Customer Reviews

Tea for Ruby (Paula Wiseman Books)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

PURE JOY! If you have to -- and with children, you do, indeed, have to -- read a book over and over again, you want one that brings joy each and everytime to both the audience and the reader (how often have you tried to turn two or three pages together at the same time and your child reminds you, "No, you skipped a part!"). But the illustrations of Robin Preiss Glasser, of FANCY NANCY fame, always keep you entertained and the breezy copy in this new book by the Duchess of York, are a joy read. It's a manners book, sure, but it is a romp, with a charming ending and a lot of laughs as Ruby -- based, I'd guess, on high-energy Sarah Ferguson herself as a little girl -- learns the proper way to behave when she's invited to tea with the Queen.

Young Ruby is a bit of a disaster. She doesn't mean to be, it's just that she believes fingers were made before forks. So, it's easy for food not only to wind up in her mouth but also in her hair. She doesn't have much use for napkins, and she talks with her mouth full.

Nonetheless, she is adorable and absolutely over the top when she receives an invitation to have tea with the Queen. Obviously, Ruby's manners need some polishing before sitting down with her majesty. So, everyone who knows her has a bit of advice- "Ruby, I hope you won't interrupt...I hope you'll sit up straight...I hope you won't shout," etc. All of this is a great deal for her to absorb.

Finally, the big day arrives. Young readers will be surprised at what it's like to have tea with the Queen.

Robin Preiss Glasser's illustrations are irresistible, filling every page with color. She's a generous illustrator and exuberantly captures all of Ruby's preparations.

Gail Cooke

I purchased this book simply because I love Robin Glasser's illustrations but I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the story. Its a sweet story that speaks to the wonderful relationships between grandmothers and granddaughters. I have purchased two more for birthday gifts.

We love this book. Both my 5 year old and 21 month old enjoy the story and the illustrations. There illustrations have lots of detail and the imaginative "tea with...the queen" illustrations repeat a previous illustration, but with more fancy details.

I put this on my daughter's holiday wish list and one of her Aunts got it for her. She loves Fancy Nancy and the cover reminded me of that book. The art work is amazing, the colors so pretty and fun. The plot, simply a little girl so excited to have been invited to have tea with the Queen that she is compelled to tell everyone and anyone, no matter what is happening. As she shares her exciting news in school, on the playground, in dance class and to her family, she commits a series of socail snafus; she talks with her mouth full, she interrupts, she is too loud, etc. She is reminded to have good manners when she has tea with the Queen. At the end she learns that her own grandmother has invited her to have tea, what a special treat. The book really illustrates how young children see the world revolving around them and nothing else and serves to teach its readers that manners are important. There is a lot of repetition in the text which works well for my 2 1/2 year old daughter who after just a few reads already knows much of the book by heart. Fancy Nancy is still her favorite but she really likes Ruby too.

Ruby received an invitation in the mail, but it's not just any invitation. The postman brings an invitation for Ruby to have tea with...The Queen!

Understandably, Ruby is very excited. She is so excited, in fact, that she tells everyone she knows, actually everyone she sees, "I have been invited to have tea with...The Queen!" Apparently, Ruby's acquaintances already know a great deal about her and admonish her in a number of ways to be polite, mind her manners, and so forth.

The day finally arrives when Ruby is to have tea with the Queen. Ruby awakens and is very excited. There is, however, a very pleasant surprise in store for Ruby. Of course, Ruby is a perfectly wonderful little lady while having tea with the "Queen."

Nicely illustrated and simply written, `Tea For Ruby' is a pleasant little story about something to which a little girl looks forward and how a young lady should behave in a social situation. The repetition is fun for the young reader - or listener, and the moral is straightforward and useful.

She can't yet pronounce it, but she knows she loves it! My daughter recieved this book as a gift for her first birthday. Nearly every night before bedtime she says, "Rudy? Rudy? Rudy?" Another reviewer is right, it's a great book to read over and over again without getting burnt out. And who knows, maybe as she grows older, some of the lessons on manners will sink in! Highly recommend!

This book teaches girls about good manners with elegant illustrations - I've enjoyed reading it with my daughter tremendously. Young Ruby is invited to have a tea party with the Queen and she must show up with her best manners. The theme of tea party makes this book such an attractive read and little ladies will learn tea manners such as not to interrupt, wait for one's turn, dress properly, say "please", welcome people and don't talk with one's mouth full... and in the end it turns out that the Queen is actually Ruby's grandma and this lovely lesson hits home that we can always use our best manners when we enjoy extraordinary moments with people we know for truly each girl is a princess within the family.

We received this book as a gift from a friend whose own young daughter (toddler) liked this book. I have to say that my daughter instantly loved this book and requested it night after night. As a parent, I do have to agree with one other reviewer who said the story/text could use a little more meat. The text basically goes like this:

Ruby: "I've been invited to have tea with the Queen."
Other person in the scene: "Ruby, I hope you won't __________________ (yell, interrupt, talk with your mouth full, etc.) when you have tea with the Queen." Repeat. The end.

The text/meat of the story is so minimal that my 2 year old can basically recite it. That being said, the illustrations are great and have a bit more going on so an older child might intuitively perceive what's going on and not require any additional text/explanation. For my daughter, which I wasn't sure was catching the nuances of her father carrying in the groceries or the dressing room lady not getting a thank you, I just adlibbed and explained a little more of what was going on the scene. No big deal.

I suppose since it's a book about manners, you don't really want to overkill the kids will lessons on manners, but we read a lot of books and this basically had the same amount of text as a baby board book, so it did strike me as odd.

A good book, nonetheless, and most importantly, the children seem to love it.

Also, I love that the book has an underlying message about grandparents and think it could be a great preparation/introduction into a real life grandma hosted tea party.

I love the colorful pages, the story that teaches manners, and the cute comical character of the little girl Ruby. I have a grandaughter named Ruby. She is 3 yrs old. This book is so much fun that I keep it at my house so we can read it together!