First sentence: The playroom was quiet. Luli couldn't speak English. Neither could the others. All around the room, children played alone. Last time, Luli had played by herself too, until she had an idea.

Premise/plot: The setting for this new picture book is the free childcare at a place offering English as a Second Language lessons for adults. Luli, the protagonist, has the idea to make friends and bring them closer together by offering tea--“Chá!”

All of the other kids recognize this word and are delighted to join her because of the similarities between many, many languages for tea.

My thoughts: I liked this one. I had never thought of tea as a universal language before, but, it makes sense once you read the book and the back matter. I also don't necessarily link tea--actual tea--with children. But I think this depends completely and totally on one's culture. The book celebrates diverse cultures and SHARING. ( )

From the minute where the end papers show a diverse host of characters (of all ethnicities and races) going into a free childcare ESL class, you know there is something special about this book. (and all the tea cups from different countries of the world.)

I say it all the time but food TRULY unites us. It is a commonality no matter how we say pronounce a word. "Luli and the Language of Tea" reinforces that in a host of ways.

The only reason I hesitate to do this book in storytime is I'm worried that I would butcher pronunciations. That would not serve anyone well! ( )

As parents take an ELL class, children play - alone - in the classroom next door. None of them speak the same language, but Luli has an idea to bring them together: she has brought a teapot, a thermos of hot water, a canister of tea, teacups, and cookies. Each child says "tea" in their own language and comes to the table, where they share tea and cookies.

Beautiful endpapers feature teacups with different designs from different countries; back matter gives the pronunciation of each child's name, what country they are from, and the tea traditions there. A wonderful read-aloud to share. ( )

Summary: Luli arrives in a new class where she does not know how to communicate with anyone, either can the kids in there because they all came from different backgrounds. But when Luli brought tea to class one day, it bonded everyone through one word and one thing.