Reviews

The Country Register

“Always on the lookout for new tea related books, I was delighted to meet the author of “Emma Lea’s First Tea Party” at the World Tea Expo. This attractive book by Babette Donaldson and illustrated with Jerianne Van Dijk’s creative style of water color art tells the story of a young girl. Emma Lea is very excited about attending the annual tea party with the ladies of her family. Emma Lea brings some new twists to the old tradition, making everyone look forward to next year’s tea party even more.
–Barbara Floyd, The Country Register, Arizona

US Tea Association

“I find the Emma Lea stories to be utterly charming and enjoyable with a serious message for children and adults. The message being that we all need to be sensitive to each other’s feelings and we all need to learn to appreciate the joys that may be derived from life’s simplest pleasures.”

–Joe Simrany, President, US Tea Association

Jill Vanderwood, Book Reviewer, “Through the Rug”


Emma Lea’s First Tea Party

Emma Lea is finally old enough to participate in her grandmother’s yearly, birthday tea party. She gets ready, has her hair fixed in a grown-up way and the excitement builds. Emma Lea feels special when she see’s the grown up table, set with delicate tea cups and yummy treats.

I read this book with my granddaughter, Autumn, who is nine. We each took a turn reading. These are her comments:
“I like the pictures and I want to read the second Emma Lea book. Sometimes I feel like Emma Lea, when my sister gets to do everything, because she’s older.”

The illustrations in Emma Lea’s First Tea Party are beautiful, the book is hard cover, with a wonderful dust jacket. This is a very special book about family traditions, bonding and growing up. The story of Emma Lea is delightful. If you like Fancy Nancy, you will love Emma Lea.Fancy Nancy

Book Reviews

This book takes a look at tranquility, purity, harmony, and respect taught through the experiences of the Chanoyu tea ceremony. I know that this book will be infused into the study my students do of the Japanese culture. Once again the author and illustrator together have created a beautiful keepsake book for children. ~ ~ ~ J. Gilmour
Babette Donaldson tells this story with a beauty and sparseness that mimics the rituals of the ceremony and Jerianne Van Dijk illustrates the scenes with an impressionistic style, drawing the reader into the folds of Emma Lea's kimono and into the tea house with purity, tranquility, and harmony. ~ ~ ~ Ginger Manley
This is a very special book about family traditions, bonding and growing up. The story of Emma Lea is delightful. If you like Fancy Nancy, you will love Emma Lea. ~ ~ ~ Jill Vanderwood
This story brings to life family traditions and the value of giving 'real' and meaningful gifts from the heart. It also shows the importance of family in creating great moments in a child's life. I read this to my 5 year old niece, and both she and her mother were captivated by the story. ~ ~ ~ Carol Scuderi
Oh, I do love these books. They are perfect for an afternoon read with a cuddly grandchild. Lots of information and the art work is enchanting. ~ ~ ~ Judy Wright
Both the watercolors and the well thought out story are beautifully done. I liked the fact that Emma Lea's best friend is a boy. I appreciated that logical explanations were given to the little girl for the wishes being "granted" and how she realizes the teapot not actually being "magic" didn't make it any less "special". ~ ~ ~ K. Lio
I read Emma Lea's Tea Party and was immediately moved to send it to my niece Emma. She is 4 years old. She absolutely loves the book and thinks it is about her. Such a beautiful tale with illustrations to match. A little girl can weave fantasies about this book. I can hardly wait until the next Emma Lea book! ~ ~ ~ Penny Hastings
This is a wonderful story of a little girl's dream with the magic lamp. To my delight, it combines fantasy with family values and reality. My granddaughter loves it. ~ ~ ~ Marianne Kummell
I really enjoyed this book with my little girl because I felt it introduced children to "helping out" and lets them know just because we have to do chores and make preparations, even for tea parties, that it doesn't mean we can't have fun while doing so and the biggest lesson to be learned from Emma Lea's Tea With Daddy is that spending time together is the most important gift of all!

Author, Babette Donaldson

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