Jamaica and Brianna: A Gentle Story of Envy, Teasing, and Winter Friendship for Kids

Jamaica

by Juanita Havill, Juanita Havill

It's wintertime again, and Jamaica has to wear her brother Ossie's hand-me-down boots. She finds herself envious of her friend Brianna's pink boots with the fuzzy cuffs, and Brianna teases her about her ugly, old "boy" boots. But one word brings reconciliation for the two friends.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Family, Teaching, Cultural

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Juanita Havill is the author of more than thirty books for children, including I Heard It from Alice Zucchini, a collection of poems about the garden; Jamaica's Find, a Reading Rainbow Review Book, IRA-CBC Children's Choice, and the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award); Jamaica Tag-Along (an American Bookseller Pick of the Lists); and Eyes Like Willy's (Crown-Lamplighter honor book). She lives and gardens in Arizona and writes and teaches writing.

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/juanita-...

Reviews

[Andrea Jeter]

Text-to- text connection

Jamaica and Brianna is a great way to tech children the importance of friendships and different cultures. Their friendship went left for a while. As children I do not think they understand right off the important of friendships. These two girls got caught up in who shoes look the best instead of complimenting each other. In my opinion I think the girls thought because they didn’t have new shoes or the best looking shoes they would not be liked. It’s good to teach children to always stick by their friends and never make fun of each other. This book was great and very important because it shows two different cultures. They work their problem out and were still about to be good friends in the end. Different cultures have many different beliefs even when it comes to friends . It was good knowing that in the end the girls still able to be friends and work out their differences.

[Darren Shoneye · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Jamaica and Brianna' is a lovely story that deals with lots of 'PSE' issues ("Making Relationships" and "Manage Feelings and Behaviour") and it is great for teaching young children the importance of friendship and the problems you can face when you try to fit in. Being a person of Jamaican heritage it was lovely to see an author that had a main character called Jamaica; this was also very surprising too.

London is a very multi-cultural place and this is something that we should embace in our everyday lives, and within our classrooms. I very clearly remember that this story was read by one of the assistant heads in a primary school and it was such a lovely multi-cultural read. Also, Jamaica is an African-American girl, and Brianna is an Asian-American girl, so if teachers want to inject some colour and culturally diverse books into their classrooms then this is your book; there are also many other books by Juanita Havill that are referred to as 'The Jamaica books' which deal with similar issues. These books have been around for a very long time and will more than likely be readily available on websites like Amazon.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have read most of the Jamaica series by Juanita Havill and illustrated by Anne Sibley O'Brien. Jamaica and Brianna presents a learning situation with a moral dilemma that Jamaica has to work through, reflect on, and then internalize. In each book of the series Jamaica struggles with concepts of right and wrong and Jamaica's moral compass grows via her interaction with others. In this case it is interactions with Brianna, a friend where the relationship is still developing, and hand me down snow boots. Like in Jamaica's Find the book captures moments of growth in children's lives that all children can relate to and emphasize with. Anne Sibley O'Brien's illustrations capture Jamaica's and Brianna's emotions and thoughts. The composition and sensitivity of the illustrations expand on the text and help the reader connect with the characters.
Jamaica and her family are African-American and her childhood experiences in this series are universal. This also is a good lesson in and of itself.
Age Range: 4 - 7 years
Grade Level: Preschool - 3
Lexile Measure: 390L

[Alma Loredo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jamaica does not like wearing the hand down clothes from her brother. Brianna, her friend, sees her and makes fun of her boots which causes Jamaica to say that her boats are ugly. Brianna accidentally tears her boots and has to buy some new ones so she buys some cowboy boats. Brianna took off her boots at school and did not want them because Jamaica said they were ugly until she confesses that they were also her older sister’s boots. This book gets children to think about what they say to their friends and that teasing is never a good thing.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story for many reasons. I loved the fact that it brought in different cultures and showed the friendship between them. I also think that it showed the real element of how friends fight amongst each other and make up the next day. I also liked the element of hand-me-downs amongst the siblings. I related to this because my brother always gave me some of his stuff that I wanted, even though he was a boy, just like the characters in the story. I think this book would be a great story to have in the classroom for kids to read who are having an argument among their friends.

[Hannah Morrison]

Another book teaching life lessons. I appreciate the use of multicultural characters that is so nonchalantly presented in the story. It's a great way to reach students that feel left out or ridiculed, even in elementary school. Havill uses a situation that many females can relate to to tell a sweet story of friendship.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jamaica learns a lesson in this story, which she is able to pass on to her friend Brianna. Jamaica struggles with having to wear her brother's hand-me-down snow boots. Brianna makes fun of her. Jamaica's mother provides her with great advice about being concerned with what others think of her. When Brianna has to wear hand-me-downs one day,Jamaica is able to share the advice her mother gave her.

[Kat Mant · Rating 3 out of 5]

This used to be one of my favourite books at primary! Reading it to a primary class I felt something was lacking. Sadly I think that's age....but a beautiful book. Lovely drawings and nice way of looking at jealousy for youngsters.

[Jade Saleem · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about being yourself. It will help young children with self idenitity and express to them that it is ok to be different. We are all unique indiviudals.

[Sharla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Heartland School.

[Mrs Tupac · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book
Wish Jamaica would've been greatful for the boots instead of complaining.
Brianna was mean too
But overall atleast the ending was good the girls made up

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is beautifully illustrated, and it's nice having racial minority representation!

Thing is, the story doesn't entirely sit well with me. I get that at its core it's about getting the wrong idea about someone/something by not using your words, but the entire conflict revolves around Jamaica's offhanded comment trying to deflect the real reason she didn't get something she wanted (pink boots).

Frankly, except for story purposes, I don't see why
- Jamaica didn't just get what she really wanted, regardless of what her friend(s?) thought and
- why Jamaica felt she had to lie about why she didn't get pink boots (she didn't want Brianna to think she was copying her).

At least they clear it up in the end, but it's a problem I don't understand. I remember being that age, and I didn't give one thought to what other people were wearing. At most, I wanted them to be impressed that I had something no one else did (Hypercolor represent!). Then again, I'm not a terribly fashion-forward person in the first place, haha.

Fine for younger readers learning to read chapter books, or for older readers to read to younger readers!

[Brianne Tase · Rating 3 out of 5]

1. Summary: A not so new pair of boots creates a conflict among two friends. Young insecurities and jealousy lead to these two friends upsetting one another over a few pairs of boots.

2. Review: This book tells an innocent tale of young conflicts among children and innocent misunderstandings that might arise. Through the story of old boots, the author perfectly displays the simple tale of insecurities and hurtful words.

3. Connections: Sneetches is a book that has two groups becoming envious of one another throughout the story. Although Jamaica and Brianna aren’t as hateful to one another, there is definitely a sense of insecurity and jealousy among the two friends as there was between the two groups of Sneetches.

4. Quote: “Jamaica’s friend Brianna was already there. ‘Hi,’ she shouted. Then she said, ‘Jamaica, you’re wearing boy boots!’” Earlier in the book, Jamaica was already having a hard time adjusting to her boots. For this I’d have the students write about how Jamaica might be feeling and how Brianna made her feel after she said that.

[Amy Aldridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this book has some important messages in it about friendship that could be good for PSHE. Something about the use of boots being referred to as “girl boots” and “boy boots” didn’t sit well with me, even though Jamaica ended up buying boots that were for “boys and girls” there was still a lot of reference to what’s for girls and whats for boys. It might be interesting to discuss why this isn’t true, but I’m still not sure I would use this book.

[Cassidy Ringle]

This would be a good book to include in my library because it shows that you should wear things that you like and not worry about what other people think about it. It shows that some people are jealous and that's why they make fun of you or say mean things but in the end if you talk through it, you can still be friends.

[Bryn Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way that this book shows an example of conflict within friendships. It would be a great example of friendship for a social/emotional learning lesson.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pair of boots cause a misunderstanding between two classmates.

[°☆.。.:*・Nanna°☆.。.:*・ · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was okay, I just thought it was ridiculous how it was about boots. It also shows the girls being spoiled, especially Jamaica. It hints to other kids what they can do to get what they want. It also shows how being dishonest and insulting others can hurt them. I didn't think those were really good themes. Also, the drawing were just okay.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent friendship story. Highly recommended for ages 5-7.

[Keira Mulholland · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about two girls who bump heads about their boots. Jamaica is forced to where her brother's hand-me down boots, which Brianna insults. Jamaica doesn't like them anymore, so she destroys them on purpose by making a big hole in them so that her parents would have to buy her a new pair. Her mom took her to buy a new pair of boots, and she chose cowboy boots. She wore them to school the next day, and Brianna still insulted her boots. Jamaica eventually learns to like her boots, because they kept her warm in the snow, etc. However, Jamaica learns that Brianna's boots are old boots that she has to grow out of before she can get a new pair. The two girls end up becoming friends.
The illustrations depict two girls of different races. They constantly bump heads about their boots, but end up befriending each other after realizing they actually had something in common. This is important for children to learn, as being respectful is very important, and you never know who you may have something in common with. I noticed that Jamaica, and African-American girl, had both parents present in the book, which is something I personally haven't seen often while reading children's books with African-American families. Furthermore, I think that the book is simple and interesting for children to read and to understand. The illustrations of the girls are realistic, from their facial feature, to their hair, to the boots. There are no detected stereotype associated with the characters. Thus, I think that this is a good book for children to read.