Tangerines and Tea, My Grandparents and Me: An Alphabet Book [Hardcover]

Ona Gritz (Author), Yumi Heo (Illustrator)

Book Description

Grade Level: P and up

With heartwarming illustrations and fun rhymes, this alphabet book is perfect for grandchildren and grandparents alike!

Visiting grandparents is always an adventure, whether rooting through drawers, playing pretend, or relaxing and reading together in a comfortable chair. Join two boisterous siblings as they leave home to be guests on their grandparents' farm during different seasons of the year. Providing fun rhymes like "the songs we sing while we sit on the swing," and "an oak tree to climb one limb at a time," both adults and children will have fun singing and reading along together, as they learn the alphabet!

Yumi Heo's whimsical illustrations provide the perfect complement to the rhythm of Ona Gritz's jubilant ABC text. Grandchildren of all ages will recognize themselves in this book's appreciative look at the warmth and happiness that grandparents provide.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–Alphabetical alliterative rhymes describe the experiences of two children spending time with their grandparents. A farm where we're free to pick fruit off a tree and the songs we sing while we sit on the swing are what these siblings enjoy most with their relatives. Unfortunately, the corresponding letters of the alphabet are not showcased with the rhymes, making this a weak concept book. Each page includes a pencil-and-oil painting that clearly conveys the happiness that these children feel in the company of their grandparents. Floors, wallpaper prints, quilts, lampshades, crockery, and curtains offer layers of delightful patterns to engage the eye. Buy this for its charming testament to time together and its enchanting artwork; for a beautifully illustrated concept book, try Alison Jay's ABC: A Child's First Alphabet Book (Dutton, 2003).–Kristine M. Casper, Huntington Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

PreS-K. "Zithers and guitars beneath zillions of stars." The sound and beat of the words are as much fun as the full-page oil-and-pencil pictures in this alphabet book about two preschoolers who visit their grandparents' farm at various times through the seasons. The rhyme uses lots of alliteration ("The corner of the world where the cat lies curled"), and the bright, playful illustrations, both detailed and clear, will encourage kids to look closely and find more objects to talk about, including some with the same letter. Each page presents a situation, almost a story. A quiet scene for the letter L ("The line of light that I look for at night") shows a girl standing in a lamplit room staring at a falling star in the dark sky; then there's the slapstick picture of "a boy in a bath with a bubbly laugh." A book for sharing and teaching. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810958716
• ISBN-13: 978-0810958715
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,287,420 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

This past year has been an exciting one for me as a writer. My book, Tangerines and Tea, My Grandparents and Me, was chosen by Nick Jr. Magazine as Best Alphabet Book of 2005 and one of six best children's books of the year by Scholastic Parent & Child Magazine; my first poetry chapbook was published; and I was taken on as a columnist by one of my favorite literary websites, literarymama.com. My books (including my first children's book which led a quiet, unassuming life) are all available here at Amazon. My column, Doing It Differently, is about my experiences as a woman with a disability, with a particular focus on how disability informs my life as a mother.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Warm words and pretty pictures, February 23, 2006

By 

HenderHouse (Libertyville, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tangerines and Tea, My Grandparents and Me: An Alphabet Book (Hardcover)

Working more on sound identification than letter recognition, this is a good alphabet book for the slightly older crowd. With each page or spread featuring a letter sound, the book outlines the fun activities that a boy and girl have when visiting grandparents, from a bubbly bath to a perfect friend for playing pretend and ending with zithers and guitars under zillions of stars. Simple colorful illustrations are a plus with lots of geometric shapes - round smiling faces, triangular bodies, and rain falling in straight lines. A good read-aloud for preschool-1st grade.

5.0 out of 5 stars An ABC book that isn't your normal ABC book, September 6, 2009

By 

KSL "emma-and-me" (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tangerines and Tea, My Grandparents and Me : An Alphabet Book (Hardcover)

This book is not your average ABC book in that most ABC book start out and say A is for...... but in this book you'll find for example for "D" dogs that dine from your dish and mine and for "O" an Oak tree to climb one limb at a time.

Two siblings, a boy and a girl go to visit their grandparents for 48 hours or perhaps a long weekend and this is what they do during their visit. I am not a huge fan of this illustrator, but some people really do enjoy his artwork.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars anderson, May 30, 2009

By 

S. ANDERSON - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Tangerines and Tea, My Grandparents and Me : An Alphabet Book (Hardcover)

Cute children's book. It was a gift and the people said their 2 year old really liked it. That's what it is all about!