Tea for Ruby

by Sarah Ferguson The Duchess of York, Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator)

Overview

Ruby gets a princess-worthy primer on manners in this charming picture book from #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator Robin Preiss Glasser and author Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York.

Ruby does her best to have good manners—yet no matter her efforts, she just can’t seem to succeed. But when Ruby receives a mysterious surprise invitation to tea with the Queen, she is especially determined to polish her poise. She goes from the postman to her brother to the playground to her parents, trying her hardest to have manners befitting a princess. Will she ever manage to be proper in time for tea at the palace?
In this New York Times bestseller, cheerful, elegant text from Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, pairs with Robin Preiss Glasser’s “exuberant illustrations, rendered in her unmistakable Fancy Nancy style (Publishers Weekly)” to create an endearing and gently instructive story about manners.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416954200
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books
Publication date:	08/28/2012
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.48(w) x 10.34(h) x 0.16(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Sarah Ferguson, The Duchess of York, is the author of several children’s books, including Ballerina Rosie; Tea for Ruby, illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser; and the Little Red series as well as a memoir, Finding Sarah. The Duchess is a devoted spokesperson for many charitable organizations, including Changes for Children. She has two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

Robin Preiss Glasser is the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of the Fancy Nancy series, written by Jane O’Connor; America: A Patriotic Primer, A Is for Abigail, and Our Fifty States by Lynne Cheney; and Tea for Ruby by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York. She lives in Southern California with her family.

Editorial Reviews

Little Ruby reached the Age of Awkwardness and never left. Her family and friends marvel at her ability to drop and spill things, to trip and tumble. Then one day, they marvel when she receives an invitation to take tea with the queen of England! How, they all wondered, could this lovable klutz survive an afternoon with Her Royal Highness? In Tea for Ruby, the answer is served up with grace and poise; not surprising, perhaps, because the author is none other than Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York!

It seems entirely fitting that a book about a girl invited to take tea with the queen carry the Duchess of York's byline. The author shares her etiquette rules for such a scenario via unruly Ruby, whose excitement renders her boisterous and ineloquent. As she repeatedly proclaims, "I've been invited to have tea with the Queen!," other characters admonish her to mind her various manners: "I hope you won't talk with your mouth full"; "I hope you won't interrupt"; "I hope you'll remember to sit up straight." Ruby barrels through the bustling pages like a little tornado, hair tumbling, shoelaces undone; it's easy to understand everybody's trepidation. Interspersed with pictures of Ruby's chaotic life are her imaginings of an elegant existence at the palace, depicted in golden line drawings, against which she and the other characters are regally clothed in 18th-century-style garments. The thin plot may disappoint princess-loving readers, especially when the identity of "the Queen" is finally revealed, but Glasser's exuberant illustrations, rendered in her unmistakable Fancy Nancy style, sustain the book's spirit. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

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Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 2

Another celebrity-authored book about manners. Princess-obsessed Ruby receives a card inviting her to have tea on Sunday with the Queen. As she rushes to tell everyone about her forthcoming engagement, family members, teachers, and friends remind her to adhere to various social graces such as saying "please" and "thank you," not interrupting, and chewing with her mouth closed. The story is simple and clever, and not at all didactic. Glasser paints Ruby as an impetuous, rosy-cheeked girl with a creative imagination and lots of charm. The playful drawings depict an excited Ruby shouting and pushing to tell everyone her news while imagining herself as a proper young lady wearing frilly gowns in elaborately drawn palace settings. Even the lettering for "The Queen" becomes increasingly ornate as Ruby's anticipation grows. She's not disappointed when her hostess turns out to be Grandma. This book will fill a need for girls who can't get enough books about princesses in pink.-Martha Simpson, Stratford Library Association, CT

School Library Journal