Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang illustrated by Hyewon Yum

A warming and gentle celebration of connection. Kirkus

This book begins on the first page (the one before the title page) where we see parents heading into an English as a Second Language class while the young children head into a room set up for free childcare. None of these children who come from around the world can speak English. 

Blurb: Luli removes her teapot, thermos and teacups from her bag and calls out ‘Chá!’ in her native Chinese. One by one, her classmates pipe up in recognition: in Russian, Hindi, Turkish, Persian, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and Swahili. Tea is a tasty language they all know well, and it gives them a chance to share and enjoy each other’s company. When all the tea is gone and it’s time for dessert, Luli gets to use her favourite English word: cookie! After that, the playroom isn’t so quiet.

Luli is a problem solver. When she attended the first time and played alone, she had an idea to bring tea to class to share. That idea becomes the spark that brings the children together. Another bonus in this story is how the children take the initiative to share when Luli runs out of tea for herself. Worlds of words

Late the other night I watched a television program about the rituals and treats of afternoon tea. Part of the program explored Sketch near Bond Street.  The person in charge of the tea menu explained some 'mind boggling' things about the tea they serve. There are twenty-nine teas of offer and two can be matched to each course of the afternoon tea such as Vanilla black tea; Royal Flush; and an Oolong tea from Taiwan - one the lost expensive in the world.  Even the way he poured the tea was quite crazy. I just loved the serendipity of this and the way it links with this book. 

This would be the perfect book to share with a young class especially one with children who come from different places around the world. Luli and the Language of Tea would also be the most perfect book to use for Harmony Day which is celebrated in Australia on 21st March each year. 

The end papers in this book contain beautiful tea cups from around the world. You can see art from inside this book on Seven Impossible Things. Here is an interview with Andrea and Hyewon. I found a brief set of questions to use with this book on the US publisher web site. 

Image Source: Maria Marshall The Picture Book Buzz

Andrea Wang is the author of Watercress winner of the Caldecott Medal in 2022. Take a look at this post from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything where you find more books about the topic of tea. 

My own favourite book (for older students) on this topic is Cloud Tea Monkeys by Mal Peet which I do hope you can find in your school or local library.