Hello, and welcome to the Summer Term! Today, as it’s National Tea Day, I get to talk about two of my absolute favourite things – books and tea! This week’s recommendations blend my two passions, so grab a brew and settle down with a fabulous book.
Teatime Around The World by Denyse Waissbluth and Chelsea O’Byrne reveals all the wonderful ways we can enjoy a cup of tea––or two!
Did you know that po cha, the traditional tea in Tibet, is thick and salty like soup? Or that in Iran, tea is served with a rock? (A rock candy, that is!) Or that afternoon tea was dreamed up in England by a duchess who complained of being hungry between lunch and dinner?
With vivid poetry, vibrant illustrations, and unique facts about different tea cultures, Teatime Around the World tells the delightful story of a beloved beverage.
For our youngest readers, Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham, illustrated by Juan Wijngaard is a beautiful traditional tale that was shortlisted for the Greenaway Medal Winner.
Tashi lives in a tiny village below the tea plantations where her mother earns a living. One day her mother falls ill, and Tashi must pick tea to earn the money for a doctor. But she is too small to reach the tender shoots and the cruel Overseer sends her away empty-handed. Tashi needs a miracle. Then, on the mountains high above the plantation where only monkeys live, something extraordinary happens that will change her life for ever…
For Year 3 and up, Yesterday Crumb And The Storm In A Teacup by Andy Sagar is the first book in a magical series that I cannot get enough of!
Yesterday Crumb is no ordinary girl. She was born with fox ears that have cursed her to a lonely life working in the circus and her origins are a complete mystery. But she is about to escape into the adventure of a lifetime when she learns that she’s a strangeling who’s lost her magic.
Taken in by Miss Dumpling the flamboyant Tea Witch, Yesterday is introduced to a magical, walking teashop filled with fantastical customers, a flying teapot turtle called Pascal and powerful spells in every teacup!
Yesterday starts to rediscover her magic and to feel a sense of belonging. But a mysterious figure of darkness is working hard to ensure her new life comes crashing down – and it all starts with a deadly shard of ice in Yesterday’s heart…
But there’s nothing that can’t be solved with a pot of tea, a slice of cake and a BIG dash of magic!
For Year 5 and up, Arsenic For Tea by Robin Stevens is St Trianians meets Miss Marple, and murderously good fun!
Schoolgirl detectives Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are at Daisy’s home, Fallingford, for the holidays. Daisy’s glamorous mother is throwing a tea party for Daisy’s birthday, and the whole family is invited, from eccentric Aunt Saskia to dashing Uncle Felix. But it soon becomes clear that this party isn’t really about Daisy at all. Naturally, Daisy is furious.
Then one of their party falls seriously, mysteriously ill – and everything points to poison. With wild storms preventing anyone from leaving, or the police from arriving, Fallingford suddenly feels like a very dangerous place to be. Not a single person present is what they seem – and everyone has a secret or two. And when someone very close to Daisy looks suspicious, the Detective Society must do everything they can to reveal the truth . . . no matter the consequences.
Happy reading!