Teatime with Emma Buttersnap [Hardcover]

Lindsey Tate (Author), Linda Bronson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up

Emma Buttersnap is throwing a special tea party, and there's so much to do before the guests arrive. From creating the invitations and the menu to buying and preparing the finger foods and tea, Emma hasn't a minute to spare.

Young children love to play tea party, and now Emma Buttersnap can show them how to plan the perfect affair. This interactive book introduces children to the origins of tea, one of the world's favorite beverages. The text combines interesting facts (in the eighteenth century, ladies used to carry their own teacups to parties in special cases) with historical anecdotes (the Earl of Sandwich invented the sandwich to keep his fingers from getting greasy when playing cards). Craft projects and delicious recipes, which children can try with the help of an adult, are also included. Add Linda Bronson's gorgeously detailed illustrations and you get the perfect book for teatime--or any time!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 2-4-Emma and her Great-Aunt Prudence are planning a surprise birthday tea party-the surprise being that Emma doesn't know who the honored guest is. Their preparations provide the mechanism by which the author presents a thorough investigation of the origins of tea and the evolution of customs surrounding the serving and drinking of this popular beverage. Instructions for making tea, for making decorations and setting a proper table, and recipes for accompanying treats are interspersed throughout Emma's long narrative. Historical notes are set off by italics. Creative page design combines whimsical, full-page acrylic and oil paintings (framed for historical scenes) with smaller ones on text pages, all contributing to the pleasurable and informative aspects of the book. By the time the party begins and Emma discovers that the mystery guest is Aunt Pru herself, readers have had an enjoyable visual experience and know a great deal about tea.
Marie Orlando, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport,
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Whether tea is an intrinsically interesting topic to children is debatable, but Tate does a good job of making appealing a subject she clearly loves. She frames the story as a tea party that Emma Buttersnap and her aunt Pru are having. Together they make the invitations, go shopping, and prepare the treats. Peppered throughout are many historical details about tea--its origins, variety, and importance. Tate also strings the story together with a question mark about a mystery guest at the party. The book would not work nearly as well as it does without Bronson's sprightly illustrations. She uses a new-wave style (rounded shapes in purples, pinks, and yellows predominate) and juxtaposes it with old-fashioned accoutrements in the pictures--Emma in a pinafore, men with mustaches, and other vestiges of a bygone era. Readers who have never thought about tea before may want a "cuppa" when they're done reading this. Ilene Cooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1st edition (October 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805054766
• ISBN-13: 978-0805054767
• Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 9.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #797,639 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delightful, compelling story with thrilling illustrations, November 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Teatime with Emma Buttersnap (Hardcover)

This is an absolutely delightful book that opened my eyes about tea parties. I highly recommend it to the parent of any child with a vivid imagination and sense of fun. Emma Buttersnap, the charming heroine, goes on an intriguing journey to a mysterious land (England). Along the way she learns history (Boston Tea Party), botany (all the varieties of tea), arts & crafts (doily making) and more. There's a juicy mystery that kept my own daughter quite intrigued. The illustrations, by the way, are superb.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teatime With Emma Buttersnap, July 1, 2002

By 

Sheri (Cadott, WI United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Teatime with Emma Buttersnap (Hardcover)

What a darling book...I have a tea business and when children come for tea they bring their dolls which are set at the doll tea table...this book is displayed there...my nieces loved it too when I read it to them!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A young girl learns how to throw a tea party., November 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Teatime with Emma Buttersnap (Hardcover)

A wonderful and vibrant book both in picture and text, TEA TIME gives young girls an interesting introduction to the history of tea and tea parties. Emma is a precocious narrator and her Aunt Pru a wonderful teacher. It's a perfect gift book -- I bought one for each of my nieces who love it!