Happy Birthday, Jamela!

by Niki Daly

Book Overview

What Jamela wants for her birthday is a pair of beautiful princess shoes. What she gets instead is clunky, practical school shoes. Jamela is definitely disappointed, but with glitter, beads, and glue - and a burst of inspiration - she transforms her present into a funky, fun work of art. Mama thinks Jamela's handiwork is a waste of hard-earned money . . . until a local artist helps Jamela tap the full potential of her spirited creativity. Vibrant...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374328420
• ISBN13: 9780374328429
• Release Date: August 2006
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 8.7" x 11.3"
• Age Range: 4 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Love the interaction between mom and kid

It's very realistic, and very loving and sweet. Jamela needs new shoes to go with her new birthday dress. Well, shoes are expensive, so her mother sensibly nixes the pretty white ones in favor of the black ones suitable for school. Guess who's not happy about that? Of course, nothing is too much of an obstacle for a kid with a bright idea. She'll just make her school shoes pretty! Now her mother's the unhappy one, right? Luckily, there's a happy ending - Jamela makes more of her special shoes, sells them at a profit, gives the money to her mom to pay her back for the ruined school shoes, and gets new school shoes for her birthday (she was politely "surprised") and... the not-so-sensible white ones as a *real* surprise. I can see this happening in my own life, too. It's very true-to-life, I can't recommend it enough.

Niki Daly and Jamela are our favourites

My kids just love Jamela. It is so good for kids to read about children in other countries. Children without hundreds of toys and endless pressure on them, but with a loving family and community where fun things happen. We also enjoyed "christmas" and Yebo Jamela.

excellent

my granddaughter and I have read this book a dozen times since Christmas, when Santa brought her the book. She has taken it to school to share with the other girls. It is a total joy. It would have been even better, it there would have been a little explanation of the country the story was taking place in.