Muriel FeelingsBesprekingen

Evocative images, done in simple black and white, high quality illustrations and printing. Tells the alphabets of Swahili through words and then explaining the meaning of the word in the cultural context. the images align with the word

This is a decent story with a good lesson, but the writing style is a little dry. I don't know if it would engage many children. The pictures are stunning, though.

The main focus of this book is that it ties counting and the Swahili culture and language. Throughout the pages it has numbers and than translated to the Swahili language, but within those pages it depicts the lifestyle of African culture. It helps you pronounced the translation of those numbers as well. I would use this book to introduce a project in which students have to translate numbers in another language or math concepts. It is a great way to have diversity in the classroom, by learning cultures and languages other than English. This book can also be used in Social Studies and Science. In the picture it depicts different landscapes and teachers could use that to introduce landscapes of other countries or surrounding places.

Zamani's unselfishness is rewarded when he spends the first money he earns on a gift for Mother.

Jambo Means Hello introduces children to the Swahili alphabet with helpful pronunciation keys, while presenting East African culture and lifestyles through an easy-to-understand narrative and vivid illustrations.

A Caldecott Honor Book

I really liked this book because of the way that it tied in African culture with learning to count in the language of Swahili. The introduction of the book starts off by informing the reader why it is important to know Swahili, because it breaks down language barriers in African countries. This was a great way to start out the book because it immediately made the reader feel as if they were in on something important. It would have been easy for the author to write the Swahili counting words and just draw pictures to represent those numbers on each page. This author though takes the opportunity to put a fact on each page that makes the reader more familiar with African culture which is so important. Finally, the illustrations in this book are phenomenal. The illustrations greatly enhance the story by making the reader feel as if they are right there in the action. Overall, this book allows readers to broaden their perspectives on what other cultures look like and what they languages they speak sound like.

This book is an alphabet book that also teaches about the Swahili language. The book features detailed illustrations and clear descriptions of the words it introduces. This would be an appropriate book for intermediate readers, and could be a worthy addition to a multicultural classroom.

Reading this book made me feel so smart and worldly as a kid.

This informational picture book begins with a short bit of information about Swahili language and culture. The book then introduces twenty-four words that are important in Swahili culture, one word for every letter of the alphabet. Through this book, children are given information about a culture of Africa as well as words that are used in that culture.

This Swahili alphabet presents a word with English translation for each 24 letters of the alphabet. The illustrations in this book do a lot to help explain the Swahili culture and the meanings of the words given.

Time Machine
4.0 out of 5 stars Moja Means One - a review, May 24, 2005

This is a lovely little book by a couple who have lived and taught in East Africa. They obviously loved the experience because they were inspired to produce this Caldecott winner.

Though the book was written with African-American children in mind, I believe all children can benefit from reading it. Each number is accompanied by a two-page grayscale drawing. The lack of color may be a problem for younger readers. My 3 year-old son, for example, was not interested in a second read-through. My 5 year-old daughter however was intrigued by how African culture (grantedly of the late 1960's) was different from our own. The counting was not of particular interest to us but all of the other aspects of non-urban African life were.

Pictures depicted are snowy Kilimanjaro, a children's game called Mankala, coffee trees, mothers carrying their babies on their backs (which we now do in the US), savanna animals, styles of dress, Nile river fish, busy market stalls, musicians and their instruments, and, at last, a storyteller entrancing young listeners.

My only complaint is that there is not more to this book: more beautiful drawings; and more explanations of the activities that are depicted. Still a nice book for children who seek an introduction to the broader world.

I really liked this book. The book attempted to teach Swahili words to young readers. I liked the over all appeal of the book is good. The outside of the book is distressed and almost looks like paper michay was used. The next reason I like this book is because it goes through every letter of the alphabet and introduces one word for each letter. It gives the word, the definition and the pronunciation. The graphics are also very culturally appropriate. They depict exactly what the word is talking about. This way we have four different ways to understand the new word. The children in the picture look like children children from the Congo, or countries that speak Swahili. I think the purpose of this book is to inform young readers about the Swahili language, and some traditions and elements of their culture.

This book introduces the reader to common Swahili words and customs as each page is revealed in the English alphabetical order. For example, the first page is covered with an illustration of an Arusi, a wedding, which is celebrated by the entire village. I especially enjoyed seeing the fairly realistically displayed ways of life of the Swahili people, on top of learning common Swahili words. I also appreciated the author’s attempts to teach beyond simple words, like when she wrote, “The formal way to say it (Hello) is Hu jambo. With these words, the long courteous greeting begins.”

I enjoyed this book very much. It was very informative about the people who speak Kiswahili as well as being a number book. I would read this book to a classroom that is learning about counting and I would incorporate a lesson plan to learning about the people in the book.

This black and white picture book introduces children to the language of Swahili and words that start with the 24 letters of the Swahili alphabet. This book serves looks and feels more like a dictionary as the Swahili words are then defined and words and with the corresponding black and white sketches. The book does provide children with an introductory insight into the lives of people living in Eastern Africa so that students can begin to compare and contrast vs. their lives in the United States.

This would be a wonderful book to read as part of a geography lesson or as an introduction to another culture (especially if there are any students in class who have immigrated from Eastern Africa). This would be a wonderful conversation starter about cultural similarities and differences.

alphabet book about animals

Jambo means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book by Muriel Feelings represents the Alphabet from A-Z with Swahilian words, explanations, and pictures. This alphabet book is paired with beautiful black and white illustrations to aid with introduction of each word. For example A is for arusi (ah-roo-see) is a wedding. The author describes the significance of the wedding and the illustration show a picture of the arusi. Pronunciations are on each page.

This book would be great to share with young children who are learning the alphabet. This book will help them learn new words but also learn about other cultures. I would use this book with older children as well when learning about other cultures.

Jambo Means Hello: Swahili Alphabet Book by Muriel Feelings is an informational alphabet book that introduces Swahili language and culture. Each page has a new Swahili word with its English translation, its pronunciation, and a brief description. The illustrations draw in the reader and show images that portray the words.

In a classroom I would read one page a day, introducing one new word, and create discussion around the illustrations. This is a great book that can help students experience a different culture they may not have known before.

In this text, the Swahilian alphabet is explained through words, pictures, and examples from that East African culture. Each page start with a letter in Swahili and also includes something that starts with that alphabet letter. The illustrations on each page represent the cultural example. Students will not only learn the alphabet of another language in this text, but also about a whole new culture. The plain and simple black and white illustrations will make it easy for students to focus on what the book is exhaling: the Swahilian alphabet and culture. Some of the examples in the text include, "D is for Dawa is medicine," where the picture shoes herbs being used to make a medicine for sick people, and "J is for Jambo means hello," where someone is shaking hands with someone to say hello.

This book shows the Swahili alphabet using a word that begins with the letter represented. This book shows the rich culture of the Swahili people in a simple black and white format.
Source: Pierce College Library
Ages: 3-5

great new words and photos to represent abc's

Tales of East African life are depicted in two-page illustrations for each Swahili translation of the counting numbers one through ten. Young children can easily relate to the subject presented with each number as a brief fact is given about African life with the Swahili number and a familiar vocabulary word is highlighted. Children will enjoy practicing the pronunciations and looking at numbers in a new way. It is a beautiful lesson about a different culture and an excellent addition to a child’s library.

This is a book that teaches how to count one through ten in the East African language of Swahili. I really liked this story. It would be fantastic to use as a multicultural tool in a class room. It was really neat to learn the words for each number, as well as a sentence that described the life of someone who spoke Swahili. This story would be a great tool to use in the classroom to show that just because someone uses a different language than us does not mean that their numbers are different. You could also use this book as an aid while teaching a math lesson.

Counting in different languages can be fun and can be tied to learning the numbers.

Double-spread pencil drawings illustrate something from East African culture to match a number from one to ten. We learn the Swahili word for the number as well as other details from the culture. Pictures express the author and illustrator's affection for the people and traditions of East Africa.