A perfectly posh pink afternoon tea by Coral Vass

Ill. by Gabriel Evans. Scholastic, 2017. ISBN 9781743811689
(Age: 5+) Recommended. Dressing up. Afternoon tea. Humour. Annabelle Mae and her five friends are a delight, dressing up in all their pink finery for afternoon tea. They wear oversized hats and long gloves, rows of pearls and lots of ribbons and lace. They have real cups and saucers and teaspoons, jelly cake, balloons and sweet lemonade. Things go along well, they are using their manners and being ever so polite, but when the boys look over the fence at the six girls having lots of fun they decide to mess things up. They turn on the sprinkler and all of a sudden the cups are dropped, the curls come out of their hair, the ribbons and laces droop, their finery is ruined. But Annabelle Mae stomps her foot into the mud the water has made and is so pleased with the result that her five friends join in. Within a little while all six girls are covered in mud and dirt and laugh at the fun they are having while the boys are sitting under a nearby tree drinking their afternoon tea.
Great rollicking rhyming verses carry the story of the tables being turned. The rhythm is infectious and readers will laugh out loud at the antics of the groups, trying to outwit each other.
Readers will love the colour filled, boisterous illustrations with the girls beginning totally in pink and ending up in brown, while the boys takeover what is left of the posh afternoon tea.
Fran Knight