HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JAMELA!

Creative Jamela’s desire for a pair of fancy shoes leads to complications. In Daly’s fourth tale about the young South African girl, Jamela goes shopping for clothes with Mama and Gogo (grandmother) shortly before her seventh birthday. She spots some sparkly Princess Shoes, but Mama insists on a sensible black pair for school. Back home, Jamela can’t resist making the black shoes prettier with beads and glitter and glue from her box of treasures. Mama is visibly upset when she sees them, but an artist neighbor named Lily takes one look at Jamela’s “fabulous” shoes and suggests they team up for a project. At the market that weekend, the duo’s sparkly shoes sell like hotcakes, and Jamela earns enough to replace those she hastily decorated, proudly handing the money over to Mama. At her birthday party, Jamela gets both the Princess Shoes she had coveted and a black pair for school. Daly’s warm illustrations support his persuasive premise that it takes a village to raise a child. (glossary) (Picture book. 4-8)