Review of Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang

Authors

Justin Kemp, Cedarville UniversityFollow

Publisher

Holiday House

City

New York, New York, United States of America

Date of Publication

2022

ISBN

9780823446148

Date of Review

2023

Disciplines

Children's and Young Adult Literature | Library and Information Science | Reading and Language

Keywords

Children's literature, reviews, TESOL, tea

Review

Like many children going to an ESL childcare while her parents learn English, Luli doesn’t know how to communicate with the other kids. Everyone is quiet and playing by themselves, but she has an idea to bring them together—tea! When she announces in her language, Mandarin Chinese, that she has brought chá, everyone understands and repeats the word for tea in their own language. The author explains in an afterword how all the words for tea she used sound similar because they trace back to an ancient Chinese dialect. This is a sweet story of culture sharing and the surprising connections that unite people from different backgrounds, and it shows children that even though they might not speak the same language or come from the same country, they really aren’t so different. After all, who doesn’t love tea? This story would be perfect for teaching children in ESL classrooms or American children who regularly interact with children from other countries how to celebrate each other’s customs and heritage. Recommended Justin Kemp, Centennial Library Intern, Cedarville University

Recommended Citation

Kemp, Justin, "Review of Luli and the Language of Tea by Andrea Wang" (2023). Library Intern Book Reviews. 405.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/intern_book_reviews/405

Files