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Babette Donaldson's books for children about tea and tea cups from her personal
collection in her Nevada City home.
Following that old writers' adage of “write what you know,” Babette Donaldson of Nevada City has found a comfortable niche writing children's books about tea.
Founder of the International Tea Sippers Society, a certified tea taster and a member of the advisory board of the World Tea Expo, Donaldson has written four books about a young girl who learns life lessons from tea.
Donaldson's works include “Emma Lea's First Tea Party,” “Emma Lea's Magic Teapot” and “Emma Lea's First Tea Ceremony.”
The fourth book, “Emma Lea's Tea with Daddy,” is scheduled to be published in August by Blue Gate Books of Nevada City. Donaldson reports she came home in May from the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas with more than 1,000 pre-orders for the book.
The books are colorfully illustrated by Grass Valley artist Jerianne Van Dijk.
“I think tea is fun,” said Donaldson, who also is president of Sierra Writers, an association of local authors.
Educational fiction
Donaldson sees the Emma Lea series as a kind of fiction-cum-textbook, both entertaining and educating young people. Some of her biggest fans are teachers.
“The children in my third-grade classroom loved' Emma Lea's First Tea Party,' and enjoyed how Emma Lea's problem got solved,” a customer-reviewer wrote on Amazon.com. “This is a great book with many different life lessons to be shared.”
“I'm using tea as an anchor in the Emma Lea stories,” explained Donaldson, “but the real idea is to preserve the culture and traditions surrounding tea before they are gone.”
Emma Lea goes to middle school — and China.
The “very fictional” Emma Lea has been captivating the attention of grade-school readers since 2004, but she's growing up.
Donaldson's as-yet-unnamed fifth book will have a middle-school-aged Emma Lea traveling with her family to the Middle Kingdom.
The storybook style will give way to chapters and a more complex plot, Donaldson said.
Moreover, the book will contain both fiction and nonfiction chapters. Besides the story of Emma Lea's fictional China adventure, the book also will present educational chapters about Chinese tea — from botany to agriculture to geography to economics to the history and culture of crop.
The book also will include government information, maps, photos — and recipes.
“I always include recipes,” said Donaldson. What you eat with tea is a vital aspect of the ceremonial tea experience, she asserted.
Writing what she knows
Of course, Donaldson must research her book first. So, she's leaving for China and environs July 20.
First, it's off to Inner Mongolia, traveling part way by horseback, to a “Mongolian music festival” where “they drink a very unusual tea,” Donaldson said.
Next, Donaldson's going to climb a mountain in southeastern China to the fabled Yellow Meadow village, which produces one of China's most prized teas, rarely exported.
Although she will be off the grid for much of the three-week trip, Donaldson promises to blog about her travels at www.emmalea books.com whenever she can.
This will be just Emma Lea's first trip abroad. Donaldson plans similar expeditions — and books — exploring the tea, customs and cultures of countries as diverse as Japan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and England.
Tom Durkin is a freelance writer based in Nevada City. For comments on this article,
e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
Founder of the International Tea Sippers Society, a certified tea taster and a member of the advisory board of the World Tea Expo, Donaldson has written four books about a young girl who learns life lessons from tea.
Donaldson's works include “Emma Lea's First Tea Party,” “Emma Lea's Magic Teapot” and “Emma Lea's First Tea Ceremony.”
The fourth book, “Emma Lea's Tea with Daddy,” is scheduled to be published in August by Blue Gate Books of Nevada City. Donaldson reports she came home in May from the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas with more than 1,000 pre-orders for the book.
The books are colorfully illustrated by Grass Valley artist Jerianne Van Dijk.
“I think tea is fun,” said Donaldson, who also is president of Sierra Writers, an association of local authors.
Educational fiction
Donaldson sees the Emma Lea series as a kind of fiction-cum-textbook, both entertaining and educating young people. Some of her biggest fans are teachers.
“The children in my third-grade classroom loved' Emma Lea's First Tea Party,' and enjoyed how Emma Lea's problem got solved,” a customer-reviewer wrote on Amazon.com. “This is a great book with many different life lessons to be shared.”
“I'm using tea as an anchor in the Emma Lea stories,” explained Donaldson, “but the real idea is to preserve the culture and traditions surrounding tea before they are gone.”
Emma Lea goes to middle school — and China.
The “very fictional” Emma Lea has been captivating the attention of grade-school readers since 2004, but she's growing up.
Donaldson's as-yet-unnamed fifth book will have a middle-school-aged Emma Lea traveling with her family to the Middle Kingdom.
The storybook style will give way to chapters and a more complex plot, Donaldson said.
Moreover, the book will contain both fiction and nonfiction chapters. Besides the story of Emma Lea's fictional China adventure, the book also will present educational chapters about Chinese tea — from botany to agriculture to geography to economics to the history and culture of crop.
The book also will include government information, maps, photos — and recipes.
“I always include recipes,” said Donaldson. What you eat with tea is a vital aspect of the ceremonial tea experience, she asserted.
Writing what she knows
Of course, Donaldson must research her book first. So, she's leaving for China and environs July 20.
First, it's off to Inner Mongolia, traveling part way by horseback, to a “Mongolian music festival” where “they drink a very unusual tea,” Donaldson said.
Next, Donaldson's going to climb a mountain in southeastern China to the fabled Yellow Meadow village, which produces one of China's most prized teas, rarely exported.
Although she will be off the grid for much of the three-week trip, Donaldson promises to blog about her travels at www.emmalea books.com whenever she can.
This will be just Emma Lea's first trip abroad. Donaldson plans similar expeditions — and books — exploring the tea, customs and cultures of countries as diverse as Japan, Sri Lanka, South Africa and England.
Tom Durkin is a freelance writer based in Nevada City. For comments on this article,
e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.
