Jamela and her family go to shoe store for her birthday gift. Jamela loves what the store clerk shows, but Jamela’s mama picks the practical & comfortable shoes for her. Although Jamela gets disappointed, she decorates her new shoes with beads and sparkly bits. When Jamela shows her special shoes, her mother doesn’t show support for Jamela. Lily, Jamela’s neighbor, liked Jamela’s decorated shoes and they make decorated shoes together. Lily names them Jamela’s shoes. In the market, their shoes sold like hotcakes. Jamela got her share from Lily. On Jamela’s birthday, Jamela gets very special gift from her mother as a consequence of the ‘Jamela’s shoes’.
Africa
Materials from Africa
Ryan and Jimmy: And the Well In Africa that Brought Them Together
In Agweo, Uganda, villagers were used to walking a long way every day in search of water. It costs a lot of money to build a well in Africa. The 6-year-old, Ryan Hreljac, kept doing chores around his parents’ house, even after he learned it could take him years to earn enough money to build one. Then a friend of the family wrote an article in the local newspaper about Ryan’s wish to build a well in Africa to supply people with clean water. After Ryan’s well was built, a young orphan named Akana longed for a chance to thank Ryan in person for this gift of life-clean water.
This book has been included in WOW’s Kids Taking Action Booklist. For our current list, visit our Boolist page under Resources in the green navigation bar.
Owen & Mzee: The True Story Of a Remarkable Friendship
True story of two great friends: a baby hippo named Owen and a 130-year-old giant tortoise named Mzee. In December 2004, a young hippo separated from his family by the devastating tsunami in Southeast Asia, adopted an ancient Aldabra tortoise as his ” mother”. And the old tortoise, for years a loner, accepted the baby hippo as his own. They are now inseparable.
Drumbeat In Our Feet
The beauty of African dances is explained by introducing the history and the energy of African dances. The poetic rhythms of African dance are the instrument of the poem flow.
Illustrative medium; watercolor and colored pencil.
Home Now
A child dealing with loss while trying to find her place in a new home. An author’s note provides context for the plight of the many children orphaned by the AIDS epidemic in Africa.
Big Boy
Little Oli wants to be big enough to go bird hunting with his brother Mbachu but has to take a nap instead.
Do You Know Me
Although he is continually getting into trouble, Tapiwa’s uncle becomes her best friend when he comes from Mozambique to live with her family in Harare, Zimbabwe.
The Dove
A visiting dove provides the answer to Grandmother Maloko’s financial problems when floodwaters destroy her crops and she must rely on the sale of her homemade jewelry.
This Place Is Wild: East Africa
Introduces the animals of the Masai Mara of Kenya and Tanzania, including the rhino, elephant, giraffe, cheetah, leopard and lion, and discusses their struggle for survival, the balance of nature, and the ecosystem of East Africa.
Mama Elizabeti
When her mother has a new baby, Elizabeti is given charge of her younger brother and finds it more difficult to take care him than it was to care for her rock doll. Sequel to Elizabeti’s doll, and followed by Elizabeti’s school.