A tea party for everyone: Author brings boys to the table

by Kaydence Smith, Staff Writer

A Tea Party for George front cover

When longtime tea enthusiast Susan Baime set out to find an English-language children’s book about tea for her grandson in Amsterdam, she didn’t expect to discover a glaring gap on the shelves. Almost every tea-themed book she found starred girls—often in princess-like roles—and not a single one centered on a boy. That absence became the spark for her debut picture book, “A Tea Party for George”

“Princessy girls are not going to appeal to a 9-year-old boy,” Baime said with a laugh. Realizing boys were missing from the tea-party narrative, she simply decided, “Okay, I better write one.” The result is a joyful story about George, a young boy invited to tea—proof that teatime isn’t just for girls.

Tea has woven through Susan’s life since childhood visits to her grandmother, who always served tea and cookies. Over the years, she passed that love along to her siblings, her children, and now her grandchildren. Today, she works at Elden Street Tea Shop, hosts tea events, and even travels the world in search of memorable afternoon teas.

When it came time to write her book, Susan immersed herself in the craft. She checked out every children’s book writing guide she could find, learned the typical word counts and illustration norms, and researched publishing options. She ultimately chose a hybrid publishing route with Archway Publishing, part of Simon & Schuster. The process was more involved than she expected, especially when translating her vision into illustrations. Her sister, a retired preschool teacher, became a trusted second set of eyes and helped shape several positive revisions. For Susan, “A Tea Party for George” is deeply personal—“another baby,” she says—complete with characters named after family members.

Her goal was never commercial success; it was to create a story that included everyone and challenged the stigma that boys don’t drink tea. What she hopes readers of all ages take away is simple: tea is for everyone, and it can be a comforting ritual in a chaotic world. She notes a recent New York Times article highlighting afternoon tea’s resurgence amid global uncertainty, a trend she sees daily at the shop, where people—men included—gather over cups of tea instead of beer. “Why not?” she says. “It’s relaxing, it’s calming. It brings people together.”

“A Tea Party for George” is available through Amazon, ThriftBooks, Barnes & Noble, Ingram, and Bookshop.org/