Tea Party Rules
By Ame Dyckman
Penguin Young Readers Group, 2013
I love this book. I love it so much that I already have an extra copy on hand to give as a gift the next time I’m invited to a girl baby shower.
This story begins when Cub follows a delicious smell and finds a tea table set with cookies and a stuffed bear. He accidentally knocks over the bear just as he hears someone coming, so to cover his tracks he pretends to be the stuffed bear. The little girl to whom the tea table and stuffed bear belong takes him inside and prepares him for the tea party, going over every tea party rule as she goes. Cub maintains his ruse as long as he can in hopes of having cookies, but eventually his bear instincts take over.
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The concept of this book is so funny. A real bear pretending to be a stuffed bear because he really wants cookies? Very cute. There’s also a cat that appears on most of the pages too, and as you see the way the girl lugs Cub around you start to get the impression that that poor cat is just glad the girl is picking on somebody else for a change.
This book is rated for 3-5 year olds, but as usual, I think you could go a little younger with no problem. The word ‘cookies’ is interspersed often enough to keep the attention of a 2 year old. Since the story revolves around a tea party, little girls would likely be more interested in this book than boys, but for the age group we are talking about here cookies and a bear might be manly enough to interest little boys also.
Two thumbs up for Tea Party Rules. Pick up a copy and enjoy with your little ones.