It’s almost tea time.
Please get ready.
Put a hat and
tie on Teddy.
In short, rhyming text, a little girl prepares for tea time. She puts on pearls and her mother’s shoes and dresses her stuffed teddy bear in a special outfit just for him. Then she sets the table for three and begins her tea party — with Mom and Teddy.
Adorable artwork by Viviana Garofoli complements this sweet text by Karen Rostoker-Gruber.Reviews
A little girl, her teddy and her dog (and a ladybug) prepare for a tea party in rhyming couplets. A clean white background allows the minimal set dressing and characters to take center stage. Even as the little girl dresses herself and teddy spread by spread, the dog and the ladybug provide a wordless counterpoint, the one solemnly pulling a sweater over its head,and the other squeezing into a toy ring.
The girl may look a little wobbly in her mom’s high heels, but she’s able to set the table and wait for Mommy to join them. It’s a just-right mix of text and illustration to coax the youngest readers into following a narrative; the familiarity of the activity serves to reinforce this.
A sweet little beginning story.
— Kirkus November 1, 2010