“Picking Tea with Baba” is a delightful story with charming artwork. It tells the story of the arduous, but rewarding, work that goes into harvesting tea leaves. It gives a bit of insight into an aspect of life in some parts of rural China that many children, especially in Western societies, may not be familiar with. In places like the U.S., where there is not a very developed tea culture, it might also spark interest in one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world. Altogether it’s a lovely book that can expose young readers to one of the many ways of life in our beautifully diverse world!

📚 Ages: ~5–9

Picking Tea with Baba is a quiet, thoughtful picture book that pulls you in and show you what life is like for a child on the other side of the world. It is a grounded, “slice-of-life” tale that makes you feel like you’re actually spending the day with this boy and his family. Our narrator is a young boy who is spending the day picking tea with his father and family. Through his eyes, you get a real sense of both the joy and the labor involved in this tradition.

The tale is sensorial—feeling the wind as they hike up the mountain, listening to Baba sing folk songs, running into bamboo partridges and bees visiting the tea blossoms. The air feels thick before the rain. I could practically smell the tea leaves, feel the sting of the juice on the boy’s hands, and hear the soft rustling as they walked between rows of tea.

And while a lot of it is fun and playful—catching praying mantises, sipping different teas—Xu Bin doesn’t shy away from the more difficult parts. The boy’s hands get stained, his back aches from the repetitive motion, and then there’s a surprise downpour. But that’s what makes it real.

One of my favorite moments was the family taking a break together under a shed, drinking fresh tea and sharing a warm lunch before a little afternoon nap.

The illustrations? Gorgeous. They feel painterly and textured, like every page could be framed.

This is a lovely read for any kid, especially those curious about how things are made or what daily life looks like in different parts of the world. It’s gentle, rich, and immersive—definitely one worth picking up.

Picking Tea with Baba will be published May 6, 2025.

Thank you to NetGalley, Charlesbridge, Xu Bin, Shan Chen (translator), and Yu Yin (illustrator) for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Book 073 of 350 ~ 2025

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I love reading about various cultures and learning ore about how they live their lives.

This sparked my interest as I watched how Rose and her family in China work hard to harvest tea on Facebook.

The author and illustrator beautifully depicted the hard life yet infused the beauty of how the family cares and loves each other in spite of it.

I read it thrice. Absolutely loved it.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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A charming story of picking tea in China. Accurate multicultural aspect, cute slice of life story. Illustrations are colorful, vibrant, and add meaning to the story. Love the journey aspect and family dynamics, particularly told through the lens of a child.

Side note: There is a trend in publishing to make the font size very small. This makes the book difficult to read and takes away some of its appeal.

This is a beautifully illustrated and written book about two children who join their parents in tea picking that day. It tells the story from the children's perspective - naps, bugs, snakes, birds. This was such an enjoyable read.

This was a cute and informative illustration of a day in the life of a tea picking family. The illustrations were beautiful and made you feel like you were there. I think it would be an enjoyful and educational story for the classroom as well.

I loved this book!

The illustrations were fun, and both the love and labour of caring for land and growing tea plants could be felt all throughout this little story.

A quick and valuable read that opens up your world to another way of life. I am excited to share this one with my family.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Through the lens of a young child, I truly felt that I took a journey with the family, hiking up the steep mountain to their tea garden.

Everything seemed fun: finding bamboo partridges, meeting honey bees that came visit the tea-plant flowers, catching strong praying mantis, and listening to Baba sing folk songs.

But the boy also experienced the hard work of tea picking. The tea-stem juice stained his hands and irritated his skin. The repetitive motions tired his back. And he was caught in a rainstorm.

One part of the story that brought me a smile was the whole family resting under the shed, enjoying a hot lunch, freshly brewed tea, and an afternoon nap. Some moments can surely resonate with many children and adults.

I agree with the young boy, “…it is also joyful, especially when I do it with my family.”

Picking Tea with Baba is a heartwarming book that weaves heritage, family, and nature. The illustrator, Yu Yin, skillfully captured the essence of the local plants, insects, village life, and local market, which helped immerse me further into the story. A wonderful book for readers 5-9 years old.

Thank you to Charlesbridge for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Picking Tea with Baba is a story of a family going to the mountaintop to pick tea leaves. This story shares a view of life in China of a tea farmer and their family. The reader follows the young boy as he is excited to join his father and all his different moments on the mountaintop. The illustrations fit perfectly with the story, using a simple painting method.
I highly recommend reading this story, which shares a sweet story of a family spending the day together taking care of their tea farm.

Picking Tea with Baba illustrates a day in the life of a tea picker in China. A very "slice-of-life" style, it offers young readers an authentic portrayal of the tea picker's daily experiences.

The title of the book itself invoked a lot of interest and warmth for me. The beautiful illustrations have a lush feel, making you feel like you are in the midst of tea garden yourself. Looking at the book cover, I wondered if the book offers a good mix of describing warm family bond between a tea-picker father and his sons and some snippets from the intricate process of tea picking. This book didn't disappoint on either front. I developed a deeper appreciation for the cup of tea we brew at home after reading about how mindfully and intentionally the leaves are picked. The plucking of the top bud and 2 leaves, without distressing the rest of the plant shows that this is a work that needs focus and mindfulness.

The book also gave us an opportunity to talk about tea cultivation in China, but also closer home in eastern parts of India. Although it hasn't been explicitly mentioned in the book, it is easy to understand that their father leads an extremely disciplined and strenuous routine in his profession. This could go a long way in instilling respect and appreciation for a profession that isnt a regular 9 to 5 job my kids see around us. I also liked that this book gave me an opportunity to talk about how the climate and terrier affects agriculture. How tea harvested at different times of the year has different flavours. Apart from that, this was an opportunity to highlight that global trade has a wide expanse. That a product grown far far away could potentially be consumed by someone sitting on the opposite side of the globe.

All in all, it was a joyful and enlightening read for me and my 4 year olds.

The illustrations are so beautiful (I especially like the way the family dog is included in the visual narrative in the first couple of paintings). The writing is informative, observant, and artful. So many small, interesting things are woven into one family's day of traveling up the mountain, picking tea leaves, and journeying back down to sell the leaves at market. The characters come alive because the author and illustrator have attended each member of the family with such care. Altogether, a very good book.

Netgalley ARC - WOW the art in this book is stunning and definitely immersive. I loved the focus on the animals and on the playful sibling dynamic. Recommend!

Picking Tea with Baba is a delightful and informative story about a family of tea farmers and their trip to their tea plants high in the mountains. What is a trip of necessity is also one of family unity and togetherness as they gather leaves for market. This is beautifully illustrated and offers a look into an activity of which most children (or adults) have little knowledge. A worthy library purchase-
Thanks to Charlesbridge, Xu Bin and NetGalley for this ARC.

Picking Tea with Baba by Xu Bin, illustrated by Yu Yin, translated by Shan Chen is a beautiful book on how working with your family or doing chores together is fun. Two boys set out early morning with their Baba and Mumma to their tea garden on the mountaintop to pick tea leaves. Usually, it's Baba who does the job alone but they have all joined him that day after a hot breakfast, carrying with them wicker baskets, straw hats and some lunch. It's going to be a long day at work but it's going to be special!

The foggy morning with the tea ridges serene, looking as if still in sleep, is so well illustrated. The brothers have fun trying to catch bamboo partridges, spotting praying mantis, honey bees and even a black snake. They make tea brewing fresh leaves with water from a nearby spring. With loaded baskets as they walk down hill with great care at sunset, a long back-breaking day at work is over and the tea they picked needs to be delivered at the earliest to the factories. This tea they picked with great care and toil makes its way to our table one day.

On how each member of the family helps or supports another, that working together as a family is important and fun too is depicted beautifully in this book with stunning illustrations. A fine book, a special treat from start to end!

Joy is being with your family, as two children show in this delightful picture book. I love how this book shows that the children are willing to work hard (and even look forward to it) as they see it as a way to spend time together.

This book was delightful. The expressions on the faces were particularly good! I know many coworkers and patrons at my library who would be equally delighted by this book. The illustrations did a wonderful job bringing this story to life.

Follow along with a pair of young children as they head to the mountains to pick tea with their grandpa. This gentle story lets us peek in on a Chinese family as they spend the day picking tea. It's work for the adults, but the kids find a variety of adventures to keep themselves busy. The illustrations are engaging and open the door to the life of rural families in China.

A sweet book that takes you along one day as two children follow their Baba and pick tea leaves. The folk art is both charming and detailed, making it feel like you’re following along. It felt very cozy, while also being pretty informative for someone like me who loves tea!

I've always been interested in tea plantations, so this book was an easy choice for me. I like the fact that a charming family tale is weaved together with details of tea picking. The illustrations were beautiful and the text was simple and easy to follow. By the time I finished, I felt like I had a better understanding of the work of tea pickers.

This book follows a day in the life of a young boy joining his family to work in their tea field in China. Gorgeous illustrations and descriptions of the tasks and senses make this read a comforting and immersive experience. I would recommend this book to patrons interested in books about Chinese culture, or to early literacy readers looking for books about the outdoors and the senses we use when working outdoors.