When Auntie C came to visit last month, she brought along this sweet little tea set for L. It had been in C's play things from childhood and she packed it up in a little tin and brought it to us for a new life in our play pantry.
L adores it, especially when we make real tea to pour into the wee pot and take actual sips from those mini tea cups. It feels different from the plastic jobbies we have. It has an air of sophistication and elegance required by every little girl's tea party.
This treasure has special significance because it's just like the one Frances the badger yearns for in our much loved "A Bargain for Frances" by Russell and Lillian Hoban. This book was a gift to us from good friend K, when L was just a baby. The Hobans wrote many great children's books, but the Frances collection has been adored since before I was little. In this particular adventure, Frances has been saving up for a new tea set -- "the china kind with the pictures all in blue" -- and her friend Thelma tricks her into buying her old cheap plastic one instead.
It is this story that helped L to know right away the worth and beauty of this tea set that came from Auntie C. It is and will be well loved in our home for years, I think, just like the Frances books.
Auntie C (or I, as she prefers today) is very happy to have passed on this sweet little set. I think L may be ready for my childhood bone china set very soon!!! Then she can invite even more of her stuffed friends. Love to all.
ReplyDeleteOh! Swoon...Gosh your mother trusted you with bone china as a child? You must have been as precocious as L.
ReplyDeleteHow sweet!! I love that L loves books so much and that they have inspired enjoyment in her life with the things around her. You sound like an amazing mama!!!
ReplyDeleteYay! I am so happy this book is now firmly lodged in another child's memory :) Speaking of tea sets, did I tell you I just got my first china hutch?! J and I scored a killer deal on an entire dining set on craigslist. It's real wood and wayyy nicer than anything we could have bought new. I finally have a refuge for all my pretty teacups!
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