Tea Party Today: Poems to Sip and Savor from Author Eileen Spinelli




The Tea & Poetry Book Club decided to feature this book of poems that combines the love of tea with the diversification of poetry.

Author Eileen Spinelli and illustrator Karen Dugan celebrate tea parties for kids in this cozy collection of poems Tea Party Today: Poems to Sip and Savor. Young children will delight in imagining themselves enjoying tea in bed, at the beach, in a backyard secret garden, and in exotic, far off places. Karen Dugan's breathtaking pictures are as welcome as a charming teatime companion is. The helpful teatime tips will encourage children to make their own teatimes special.

As long as tea parties continue to appeal-and they do-there will be an audience for pleasant books such as this. Sturdy poems with strong rhythms by a sure hand, examine the many possibilities of these social occasions. Word choices are usually simple enough to be within the capabilities of young readers. Short lines and repetition allow for quick memorization. Although the subjects, from honey to herbal teas to teddy-bear picnics, are lighthearted, the rhymes are never trite. Brightly clothed, happy children romp through sunlit watercolor pages, paying homage to diversity of culture, race, gender, and age-in a jolly, upscale greeting-card style. Even the fish are smiling. The full or double-page illustrations are well designed to reflect the content of the poems. Varieties of teapots are used as a motif throughout the book. - Amazon.com

Eileen Spinelli is no stranger to the Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers list. Since her debut in 1991 with Somebody Loves You, Mr. Hatch, an IRA/CBC Children's Choice book and Christopher Award winner, she has gone on to author numerous picture books, poetry collections, and chapter books, including the best-selling When Mama Comes Home Tonight and the critically acclaimed Sophie's Masterpiece. Eileen lives in West Chester, Pennsylvania. You can find Eileen's book, Tea Party Today: Poems to Sip and Savor on Amazon.com.

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