Where Jamaica Go? - Hardcover

Inspired by the sounds of a Jamaican nursery rhyme, this sunny book dances to a reggae beat, its playful text pulsing with rhythm while illustrations sing with color. Three short stories depict young Jamaica as she variously goes into town, heads off on a beachcombing mission and catches a ride home with her father. Downtown, "Jamaica make 'em laugh and lose their frowns"; at the beach, she comforts a boy scared by a jellyfish ("Jamaica make him laugh. She blow it a kiss"); and on the way home, "Daddy laugh and laugh in his big Chrome Dome." This merriment infuses the entire narrative, so that Jamaica's fun becomes the reader's as well. Gottlieb's (I Got a Family; Train Leaves the Station) zesty artwork captures the dazzling Caribbean sky and sea, lush coconut trees, bright print dresses and gaily painted houses. Her childlike illustrations sashay and swirl to the mesmerizing pull of the language. Even the typeset text wanders here and there, as if unable to stay in one place. Where Jamaica goes, readers will want to follow. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A day in the life of a Caribbean girl is told by Gottlieb (Seeing Eye Willie, 1992, etc.) through three quick stories written in rhyme. First the girl goes downtown, where everybody wears a frown. ``What Jamaica see when she go downtown? Fish and fruit and Miss Lee Brown. What Miss Lee Brown do? She do the drums. She play them funny? Go tum tee tum!'' Act II finds her beachcombing: Jellyfish are scaring her friend, Manny, so Jamaica blows the jellyfish a kiss and makes Manny laugh. Lastly, Jamaica heads home with her dad. ``Where Jamaica go? She go back home. She get there walking? Her daddy's Chrome Dome.'' There is a moment of drama involving a bottle of cologne and an escaped chicken, but Jamaica straightens matters out. Gottlieb uses her usual loose lines and bright colors to give this saucy piece plenty of bump and oomph. (Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.