Joining Baba in picking tea leaves on the mountain near their Chinese village is “a special treat” for this book’s narrator and his brother. After a steep trek, the boys and their parents reach a “serene” garden striped with orderly rows of green tea shrubs. Baba gets to work immediately, snapping leaves off their stems. The boys help, but they also enjoy the garden’s delights: chasing bamboo partridges, catching praying mantises, and collecting fruits from a camellia tree to enjoy during lunch. They notice honeybees and black snakes and marvel at the way their voices echo. After lunch, the family weathers a short rainstorm, and at sunset they sort and bag their tea leaves. Before their day is done, though, they must stop by the tea factory to sell their fresh leaves. As they walk home, a truck carrying tea leaves passes them on the road. “There go our tea leaves!” While the boys’ wonder is at the forefront of the story, the painted illustrations reveal just how hard Baba works (even as the rest of the family naps after lunch). Yet the narrator’s reflection that the work may be “backbreaking” but “also joyful, especially when I do it with my family,” is abundantly clear.

Working in a Chinese tea garden is hard work, but it's rewarding when it’s done with family in this 2026 Batchelder Honor Book.

This day-in-the-life picture book for 5-9-year-olds engages the senses as it centers around family and working together while celebrating Chinese culture.

A young boy and his brother travel with their parents up the mountainside to their tea garden for a day of work.

They delight in the animals they see, compete to see who can pick the most tea leaves, take a lunch break, and weather an unexpected rainstorm. At the end of the day, they trek back down the mountain to sell the leaves before going home.

A picture book that awakens the senses, young kids experience a faraway cultural tradition while feeling the familiarity of family and togetherness.

2026 Mildred L. Batchelder Award Honor Book