Tea with Milk

All Ages

Birth - 12 months

Tea with Milk

by Allen Say

At home in San Francisco, May speaks Japanese and the family eats rice and miso soup and drinks green tea. When she visits her friends' homes, she eats fried chicken and spaghetti. May plans someday to go to college and live in an apartment of her own. But when her family moves back to Japan, she soon feels lost and homesick for America.

In Japan everyone calls her by her Japanese name, Masako. She has to wear kimonos and sit on the floor. Poor May is sure that she will never feel at home in this country. Eventually May is expected to marry and a matchmaker is hired. Outraged at the thought, May sets out to find her own way in the big city of Osaka.

Age: 5 Year-olds | Title: Tea with Milk | Author: Allen Say | Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Why we chose this book

In Tea With Milk, Allen Say takes an affectionate look back at his parents' young adulthood, and the struggles they found in finding a place that felt like home. The main character (Say's mother) feels like an outsider when she moves back to rural Japan from San Francisco. The story is incredibly moving and very interesting for adults and kids alike.

The most arresting attributes of the book are the illustrations. The beautiful images are painted to look like old photographs, so the personal story feels like a family album. Your child will love to absorb the fuller plot and will take an interest in the presentation of different cultures.

My niece, Emily, very much enjoyed this book. In the last year, the amount that she comprehends from each book has increased tremendously. This book encouraged her to ask questions, and she felt a lot of empathy for the story's characters.

--Eve