21st May International Tea Day

Recognising the long history and the cultural and economic significance of tea around the world, as well as the significant role it plays in rural development, poverty reduction and food security in developing countries, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21st May as International Tea Day. Tea production and processing are a main source of livelihoods for millions of families.

Tea is a plant. Tea is a ceremony. But most of all, tea is love. 

Whether it’s part of an elaborate ceremony, or a quiet cup brewed for one, tea holds a special place in the hearts of millions. This poignant, lovely picture book celebrates the practice of tea-drinking across various cultures and countries, and meditates on the many meanings the ritual holds. These lines are from this new book Tea is Love by Adib Khorran and Hanna Cha which will be out later in the year. I can't wait to see it.

I am a tea drinker and late in the afternoon there is nothing nicer than a sit down with a pot of tea. I have written about International Tea Day before, here and also 21st April which is Tea Day here so there's not a lot more to say or show. 

I did notice Tea  by Dong Ningli has been published this year and is available in bookshops for a very affordable price, but I haven't seen it yet.

As the sun comes out of the mist, the tea pickers, who wear bamboo hats, coir raincoats and straw-made shoes, walk up the hills with bamboo sticks and gently caress the tea plants that they have cultivated for more than half a year. The coming days will be the busiest time of the year.

21st May International Tea Day

International Tea Day is observed annually on 21st May according to the United Nations.The concerning resolution was adopted on December 21, 2019 and calls on the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to lead the observance of the Day. An International Tea Day has been celebrated on 15th December, since 2005, in tea producing countries like India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Vietnam, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Uganda and Tanzania.

I have not written about tea on either of these dates before, so I am writing now in the hope that I will remember to celebrate it in the library next May. I want to celebrate this day because there are so many books to pull off the shelves for a display.

Factual books first:

•Teatime Around the World  by Denise Waissbluth and Chelsea O'Byrne

Let's go on an adventure to discover new cultures and friends through tea! In this fun and lyrical picture book for ages 4-8, you  will learn how tea is enjoyed in Thailand, Japan, Russia, Egypt, Pakistan, Hong Kong, Uruguay, South Sudan, India, and more countries!

• The Story of Tea  by Alex Woolf

• The Tale of Tea  by Shalini Vallepur

 

Let's have a tea party!:

Series such as Fancy Nancy, Angelina Ballerina, Pinkalicious, Mr Putter and Tabby and Madeline all have a tea party book.

• Tea Party Rules  by Ame Dyckman and K.G.Campbell

• The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi

• Daddy Lion's Tea Party by Mark Sperring and Sarah Warburton

• Sun and Moon Have a Tea Party by Yumi Heo

• The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr

• No Dragons for Tea  by Jean E. Pendziwol and Martine Gourbaldt

• Tea With Rex  by Molly Idle

• Squishy McFluff: Tea with the Queen by Pip Jones and Ella Okstad

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

•  Phoebe Dupree is Coming to Tea by Linda Ashman and Alea Marley

• Ash Invites Her Friends to Tea by Fu Wenzheng

• Fu Finds His Way by John Rocco

• Chimpanzees for Tea  by Jo Empson

• How the Queen Found the Perfect Cup of Tea by Kate Hosford and Gaby Swiatkowska

• Teatime by Tiffany Stone and Jori van der Linde

While not strictly about tea, but rather the train that brings tea to the outback, they are perfect for this time of year.

• Tea and Sugar Christmas  by Jane Jolly and Robert Ingpen

• The Shop Train  by Josie Wowolla Boyle

Then look for these short novels:

• The Giants' Tea Party  by Vivian French

• Judy Moody and the Right Royal Tea Party by Megan McDonald

• Tea Party Parade  by Nick Sharratt 

• Mr Monkey and the Fairy Tea Party by Linda Chapman

• Maybelle Goes to Tea  by Katie Speck

• Cloud Tea Monkeys  by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham

If you don't care for tea, but are enamoured of teapots, look for these:

1st October International Coffee Day

Finally a day that is hard to celebrate using children's literature...International Coffee Day. I found it difficult to find any picture books featuring coffee, probably because it is not something associated with children. There's plenty of books that feature tea though, so why not coffee?

The Biography of Coffee outlines the journey of the coffee bean to being made into coffee ready to drink, so it fits in well with the aims of this year's International Coffee Day...




International Coffee Organization has chosen a very special theme for this year’s celebrations: ‘Women in Coffee’. Women play as important a role in the whole of the coffee chain as men, from planting the seeds to processing to trading to brewing… and drinking it.

So it is very fitting that this book has a woman on the cover! Go have a cup of coffee and think about the women who were involved in its production and perhaps you can think of how coffee could feature in a picture story book.

21st April Tea Day

”You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
~ C.S. Lewis

There is nothing nicer than a good read and a cup of tea. So celebrating Tea Day is a must. Tea is not something children give a lot of thought to, because very few of them actually drink tea, but so many children's picture books feature tea. At the very minimum they finish with and 'they all had tea'...it is a warm, secure, happy, family feeling to finish with. Think of The Elephant and the Bad Baby at the end where everyone goes back to the baby's home and his mother gives them tea and pancakes. Think of Alfie Gets in First and how after the problem of the locked door is finally solved everybody sits down for a cup of tea. Yes, these books are old but the pattern continues and now there are even stories with tea in the title.

Many years ago when I started teaching I did a lengthy integrated social science unit called 'What's in a cup of tea?' and my Year 5 class and I explored the tea industry, the sugar industry and the milk industry for a whole term. What fun it was and given my knowledge now of children's literature I would have had plenty of good books to add to it. What a shame the current curriculum doesn't allow for such tangents or flights of fancy anymore.

Below are covers of books in our library that feature tea parties, cups of tea or the importance of tea. The Biography of Tea pictured above gives a comprehensive history of tea and its role in many cultures.

5th June Hot Air Balloon Day

I have written about Hot Air Balloon Day before here, but recently I have added three new books to the library which are well worth searching out for this topic or just as good reads.

 Lighter Than Air  by Matthew Clark Smith and Matt Tevares tells the story of Sophie Blanchard, the first woman pilot. A must read for all girls who need convincing they are capable of anything.








 A Voyage in the Clouds by Matthew Olshan and Sophie Blackall is another         story loosely based on a true event in history.











How the Queen Found the Perfect Cup of Tea  by Kate Hosford and Gabi Swiatkowska is a fun story about a hot air balloon trip that the queen takes.