My Cup of Tea

Dror Burstein’s first children’s book is about a boy who likes asking questions. “One day in winter I was sick, my throat hurt and I had a fever,” he starts as he lies in bed. Then in comes Dad with some tea with honey and lemon, and while the boy drinks it, questions pop up in his mind. Where does the tea go after I drink it? Is it in my stomach? And if I’m thinking about it, maybe it’s just in my thoughts. Yes, this curious boy asks philosophical questions. After he’s finished his tea, he wonders what it’s made of. Where did the honey come from? From bees, of course. And how was it made? From the nectar in flowers. So the bees and flowers are partners, just like Grandpa and his partner at work. And for there to be flowers, there have to be other things. Like water and sunlight. And where does the water come from? From under the ground and from the rain. And for that, there have to be clouds. And what are clouds made of? Wait, the boy thinks, how did I get from a cup of tea to the clouds and the water under the ground? The flower, the bee, the sun and the cloud don’t know the boy, but they work together to help him, because they make the cup of tea. And it’s the same with Dad. For him to make the tea, he had to be born, and for that he needed Grandpa and Grandma, and so on. The boy isn’t sad anymore. He knows that the whole world is in his teacup. So even if Dad isn’t with him in the room, he isn’t alone.