A refreshing cuppa conviviality, brewed and served many ways.
The leaves are only the beginning in this world tour of teas and tisanes.
Readers whose definition of “tea” begins and ends with a bag and boiling water are in for a horizon-broadening read. Between serving up Moroccan mint tea (green tea, mint, and sugar) and Jamaican sorrel (roselle hibiscus buds, ginger, cloves, and sugar), Waissbluth pauses to savor masala chai (cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, pepper, milk) in India, po cha (milk, yak-milk butter, salt) in Tibet, pink chai (pistachios, almonds, salt, milk, spices, baking soda) in Pakistan, and bubble tea (powdered milk, syrup, tapioca balls) in Taiwan. She also peeks in to tea ceremonies in Japan and China as well as a British-style formal tea and marvels at tea brewed in a samovar (Russia), served in bags (Thailand), and sipped from hollow gourds (South American maté). In a closing note about her travels and research she writes that tea is nearly everywhere “a symbol of hospitality,” and O’Byrne echoes that theme by posing her tea drinkers—all bearing a broad range of skin tones, facial features, and regionally distinct casual or ceremonial dress—in pairs or groups. The author provides ingredients but not recipes, and her claim that “Indigenous cultures in North America prepare tea from berries, plants, and roots” is unwontedly vague. Still, this wide-ranging tally of teas and methods of serving it may offer a strong temptation to look beyond the soda can.
A refreshing cuppa conviviality, brewed and served many ways. (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-77164-601-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Greystone Kids
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2020
A pleasingly lucid look at a complicated relationship, it should prove revelatory to an audience unaccustomed to such nuance.
Though John Adams and Thomas Jefferson “...were as different as pickles and ice cream,” they were able to work together to fight for America’s independence—for a while.
In the late 1770s, they developed conflicting ideas about government and aligned with opposing political parties. When John Adams was elected as the second U.S. president, Jefferson was elected vice president. This exacerbated their rocky relationship, and when Jefferson was ultimately elected president over Adams, their friendship ended. Over a decade would pass before they spoke again. The team that created George Did It (2005) now brings to light both the trials and tribulations of these two notable leaders and the turbulence of early American politics. Energetic watercolor-and-pencil drawings accurately represent the late 18th century, showing the dress, style and architecture of the period. Feisty narration paired with amusing illustrations makes light of sticky situations, as when Jefferson physically restrains an angry Adams from assaulting King George and Adams moves himself out of the White House in the dead of night. Although quotations are not specifically sourced, the selected bibliography reveals a wealth of research, including several primary sources.
Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-525-47903-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: Sept. 13, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A sunny opener for more-nuanced overviews like Judith St. George and David Small’s classic So You Want to Be President...
A starter volume for newly independent readers curious about what presidents of the U.S. are supposed to do.
Singer presents both the basic responsibilities—meeting foreign leaders, working with Congress to pass laws, being in charge of the armed forces that “keep Americans safe”—and steady rounds of public appearances and speeches. She also lays out presidential qualifications (the Constitutional sort, anyway: “You must be at least 35 years old. No kids allowed!”), explains how election campaigns and voting work, and offers quick tours of Washington, D.C., and the White House. Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and a few other presidents from the distant past make cameos, but most of the big, bright photos feature Barack Obama and his immediate predecessors. A quiz and an invitation to presidential wannabes to answer the question “What would you do for the country?” close this presidential primer.
A sunny opener for more-nuanced overviews like Judith St. George and David Small’s classic So You Want to Be President (2000) or the newest edition of Eyewitness: Presidents (2017). (index, reading guide for parents) (Informational early reader. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4654-5749-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
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