Launching a Book with a Tea Party

What’s the best way to launch a new children’s book set in WWII England and on the ship the Queen Mary?  With a British-themed Tea Party, of course!

To celebrate the release of the new historical fiction picture book WELCOME TO AMERICA, CHAMP! (beautifully illustrated by Doris Ettlinger) friends and family joined together for tea sandwiches, scones, fruits and sweets catered by The Madhatter’s Tea Shop.  And British tea, of course!

Professional Storyteller Veronica Gard (known as “Your English Storyteller”) offered a lovely and lilting tale, relating the family stories that inspired the new picture book.  Ms. Gard, who was born in England during WWII, also taught me the proper way to make tea in my grandmother’s heirloom teapot.  And it does make a delicious difference!

Souvenirs from the Queen Mary gift shops – including a Queen Mary Captain Teddy Bear and boxes of Queen Mary tea and postcards – decorated tables, cabinets and counters.

For children, there was a tea set designed for bubble-blowing spread on a child-sized outdoor table, and a “design a royal crown” craft.

Thank you to our friends, Raul and Annie, who provided for us many lovely photos from the day – including those shown here.

 Thank you, also, to the family members who traveled across the country to join us – my parents and my Aunt Pat.  Finally, I appreciate the SCBWI-SWTX board members and all the friends who stopped by to celebrate that day.


Cheerio!