Tea Party Rules

Editorial Reviews From Booklist *Starred Review* Ooh, how frustrating. A young bear cub stumbles upon a little girl’s tea party and really, really just wants a cookie, but tea party rules get in the way. The cub, who, unbeknownst to the girl, has knocked her stuffed bear off a chair and taken his identity, gets carted away as soon as the girl peers closely at him. “You’re too grubby,” she says. Cub does not want a bath. However, he is groomed and then put in a dress and bonnet (“Tea Party Rule: you must be neat”). Soon Cub is seated at the table, and it’s finally cookie time, but the rule to “eat daintily” is out the window (He has his dignity, after all). The tables are turned, perfectly so, when the little girl changes the game, and therefore the rules. Dyckman (Boy and Bot, 2012) and Campbell (Flora and Ulysses, 2013) are a winning pair, using their comedic chops to pace the story beautifully. Seeing Cub masquerading as stuffed, with feet sticking stiffly out and eyeballs wide, is laugh-out-loud funny. Campbell’s soft sepia-marker-and-colored-pencil illustrations appear on creamy backgrounds, alternating humorous spots and detailed full-page spreads; the depictions of an unhappy bear ensure little ones are in on the joke. This battle of wills between two charmers hits just the right note. Preschool-Grade 3. --Ann Kelley

Review * "Strong storytelling, pacing, emotive illustrations that match the deceptive plot and an exuberant sense of fun make this little gem a winner."--Kirkus Reviews, starred review. * "Dyckman’s (Boy and Bot) and Campbell’s (Flora and Ulysses) story is like a pretty petit four with an unexpectedly zingy filling."--Publishers Weekly, starred review. * "Dyckman (Boy and Bot, 2012) and Campbell (Flora and Ulysses) are a winning pair, using their comedic chops to pace the story beautifully. This battle of wills between two charmers hits just the right note."--Booklist, starred review.

A Junior Library Guild Selection About the Author Ame Dyckman writes picture books, hula hoops, and puts coins in people's parking meters. She lives in New Jersey with her family and pets: black cats, hermit crabs, fish, and a demanding-but-adorable squirrel named Willie. She is the author of Boy and Bot, about which The New York Times wrote, "It's simply impossible to imagine not wanting to be friends with this book," as well as Tea Party Rules, winner of the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. Follow Ame on Twitter @AmeDyckman. Read more.