Bin, Xu. Picking Tea with Baba. Yu Yin, Illus. Translated from the Chinese by Shan Chen. Charlesbridge, 05/2025. [32]pp. Picture Book. Trade $18.99. 978-1-62354-623-6. GRADES Preschool–2. ADDITIONAL.
Baba brings the two kids, plus mom, up the mountain to their tea farm in China, where the kids are excited to finally be allowed to help pick tea leaves, which the family then sells. They experience the whole long, exhausting process which includes walking into the mountains to the tea farm, and the physical labor of picking the leaves, from sun-up to sun-down. The overall process is shown to be both fun and tiring, including many agricultural processes that are done (and may still be done) without machinery. Digital illustrations provide an older feel for the tea picking experience, with the lightly detailed Asian people and a few modern aspects like an electric house light and vehicles on the streets when the tea was sold.
Joshua Rees—Daly City Public Library