Have you ever heard the song, “I’m A Little Teapot”?
Chances are that you have and, if you’re anything like me, the song just started running over and over in your head!
Now, you may be wondering why on earth I started this post with getting a repetitive kids song stuck in your head. I mean, that’s just cruel, right?
If you think that I brought up this song only to get it stuck in your head then, yes, I would totally agree with you: that would be cruel!
But what if…
What if the teapot went on an adventure?
What if the teapot wanted to travel to China?
What if the teapot wanted to sing in the opera?
What if the teapot became a pirate ship?
What if you could go along with the teapot on these crazy adventures?
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That is just what Iza Trapani imagined! Using the four-line song that we all know and love (or loathe), she created an imaginary adventure story with the teapot telling the story! I mean, who would have thought to have the teapot be the one with the imagination? It is part of the sheer brilliance of this book. Not to mention the fact that the entire story is told in song! You can literally sing this book from beginning to end!
The adventure starts out in the family kitchen with the ditty that we all know. But the teapot decides to take a risk and to talk to the children that are sitting at the kitchen table, inviting them to share her big dreams as she waits patiently on the stove to make tea.
What comes next is a simple and yet amazing tale of travels around the world: going to China, singing in the opera, traveling on a pirate ship, hiding in the jungle, and more! This story creates this amazing space where imagination is celebrated and thinking outside the box becomes the adventure of a lifetime.
Our family came across this book when my oldest was only 4 years old. In fact, we actually built an entire birthday party theme around it one year, but that’s a tale for another time. I kind of forgot about this book for a few years and just shy of 2 years ago, we had the pleasure of rediscovering it. You know those friends that however much time passes between conversations there is just this innate ability to pick up right where you left off as if no time has passed? Rediscovering this book was kind of like that.
But it wasn’t just a rediscovering. It was falling in love with a good book all over again. Everyone in my family loves this book. My older ones sing it to my younger ones. My younger ones go around randomly bursting into different verses of the teapot’s story. Their love for this book is evidenced in how often they choose to read it and the enthusiasm with which they dive into the story.
I cannot recommend this book highly enough for your preschoolers. It is entertaining, engaging, teaches cadence and rhythm in the form of song, tells an amazing story, and encourages imagination. What more could you truly want for your little ones?
Additional Resources:
- Your Books are Your Friends
- Escape in the Pages: 21 Books for Your to Enjoy
- The Fabulous Flair and Fun that is Fancy Nancy
- Roald Dahl: Finding the Extraordinary in the Ordinary
Resources
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Elizabeth Tatham, founder of Inspiration in the Everyday, is a homeschooling momma of 5 who loves helping other homeschooling mommas create a unique homeschooling adventure your kids will love…without the overwhelm! Join in on the journey with 7 simple steps to make your homeschooling day go faster, easier, and with less tears here.