Luli and the Language of Tea opens with Luli coming into a preschool classroom with children from many cultures and countries. Their parents are attending an ESL class next door. The text reads, “The playroom was quiet./ Luli couldn’t speak English./ Neither could the others./ All around the room, children played alone.”
Luli has been to this classroom before where she played alone. But this time she has brought a thermos, a canister of tea, stacks of cups and a fat-bellied teapot. She makes the tea and then calls in Chinese – Chai! All around the room, children notice the set-up for the tea and repeat the word for tea in their own language. The text identifies the origin country of each child. The words for tea in the different languages are quite similar, which Wang explains in the back matter.
The children gather together around a table where Luli pours tea for each. Except there is none for Luli. The children quickly solve that problem by passing Luli’s cup and each pouring in a small amount. “Hands curled around warm cups. Mouths curved into shy smiles.” When Luli brings out cookies as her last surprise, the “playroom was no longer quiet.” The last illustrations show the children finished with their tea and playing together.
Luli is a problem solver. When she attended the first time and played alone, she had an idea to bring tea to class to share. That idea becomes the spark that brings the children together. Another bonus in this story is how the children take the initiative to share when Luli runs out of tea for herself.
Be sure not to miss the back material in the book. The Author’s Note, explains how Wang was intrigued that the Chinese word for tea “is similar to the word for tea in many other languages.” She explains the reason for that similarity. There is also information about the countries represented by each child in the story. Maps show the countries from which each child immigrated with a text that explains information about tea drinking in that country. Check out Wang’s book, Watercress, which recently won a Newbery Honor. It is another book about immigrants.
Yum’s colored pencil illustrations are bright, expressive and child-like. The white background puts the emphasis on each character. She uses different perspectives to set off each scene. Yum’s first illustration starts the story before the title page by showing parents and children parting with the children going into the room, labeled “Free Childcare” while the parents go into another room labeled, “English As a Second Language.” Don’t miss the end papers that feature different, colorful, tea cups from each culture. -Recommended by: Marilyn Carpenter, Professor Emeritus Eastern Washington University.
Title: Luli and the Language of Tea
Author: Andrea Wang
Illustrator: Hyewon Yum
ISBN: 9780823446148
Publisher: Neal Porter Books
PubDate: May 24, 2022
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- Themes: Andrea Wang, Hyewon Yum, Luli and the Language of Tea, Marilyn Carpenter
- Descriptors: WOW Recommends