Luli and the Language of Tea

Discussion questions

• Luli plays with many children that do not share her language. Why do you think she picked tea as an activity to bring everyone together? What would you do if you were in the same situation?

• Tea is a global phenomenon. What other foods, drinks, activities, or other parts of human culture are enjoyed around the world?

• The word for tea is very similar in many languages. Can you think of other words that sound similar in more than one language? Do they have the same meaning?

Vocabulary

• The text does not have a ton of vocabulary, but if you wish to expand your learning, this article from The Language Nerds talks about the two main words in this text: tea and chai and expands on the back matter in the book about the idea that there are basically only 2 different terms for this drink in this world. The end of the article acknowledges that there are some countries that have a different word, like Burma, because tea grows naturally there and the language developed along with the practice of drinking a beverage made from its leaves. This book is an excellent way to talk about “global trade” as a phenomenon that has existed for 1000s of years, not as a new economic reality.

• The author’s website contains audio of all of the different languages spoken in the book.

Video content 

• An overview video of the linguistic roots of the two words for tea: The World Only Has Two Words for Tea (YouTube, 1m)

• The much longer and much wordier version of the same video:  Why the World Only Has Two Words for Tea (YouTube, 7:35m)

• In this short video a kid learns the different steps of a Japanese tea ceremony: Kids Tea Ceremony (YouTube, 2:45m)

• A silent, 1st person Japanese tea ceremony: Japanese Tea Ceremony (YouTube, 20:37m) 

• Simple Chinese tea ceremony: How To Brew Chinese Tea the Right Way (YouTube, 5:16m)

• TedEd: The History of Tea (YouTube, 4:58m)

Publisher content 

• Luli and the Language of Tea

Activities

• Have a tea tasting and try out different kinds of teas from all over the world. This video about tea practices around the world is a good starting place- this includes yerba mate, rooibos, and other herbal tisanes in addition to more traditional teas:  How Tea is Enjoyed Around the World (YouTube, 8:17m)

• Pair this book with any of the titles about global food - Norah Dooley’s books- Everybody Brings Noodles, Everybody Bakes Bread, Everybody Serves Soup, Everybody Cooks Rice are classics that might be hiding in your library.

• Tea is not as common in the US as coffee– have students do a survey of adults in the building: which do they prefer, tea or coffee? Record how each person likes their morning (or afternoon!) beverage. Make a chart comparing the popularity of the two.

• Design  a tea cup using a template or have the kids draw the shape. Use the variety of tea cups in the endpapers of the book for inspiration

Companion books