Book about a tea tasting toad. Good illustrations.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC

Adorable Story. There are so many powerful gems in this book. Never put a limit to your dreams. Doubts may come but they don't last forever.

Unlike the other toads in Muddy River, Tungtang isn't content to sit on a stone and do nothing. She has a wanderlust that drives her to venture into human territory. She finds a new home in a tea shop, where she quickly develops a love for tea in all its varieties. The owners of the tea shop are at first puzzled by the muddy tracks that Tungtang leaves behind. When they finally discover the toad who has been inhabiting their tea shop, they also discover that she has a rare talent that will be of great benefit to them.

This colorfully illustrated chapter book is suitable for older elementary readers. It's rather text-heavy, so parents and teachers of younger children might need to read it in installments rather than in a single sitting. I am much older than a kindergartener and I wasn't able to read it in a single sitting. Parents and teachers might wish to know that there is some name-calling in the book, including “stupid.” I know many parents who do not allow their children to use this word in reference to another person.

This review is based on an electronic advanced reading copy provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

I wanted to enjoy this book. Really I did. I mean a frog tea taster? It sounded like fun. But no. Not for me. I'm not even sure what age group it's meant for. It seems to be an early chapter book, so maybe 7-8 year olds? Maybe they might enjoy this story.Maybe a a young tea party lover might enjoy it. Illustrations looked ok. Thought the toad was waaay to large. Well, it's fiction..

We liked this story and the pictures too. There was more to this story than we thought there would be and we found it interesting.

I have many a tea party with my grandkids so this was particularly popular in my house. They laughed all the way through and I think, at last count, we've read it about a gazillion times! Well done,Faiz Kermani, it's "adult " enough to not drive me batty and it's young enough to entertain the younger ones.

Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Rhyming couplets set the scene for this kiddie romp, featuring a creature exactly as described in the title. But first we see how the toad brags about her adventures until challenged by a crow with the aim of a Cy Young winner, who then bullies the toad into going to a town full of—gasp—humans!
The Eeyore of this group is named MuddyBum. Awesome. The rest of them are as gullible and easily swayed as. . . well, humans. Tungtang is a bit of a sneak and doesn’t care about the havoc she causes. Other great names include Lord and Lady Lobsterpants and Brittanicus.
Best part was the on-point description of smoking, as well as the awesome town slogan: “The town where our smiles make up for the constant rain.”
Fun, and funny.
3.5 pushed up to 4/5

A really cute book about a swamp full of toads who sit around all day and tell stories or get acorns dropped on them from nasty crows who want them to shut up. One day Tungtang decides she is going on an adventure to where the humans live and come back with a story of a real adventure. She finds herself in a rather posh tea shop and makes herself at home by sampling the tea and delicious cakes until she is discovered by the owners. After tasting most of their tea samples and declaring “Why, this is toad-ily tea-licious!” a few times she gets a job as a tea taster. The story is told well, but for me the best bit were the illustrations which are amazing. I am not sure what age group it is aimed at, as some of the story is a bit complex for little ones, but maybe 7-10 year olds would find it readable and enjoyable.

This book was Toad-ily Cute! I thought that it would be a shorter book but was pleasantly surprised that it had many chapters, albeit short ones! Kids are going to love this one!

I did not like the names of the animals though and I think they could have been more thought out and more memorable. They were so bad that I have already forgotten half of them and the main character Tungtang's Grandfather named Nutbletch is probably the worst!

I really enjoyed the well-versed poems throughout the book and I am sure children will enjoy reading them and rhyming about the silly toad who loves tea! I thought the illustrations were adorable and coincided with the pages accordingly as well! I think this author has a thing for frogs and toads but he does a great job showing them in a nonscary. slimy way.

This was a very different story about a toad than what one might suspect. Tungtang the toad liked adventure. She was not content to sit in the pond everyday, she went off on adventures. When sharing a story with her friends, a bossy, bullying crow came along and starting teasing her and throwing acorns at her. The other toads began to doubt her stories. When she was challenged to go to town, she decided she would follow her dreams and head off. At this point, she is not sure what to do in the unfamiliar surroundings and ends up in a tea shop. She tasted some tea and decides she likes it. She learns about tea, the english language and almost becomes civilized while living there. Unfortunately for the owners, sipping other's tea. eating their pastries and leaving mud on the table upset customers and the owners almost lost the shop. They set a trap and eventually caught Tungtang. Imagine their surprise when she could talk and tell them about the tea. Fortunately for them, she became their tea taster and saved their shop.

There was a lot of humor in this story at the expense of humans. Talking about houses and cars was a hoot and then using expensive perfume instead of just rolling around in the things that mother nature provides made me chuckle. This was a fun story with adventure and humor. It shows kids that sometimes we have to ignore the nay sayers and follow our dreams. The illustrations were large and colourful. I would have liked to see more of them, but they added to the story well. This would be a cute chapter book for those early chapter readers as well as a good read aloud for younger children. This would be a good book in a family, classroom or school library. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

This fun book is about a little frog named Tungtang who bravely hops off from Muddy River to a very scary destination... into the local town! Oh my! She seems destined to leave her familiar surroundings and have an adventure that will totally change her life forever.

As fate would have it she ends up in a unique tea shop and discovers exactly what she is created to do. She falls toad-ily in love with tea!

Tungtang causes havoc in the tea shop and the owners get scolded for mud on the tablecloths, tea that mysteriously disappears, and even missing dainties from their plates. Now who do you think would be responsible for such antics I wonder?

The owners, Lydia and Kamran uncover the mystery and after hearing Tungtang's passion for tea decide to use her talents and hire her to work in their shop. Their decision to allow Tungtang to pass on her intuitive knowledge and her ardent love of tea to their customers brings everyone involved much happiness and satisfaction.

The book encourages young readers ( and old ) to follow their dreams because yes, dreams do come true. I like the fact that the tea shop owners are willing to patiently listen to Tungtang's story and accept her as she is... for her great instinctive talents. The illustrations by Korey Scott are full of action, expression and humour.

" Why, this is toad-ily tea-licious!"

This is a nice story about a toad's adventure leading to success for both her and the tea shop's owners. I think it will have to be a read-aloud, since the age group most likely to appreciate it probably cannot read this level story by themselves. There are elements of the story which will be good to discuss between the adult reader and child listener, such as politeness, dares, following dreams, and turning a negative into a positive.

I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What an adorable easy chapter book for those just starting out reading on their own! THE TOAD WHO LOVED TEA is the story of Tungtang, a toad who has a great desire for adventure, and along her travels finds out she loves tea.

The story has several great lessons. It teaches to not limit one's self to what "everyone else around them" has limited themselves to. All of Tungtang's friends and family at the Muddy River are content to sit around and not move on with their lives, and when she decides she wants to go explore and see more, the majority of them mock her or tell her it is a crazy idea. Still, she persists.

Later on in the story, we meet Lydia and Kamran, who own the tea shop that Tungtang has taken up unofficial residency in. Despite the unique circumstances of her being a toad, they are willing to listen to her tale of how she came upon them, and they allow her to work for them. The book teaches to look past the outer layer.

As a parent that has hosted and been invited many pretend tea parties this was an instant hit in my house. It is silly and theatrical and my kids squealed through each chapter.

Tungtang the Toad sets off from Muddy River to town where she discovers a tea shop and discovers she loves it and can't get enough of it. However, the tea shop receives complaints because of muddy tables, missing tea, and missing pastries. Will the owners figure out what is happening? Will the toad continue to enjoy tea? You'll need to read this delightful book for children to find out. I received an advance electronic copy from the publisher through NetGalley with expectations of an honest review in exchange.

I’m confused as to whom this book is targeted. It’s about a toad who infiltrates a human tea shop and steals people’s tea, eventually learning to talk and be their mascot. It should be geared at early readers but the language is way too high level for the age that would enjoy the content (eg names like Lady Lobsterpants and Baroness Blabberbelly).

I'm a little confused about what audience this would be appropriate for. The basic plot, length, and cartoonish digital drawings indicate a younger audience, but the vocabulary level was fairly high, and there were many references that would likely be unfamiliar to those younger readers.

Faiz Kermani’s The Toad Who Loved Tea is an adorable and funny little gem. Both children and adults alike can enjoy this quick and easy read. I absolutely loved reading about Tungtang, the adventurous toad who travels from her home in Muddy River to an elegant tea shop where she discovers her love for tea and eventually becomes an official tea-taster.

The story is both original and meaningful. I love Tungtang’s resilience and uniqueness. There is also a very smart commentary on humans and some of the ridiculous things we do.

The humour is also cleverly done and the funny names like Lord and Lady Lobsterpants are a nice touch. I also adore the illustrations by Korey Scott. They are bright, colourful and very cute. In fact, I wish there were just a few more of them because they really are a great complement to the writing.

Although I’m far past the intended age range, I love this cute and funny book. I would love to read more of Tungtang’s adventures and I will definitely be checking out more of Mr. Kermani’s books.

Having read Faiz Kermani previously, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter his newest book on NetGalley. The alliterative title promises savored sipping. Tungtang (a fun play of the tang of tea on the tongue) lives a life tea aficionados can only dream of. After summoning the courage to leave her home, she finds herself in a comfortable city habitat where she eats, sleeps, and breathes “her” teas, all while observing the strange behaviors of humans. Perfect for the little ones in your life who can sit still long enough to imbibe a hot beverage.

The illustrations are quite nice and colourful. And I love the little poems throughout. And I like the parts about TEA!

The book seems geared towards ages 7-9. I thought it was a little long for this age-group and the names were a little difficult to read/pronounce. The story could have benefited from some tightening up and, in my opinion, begins with Chapter 3/4.