Jamela's Dress

Jamela's Dress celebrates the youthful spirit of Jamela, a young South African girl. Jamela and her Mama shop for some material with which her mother will make a new dress to be worn on the occasion of a family wedding. They take it home, wash it, and hang it up to dry. As Jamela guards it against harm she becomes so excited by the beauty of the cloth that she wraps it about herself and parades through the town. Inevitably the cloth is ruined but through a clever plot device all turns out well and Jamela redeems herself. The wonderfully warm watercolors bring Jamela's neighborhood to life in all its energy and drama. An author's note traces the changing meaning of the word "kwela" through the changing history of his country and so illuminating some of the reasons new South Africa may have to exhibit a youthful spirit similar to Jamela's. For children from three to six.

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 hi

"Just one more time" are the words uttered by my two year old after we finish reading about "Kwela Jamela African Queen". Jamela's Dress is a unique representation of the simple joys in a child's life and how imagination can sometimes lead to trouble. Niki Daly's illustrations are a brilliant use of color that not only are appealing to the eye but also represent that of the African culture. This is definately a story that ties in a silly sence of children's adventure with a mother-daughter bond and cultural richness.

"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.