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Showing posts with label Tea-Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tea-Fiction. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Polite Protocol

Certainly since the dawn of time, elders have served as guides for those younger than they are.  As parents or siblings it's almost an instinctive sense of duty. While most recognize the educational importance of making one's own mistakes, there are some things which must be done with the utmost care given to a prescribed sense of order, a code of conduct.

For whatever reason older sisters take this task to heart especially when it comes to younger brothers. It's a pleasure to present How to Behave at a Tea Party (Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, September 9, 2014) written by Madelyn Rosenberg with illustrations by Heather Ross. Julia's little brother Charles has got a lot to learn; she's just the sister to show the way.

First, you open the invitation.

 Overall grubbiness will not be tolerated; attention needs to be given to those places most likely to attract extra dirt.  Proper attire with emphasis on formal and fancy is required.  It would be unthinkable to attend without the quintessential hat.

Certain guests are not welcome at the suitably set table.  Oh...my...it seems those previously uninvited friends have arrived.  Er...it might be a good idea not to eat the flowers or for that matter the tablecloth.  At this point the demeanor of the hostess is deteriorating slightly.

Teacups must be held delicately.  Only certain food will be served with the exception of the dog being allowed his bone. The cornerstone magic words of manners are to be used at all times. Oh...oh...Julia is looking a tad bit more frazzled; her quiet mode of instruction has been replaced with frenzied pleas of can't, don't and no...no...no. YIKES!

Now that all the rascals, Charles, Rexie the dog, the frog and the irritable McKagan brothers, have retreated Julia can begin anew.  There are several teeny, tiny problems when following decreed tea party decorum.  It's too quiet.  It's too orderly.  It's up to the banished troublemakers to put a new spin on the best way to celebrate this time honored tradition.  Bring on the moat maker, the castle creator and daring, darling dragon!


Oh, how I love the way Madelyn Rosenberg uses words to convey the best part of any given situation. She paints pictures of personalities, transports us into best laid plans gone awry and supplies ample opportunities for us to grin, giggle and guffaw.  You can feel the tide turning and the tension building as prim and proper shifts back and forth between hilarious havoc.  Here is a single passage.

You must say "please"
and "thank you".
You must NOT slurp like a moose.
Or burp like Uncle Victor. 
The title is telling readers one thing but the dust jacket/book case front illustration depicts an entirely different scenario.  Clearly this tea party is going to be anything but ordinary.  I can hardly contain my laughter when I look at it.  On the back is featured an interior picture on the pouring and drinking of tea.  Rendered digitally the visuals begin their interpretation of the story on the title page, verso and first page as Julia writes the invitation and delivers it to her brother Charles, innocently playing with his toys on the floor.

As Julia narrates Heather Ross shows readers exactly what is happening.  Charles is not cleaning his ears but Rexie's with a toothbrush and Rexie is cleaning Charles's nose with doggy kisses.  Initially Julia is blissfully unaware which sets the stage for one comedic situation after another.

The wide-eyed looks on all the characters (except the teddy bear who stares like a deer caught in the headlights), small upturned noses and mouths shaped in an array of emotions will have readers in stitches.  Younger readers, who notice the smallest details, will be totally captivated by the expressions and antics of the frog.

One of my favorite set of illustrations is for the text

Next you put on fancy clothes.  Wear a fancy hat.  Underwear does not count as a hat.

 As Julia dons a hat and ruffled cape, Charlie and the frog head for the hills.  Rexie is smitten with wearing a pink tutu.  Julia does manage to snare Charlie placing a sailor cap on his head; prompting an outburst of laughter from the frog.  Purple, lace-edged underwear labeled Tuesday ends up draped over the frog's left side.


From the first time I read this book and each subsequent reading, I have had a smile on my face every single minute.  How to Behave at a Tea Party written by Madelyn Rosenberg with illustrations by Heather Ross is an adorable accounting of the misinterpretation of manners.  Sometimes a girl just has to go with the flow...or in this case...the frog. Be ready to hear a chorus of read it again.

For more information about Madelyn Rosenberg and Heather Ross follow the links embedded in their names to find their official websites. Here is a very special link to a blog post titled To Catch a Frog by Madelyn Rosenberg.  Today on Twitter people have been posting the cutest photographs of tea party attire and settings.  Here are only a few.  Follow the hashtag #howtobehaveatateaparty .






Enjoy the book trailer.  I am about to savor my final cup of tea for the day.

Posted by Xena's Mom at 8:27 PM 2 comments
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Monday, October 7, 2013

Craving Cookies and A Super Surprise

You wait patiently as the butter softens on the counter along with the eggs warming to room temperature.  You watch as the flour, salt, and baking soda are combined together and set aside.  Your excitement increases as the butter is creamed together with two sugars and a teaspoon (plus a little more) of vanilla.  When the eggs are finally added, you know it's almost done.

Shifting from one foot to the other, you wonder why it takes so long to add the dry ingredients.  Then you hear the package being opened.  Quickly two cups, okay, maybe two and half cups of those delicious morsels are poured and stirred into the batter.  Teaspoon by teaspoon, shapes are placed on the cookie sheet, which is then slid into the warm oven.

The longest ten minutes ever in the history of time is finally completed.  As the door opens, the most intoxicating smell in the world wafts through the kitchen.  You gaze longingly from your mom to the cookies. A nod is given. You never forget the first time you taste one, as all the flavors melt in your mouth.  There is nothing quite so good as a home-baked chocolate chip cookie.

If you think the need for these delectable delights is relegated to only humans, think again.  Once any living being gets a whiff of their aroma, the need to eat them is irresistible.  Tea Party Rules (Viking, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.) written by Ame Dyckman (Boy + Bot) with illustrations by K. G. Campbell (Lester's Dreadful Sweaters) tells the tale of a cub who has caught cookie fever.


Cub was playing in the woods
when he smelled something delicious.
He followed his nose through the
bushes and found...

 Wily woodland creature that he is, Cub has found a plate covered with cookies.  It seems he is not alone in this discovery either.  There is another bear sitting in a chair right next to those tempting treats.

Unlike Cub, this bear is of the stuffed variety.  So when Cub tries to engage the bear in conversation, he is met with silence.  In fact he falls off his seat when Cub touches him.

Cub now knows the cookies are all his.  As he is about to savor the first bite of one, he hears someone coming.  Uh, oh...

Cub does the only thing he can think to do.  He masquerades as the teddy.  Let's stop here a moment.  There's a lively, young bear taking the place of an inanimate toy?

A young girl is ready for her tea party to begin.  The table is set.  The cookies are on the plate.  She has brought the tea and a bouquet of fresh flowers.  When she carefully peers at her bear, he seems to be a tad dirty.  This will not do.  Readers are introduced to Tea Party Rule number one, cleanliness.

Cub has no choice as he is carried inside by the girl.  He tolerates a bath because he wants those cookies in the worst way.  He endures rules two and three because all he can think about is consuming those cookies.

Oblivious to the discomfort Cub is enduring, the prim and proper girl goes about  HER preparations according to HER rules.  Again outside the girl pipes up, voicing her fourth and final rule.  This is the proverbial straw that breaks this little guy's back.   Cub is, after all, a bear.  Girl responds as only she can, playing by the rules. GAME ON!


Ame Dyckman's passion for play in her storytelling makes its presence known by the time the first page is turned.  Techniques such as blending the narrative with Cub and the girl speaking their thoughts aloud, repetition of key phrases, pausing to complete sentences and word emphasis, all promote the feeling we readers are there watching this friendship, however improbable, form.  The atmosphere hums with anticipation.  Giggling and guffaws are a given.


With Cub and the girl eyeing one another, ready to grab the single cookie, framed in tiny birch branches, on the front jacket and cover and the question asked and answered on the back, readers can sense fun just around the corner.  Opening and closing endpapers have readers gazing through a birch forest, looking for nature's residents hidden among the trees.  On the title page, edge to edge, across both pages, we are still in the woods but now we see a mother bear sleeping with a cub, as another wakes up.

Rendered in sepia marker and colored pencils, K. G. Campbell's illustrations are spirited, brimming with humor and an enchanted extension of the story.  Each is set amid liberal amounts of white space; his artwork is so detailed, so delicate, it's like the white is gently holding each picture. The visuals in turn flow around and become one with the text.  The looks on the faces of Cub, the little girl and her cat will have readers roaring with laughter.  I adore both the two page spreads in the little girl's bedroom as she implements her rules.  When she's carrying Cub and her cat back outside to the tea party setting, I'm grinning, grinning big and wide.

Tea Party Rules written by Ame Dyckman with illustrations by K. G. Campbell, is one of the best tea parties you will ever have the pleasure of attending.  It's impossible not to fall in love with the characters.  Wouldn't it be fun to plan a tea party with your students having them bring in their stuffed animal friends, dressing up to fit the occasion?  You could make up your own tea party rules.

To learn more about the author and illustrator follow the links to their websites embedded in their names above.  Ame has been interviewed at The Little Crooked Cottage, The Styling Librarian, and by Nicole Y. Walters.  The most exciting thing is happening below!

 Today...yes today....Ame is sharing with the world her brand new book trailer for Tea Party Rules.  It's short, sweet and full of laughter and love, just like she is.




I am thrilled and thankful she agreed to answer some questions below.  Enjoy.
AME:  Thanks so much for having me on Librarian’s Quest, Margie!  I’m very excited to be here!  And—(YES, Cub!)  Cub is visiting today, and he’s very excited, too.


MARGIE:  I would like to know more about how you felt about the illustrations the first time you saw them.  What did you like best about them?  Did you and K.G. talk at all before you saw them?


AME:  Seeing K.G.’s illustrations for the first time was a RIOT!  K.G.’s a GENIUS with facial expressions—there’s so much humor in them!  I love all the little jokes he added, too—the bubble bath bottle, the artwork in the girl’s room, etc.—and I still crack up EVERY time I see Cub in that frilly pink dress.  (Sorry, Cub!  But I’m sure you can laugh about it by now, no?  Oh.  Moving right along…)  Sadly, K.G.’s far, far away on the other side of the country, so we didn’t really talk before first sketches except for an e-mailed “Hey, K.G.!  I bet you’re gonna ROCK it!”  And he did!  But I hope the two of us can hang out sometime soon.  OW!  (Why did you poke me, Cub?  Oh.)  Make that the THREE of us!


MARGIE:  I think the forest of birch trees adds to the lightness and fun of your narrative.


ME:  AFFIRMA—I mean, AGREED, Margie!  Kids enjoy looking for the hidden animals in the end pages.  I THINK I’ve found all of them!


MARGIE:  Did you and Husband Guy make the trailer?  It's the perfect amount of text and pictures to get people to read the book.


ME:  We did!  We cleared a few extra nights in our schedule by having cookies and tea for dinner, and—uh-oh.  (I was just kidding, Cub!  OF COURSE we didn’t eat cookies without you!)


AME:  Thanks again, Margie!  Cub can’t wait to try your chocolate chip cookie recipe!  (NO, Cub!  Those are MY car keys!)  Looks like I gotta go!  Happy reading, everybody!

This is my favorite recipe for chocolate chip cookies.  I clipped it from the Traverse City Record Eagle more than fifteen, probably twenty, years ago.

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup sugar (I use raw with a little of the white)
2 eggs at room temperature (brown, cage-free, organic)
1 package (3 oz.) cook and serve vanilla pudding (not instant)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I use two)
Zest of one orange, reserving the juice
1 cup dried cherries
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour (unbleached)(I add 1/4 cup more to make the cookies less flat.)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package (12 oz.) chocolate chip morsels (Ghirardelli)

Grate orange and chop zest finely. Squeeze orange and pour juice over dried cherries. Simmer until cherries are soft, or you can microwave them for 1 minute.  (I never do this.)  Drain cherries; set aside.  Combine flour and baking soda.  Mix butter, orange zest, sugars, eggs, pudding mix and vanilla together until creamy.  Gradually add flour/soda mixture.  Combine fully then fold in cherries and chocolate morsels.  Let dough rest in the refrigerator for one full hour. (This is important.) Place large teaspoons full of dough on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake in 375 degree oven for 15 minutes.  (Watch the time though depending on the humidity and your oven. It might take fewer minutes.)

Posted by Xena's Mom at 7:00 AM 2 comments
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