Pretty Like Jamaica - CaribbeanReads

Now available in audio!

Precious loves all of the joys of her life with her grandmother in Jamaica but she misses her mother who lives in the United States. When her mother finally sends for her, Precious finds herself torn between the home she has always known and her longing to be with her mother.

Barrel-Pretty Like Jamaica

The term “barrel children,” coined by Dr Claudette Crawford-Brown, a senior lecturer at the University of the West Indies, refers to children whose parents leave them behind, often with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors and migrate to North America and the United Kingdom in search of opportunities for improving their economic situation. The migrating parents often send home barrels of food, clothing, and treats for the children left behind, hence the term “barrel children”.

Also check out Pretty Like Jamaica Activity Book.

Listen to Opal Palmer Adisa talk about Pretty Like Jamaica.

Next young reader: Pretty Like Jamaica Activity Book

Author(s):: Opal Palmer Adisa
Illustrator(s):: Wayne Powell
ISBN:: 978-1953747228 (Paperback); 978-1953747235 (Hard Cover)
Pages:: 42
Price:: $10.50 (Paperback); $19.50 (Hard Cover); $5.99 (Kindle); $5.99 (Audio)
Classification: Caribbean, Children, Ebook and print
Setting:: Jamaica
Date published:: 2023-03-10
Buy online now:: Amazon: Soft cover, hard cover, audio, and kindle; Barnes and Noble; Other options coming soon.

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Reviews
“A sweet celebratory children’s book, an exquisitely illustrated tale of a young girl and the women who
teach her to love and appreciate her Jamaican self… Adisa reminds us that the village still surrounds us, nurtures us, comforts us and gives us the courage to carry “home” with us anywhere. is for the family.”–Janet Morrison, Writer/Filmaker and author of A Different Me, A Better You.

“Opal Palmer Adisa’s, Pretty Like Jamaica is a beautiful story that does nothing short of causing the shedding of a tear drop. Kathryn’s separation and then reunion with her mother made me smile, hold my breath in anticipation and then exhale smiling all at the same time. Her story is truly ‘Pretty like Jamaica’!”–Jean Hawthorn-DaCosta, author of Leroy: Adventures of a Yaad Boy.

About the Author

Opal protects and loves her little girl-self that keeps her happy and excited about life.
She enjoys taking long walks and splashing in puddles.
She loves to climb trees and idle the day away day dreaming.
She loves all bodies of water, especially the sea.
She loves traveling and meeting new people.
Adisa is the author of Portia Dreams, 2021, the authorized children’s biography of Jamaica’s first
female Prime Minister, Portia Simpson Miller. She is also the author of Dance Quadrille and Play Quelbe, 2017 and Look! A Moko Jumbie, 2015.
Her poems and stories for children have been anthologized internationally.
Her essays, stories, poems and articles have been anthologized in over 500 publications.
Opal plans to write another 10 books for children, including other biographies. More information at her website.