The Book Selection Committee first discovered
Tea with Zayde while perusing the children’s bookshelves of a local public library. We fell in love with author and illustrator
Barney Saltzberg’s signature jaunty rhymes and joyous illustrations.
Actually, the book was originally titled
Tea with Grandpa, but Saltzberg graciously agreed to change the word “grandpa” to “zayde” in all PJ copies of the book. Not only does “zayde” rhyme with “tea”, but the inclusion of this beloved Yiddish word instantly magnifies the book’s inherent Jewish message about honoring and respecting parents and grandparents.
In
Tea with Zayde, Saltzberg cleverly tweaks the time-honored tradition of a young child’s tea party with a bit of modern technology. The story models special ways that children can interact with their geographically-distant grandparents while absorbing the special wisdom and love that only a grandparent has to offer. “Every day at half past three," with the assistance of Skype and a computer screen, young children can sing, chat, clink glasses and lovingly interact with far-away grandparents.
We hope that families will adore
Tea with Zayde as much as we do, and that this book will inspire hundreds of virtual and in-person intergenerational tea parties.
May 25, 2016