Happy Birthday, Jamela! - Hardcover

NIKI DALY, a Hans Christian Andersen Award nominee, has written and illustrated many acclaimed picture books, including three previous tales about Jamela and her family, one of which - Jamela's Dress - was an ALA Notable Book. He lives in Cape Town, South Africa.

Kindergarten-Grade 2–This latest story about Jamela has all of the charm of the previous books. Here, the child is looking forward to her birthday and a shopping trip with her mother and grandmother. She gets a new dress but when she spies a perfect pair of sparkly Princess Shoes, she is told they are not practical and that she must choose something sensible enough for school. The sturdy black shoes she gets are not glamorous–until Jamela decorates them with sparkly beads and glitter. Her mother and Gogo are upset that she has ruined them, but when a local merchant wants her to create more of her special Jamela Shoes to sell in the market, their anger subsides. The child proudly earns enough money to pay her mother back for her school shoes and is later rewarded with a special birthday surprise. Daly's exuberant watercolors are full of vitality. Details reflect South African life and culture, and the text is lightly sprinkled with Xhosa phrases. A wonderful addition to multicultural collections, this book would be a good choice for a birthday read-aloud or as part of a unit on saving or earning money.–Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME
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