Review: Happy Tea for Two Tuesday!

How about we celebrate with a cup of tea, a sweet, and a story? I have just the right picture book to review on this very special day: 

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TITLE: TEA PARTY RULES

AUTHOR: Ame Dyckman

ILLUSTRATOR: K.G. Campbell

PUBLISHER: Viking/2013

OPENING LINES: Cub was playing in the woods when he smelled something delicious. He followed his nose through the bushes and found…cookies! And another bear.

​But this bear is one of another sort. One who doesn’t answer when Cub asks for a cookie. One who, he discovers, can’t even eat a cookie! So he promises he will eat cookies for the other bear. He’s about to take a bite when the hostess of the lovely tea party returns. So, Cub does what any hungry-for-cookies-bear would do—pretends to be the stuffed bear. Surely Cub will get a cookie then, right? Not quite. The little girl has rules Cub must follow first. So. Many. Rules. Amy Dyckman addresses the themes of patience and self-control with a whole lot of funny. As I read this story I remembered that experiment where kids are put in a room with a marshmallow on a plate and told they will get two marshmallows if they wait, but only the one if they eat it before the adult returns. Watching those children squirm and debate was hilarious! I wonder if Ame was inspired by that when she dreamed up this story? In any case, Ame has written a five-star picture book with bears, dress-up, tea and cookies. K.G. Campbell’s sepia marker and colored pencil illustrations are the perfect complement the text, right down to the end papers. If you want a dose of laughter with your tea, I suggest you read this book (and having a cookie or two won’t hurt).
 
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