Listen and read-along with this wonderful poem by, Jennifer Coleman.

Tam o’ shanter, bonnet,

Kerchief and a cap,

Feather boa, high heels

Uniform with snaps—

Ropes and ropes of shiny beads

With rings are grand to wear,

Time to decide to wear a hat

Or should I style my hair?

Dressing up and make believe are ways for

Me to dream—

Do I want to be a doctor?

Or a farmer, or a queen?

I think I’ll choose tomorrow,

Just who I’d like to be,

For now, in my tiara,

I think I’ll pour some tea.

Uh-oh! Here comes little brother

Toddling in my room,

My china set with rose trim

Will surely meet its doom!

Goose Goose and Miss Mousey

Are not sure if they should share

The lemon frosted cupcakes with someone

In the empty chair

Why does he have to noodle in

Each time I entertain?

Especially on these days

When outside is soaked with rain!

His chubby hand goes for the cup

That’s filled with pretend tea

I lunge for him with scowling face,

“Why do you bother me?!”

He looks at me astonished   

And manages a grin–

Then down he plops as if to say,

“I’d like to settle in.”

A dainty gingham napkin

Was the next to catch his eye,

“I wanted that for Goose Goose!”

Hot tears sprang to my eyes.

He studies me with scrunched up face,

He doesn’t understand—

Instead of getting out of here,

He reaches for my hand!

“Ticka Ticka Ticka!” he babbles with delight,

His chubby fingered-tickling is trying to make things right.

He ticka ticka tickas the place underneath my chin,

This is my goosey spot, so I decide to tickle him!

We roll together giggling as we tickle on the floor

Soon I forget all about what I was angry for.

The feathers from my boa are flying wild and free

My dress up gown is tangled in the mess that’s him and me!

My necklaces get knotted,

The hats tumble in a pile–

As he and I turn round and round,

We’re laughing all the while.

My brother stops to catch his breath,

I lay there catching mine,

We’re side-by-side when I decide

Another tea guest would be fine.

“You’ll have to dress!” I then declare,

“if we’re going to do this right.”

“Hmmm, let’s see, what will you wear?”

I glance at the clothes in sight.

“Would you like to be a sailor,

Just coming home from sea?”

“This blue and white stiff sailor cap

is just right for having tea!”

Brother put the hat on,

But he needed something more…

Perhaps the superhero’s cape

That lay crumpled on the floor?

“A dash of red, that hits the spot!”

I draped it on his back.

Now with play makeup, for one last touch,

A moustache- thick and black.

A sight we made! An oddball pair,

A sailor and a queen—

This rainy day we sat to dine on

Cakes and pretend tea.

 THE END

Try This!

Steep caffeine-free tea bags like chamomile, peppermint or hibiscus for a refreshing treat. Serve warm or cold with a tea sandwich (or two).

Cucumber Tea Sandwich: Butter each side of the bread lightly with soft butter to the very edge, inside lay very thinly sliced English cucumber slices. Sandwich should look neat. Don’t be afraid to use cookie cutters!

Strawberry Surprise Sandwich: Spread chocolate hazelnut spread to the very edge of soft, white bread and place inside a small strawberry slice as a berry nice surprise!

Be sure to trim off all of the bread crusts for an appetizing appearance.

About the Author

Jennifer Coleman is a member of Austin-SCBWI and is also the author of The Texas Nutcracker and the upcoming title Come ‘N Git It!  Cookie and his Cowboy Chuckwagon.  A Texas-certified teacher, her day job is as a certified elementary school librarian where she has been encouraging the love of literacy in children for over 20 years. You can find her at www.jcobooks.com, on Twitter @jcobooks or at her podcast, Inspo by J.Co,https://anchor.fm/jcobooks.