and finds
the yellow fringed black
faces there,
imprinted on her frock,
all over.
Another time she passes
red roses
and there the clustered
bunches are, imprinted
on her frock."
James Berry wrote this poem in 1991. It is reissued now (three years after his death) with mixed media artwork that keeps audience attention on the child herself, and the dress that is constantly changing in relation to the places she visits.
Afiya has only the one dress. She wears it every day and washes it every night. The joy in the simply written, but expressive, text comes when the dress somehow transforms whenever she visits the wonders to be found in nature. The dress makes each of those visits memorable and full of joy for Afiya.
"She walks through high grass and sees
butterflies and all kinds
of slender stalks and petals
patterned on her back and front
and are still there, after
she has washed her dress."
Yet, every morning the dress is white again and ready for the next adventure. Each delightful image invites a child's imagination to rise to new heights.
In a foreword, Myra Barrs describes the book this way: "This book is a wonderful weaving together of two imaginations." Very well said.
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