surprise of her own.

Niki Daly must have kids. I've never said that about a single picture book illustrator before, but I think I have to say it now. There's something in Jamela's face that is dead on. When she wraps herself in the lovely remains of the fabric as her acquaintance Archie takes her picture, her face is a glowing combination of smugness and preschool pride. In fact, Daly has also captured the movements of his characters beautifully in this story. From Jamela's traipse along the dusty dirty street to the rambunctious clamering of friends and neighbors, Daly has an eye for natural human relations. There are delightful tiny details to observe as well. Note that when Jamela takes her walk she has obviously outfitted herself as well in her mama's too large red sandals.

And then there are the colors and fabrics in this story. The only picture book I've read that rivals this one in delightful material selection would have to be Lloyd Alexander's, "The Fortune Teller". Together, these two books would make one heckuva good storytime session. In this book, every person in this book wears realistic and fitting clothing. Archie sports a remarkable matching print suit while Jamela eventual comes to wear an elephant infused jumper. And Daly's so adept that you can sometimes make out the shifting colors and shades that make up each one of Jamela's dredlocks.

In an Author's Note at the end, Niki Daly gives some additional information about the history of the term "Kwela" (a word that pops up more than once in this book) giving the reader a little more information about South Africa itself. It fits the book well. I'd often heard wonderful things about the Jamela book series, but I'd never had the pleasure of actually reading one before. Now that I have, I'm happy to have found it. It's a vibrant and entirely pleasing concoction.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely book to share with your daughters..., April 17, 2000

By 

thesavvybamalady "swblkdiamond" (Prichard, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Jamela's Dress (Hardcover)

"I first saw this book in my book club magazine, I became really interested in it because I wanted a book that my daughters could enjoy. So I got it, and I loved it and then they did. One cannot help but love "Kwela Jamela, The African Queen" Basically, it is about a young girl who takes some cloth that her mother bought for a dress, and she marches up and down the streets with it only to find out that it became soiled and damaged. Despite that, the ending will leave a smile on yours and your kid's faces. I don't only see this as a ethnic book, the theme is universal and something that any child can relate to.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely book to share with your daughters..., April 17, 2000

By 

thesavvybamalady "swblkdiamond" (Prichard, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Jamela's Dress (Hardcover)

"I first saw this book in my book club magazine, I became really interested in it because I wanted a book that my daughters could enjoy. So I got it, and I loved it and then they did. One cannot help but love "Kwela Jamela, The African Queen" Basically, it is about a young girl who takes some cloth that her mother bought for a dress, and she marches up and down the streets with it only to find out that it became soiled and damaged. Despite that, the ending will leave a smile on yours and your kid's faces. I don't only see this as a ethnic book, the theme is universal and something that any child can relate to.