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Teacup
A boy must leave his home and find another. He brings with him a teacup full of earth from the place where he grew up, and sets off to sea. Some days, the journey is peaceful, and the skies are cloudless and bright. Some days, storms threaten to overturn his boat. And some days, the smallest amount of hope grows into something glorious. At last, the boy finds land, but it doesn't feel complete . . . until another traveler joins him, bearing the seed to build a new home.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
1 person is currently reading
526 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews
January 3, 2023
The illustrations are beautiful and the lyrical prose describes a boy going on a journey to a new place taking familiar things along as reference points of where he came from. He's building his story and weathering the storms of life on the way.
December 15, 2017
No better example of the empty-souled, crater-brained litbots who run the world of "children's books." What is this? A story? A parable? Labor-intensive illustrations with highbrow yet meaningless text superimposed over them, that no young child would ever understand or relate to? A strange font, made even harder to read because it is sometimes white on pale blue? Stories have to make sense, at some level, to young children. Apparently they don't, to adults.
January 29, 2021
Featured in grandma reads session.
Oooohhhh people! Get this book. So gorgeous, and such a simple tale, that grows LionKing-like into a sweet, soothing tale of the circle of life. Rebecca Young, the author, was skillful in her spare use of language and Matt Ottley's artwork is masterful. I wanted to touch the paintings. . . their beauty distracted me (in a good way) as I read aloud. . .nature and weather and sky spread across each page.
My group "ooooooo'd" when they saw the message in the sand. . . .
*boom* Now that's a good picture book.
My last words on this are taken from the last page:
Every journey requires a traveler. . .
. . .and a little bit of hope.
Oooohhhh people! Get this book. So gorgeous, and such a simple tale, that grows LionKing-like into a sweet, soothing tale of the circle of life. Rebecca Young, the author, was skillful in her spare use of language and Matt Ottley's artwork is masterful. I wanted to touch the paintings. . . their beauty distracted me (in a good way) as I read aloud. . .nature and weather and sky spread across each page.
My group "ooooooo'd" when they saw the message in the sand. . . .
*boom* Now that's a good picture book.
My last words on this are taken from the last page:
Every journey requires a traveler. . .
. . .and a little bit of hope.
June 27, 2015
Matt Ottley's illustrations are nothing short of stunningly beautiful! The story itself is like the ocean, which can seem simple on the surface but contain a whole world of wonders underneath. But those illustrations... Gorgeous!!!
August 5, 2022
When a boy leaves homes with a bag, a book, a bottle, a blanket and a teacup, one might think this is an immigration story or story about refugees. Instead it's something a little more magical and unbelievable.
May 10, 2019
An allegorical story about a young boy who has to leave his home to find another. He takes with him a book, a bottle, a blanket and a teacup with soil in it. Traveling in a row boat on the sea, he searches the horizon for land. In the meantime, a plant starts to grow in the teacup. Soon it is a tall apple tree. The boy bumps into land and the tree grows through the row boat into the land. The young boy feels there is something he's waiting for. It turns out to be a young girl with an eggcup in which another tree has grown.
The illustrations remind me of paintings. They're stunning. The text can be hard to read at times because of the lightness of the print against the blue, shaded background.
The illustrations remind me of paintings. They're stunning. The text can be hard to read at times because of the lightness of the print against the blue, shaded background.
March 10, 2017
A boy, a boat, a book, a bottle, a blanket, and a tea cup set sail on a wonderful and yet somewhat challenging journey.
December 2, 2022
Stunning illustrations and such a whimsical and creative story. I'd love to hang these illustrations all over my house.
June 12, 2017
A young boy is forced to leave his homeland, sailing away in a rowboat with a book, a bottle and a blanket as well as a teacup full of some earth where he used to play. The boy’s journey is long, sometimes dangerous when the sea is wild, other times tranquil, when the sea is also calm, and always holding tight to his teacup of earth from home. He continually looks for land in the distance, a place to call home, again, but sees nothing in the distance, but is comforted by the song of whales and the flight of an albatross.
Eventually, a tree begins to spout from his teacup, growing into a tree that provides shelter, shade, and apples to eat. When land is finally spotted, the boy plants his tree there and begins to built. And then, one day, a girl shows up with an eggcup full of earth from her home.
Matt Ottley’s pale, almost opaque illustrations have a dreamlike quality to them. They are done in a palette of blues, ranging from almost a whitish blue to a darker, more menacing blue when the sea gets rough and sky becomes overcast. It is only as the boy approaches land that greens and yellows are added to the blues.
This allegorical story can be read in different ways, as a journey from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, which seems a little young for a picture book. It can also be read as the journey one takes into the unknown whenever they are faced with new beginnings. I read it as the plight of refugees forced to leave their beloved homeland, and seek a new home where they can put down roots. Whichever you read it, Teacup is an allegorical story about the difficulty and the loneliness felt on a long journey, and one's eventual assimilation into their new circumstances without forgetting where they came from.
Eventually, a tree begins to spout from his teacup, growing into a tree that provides shelter, shade, and apples to eat. When land is finally spotted, the boy plants his tree there and begins to built. And then, one day, a girl shows up with an eggcup full of earth from her home.
Matt Ottley’s pale, almost opaque illustrations have a dreamlike quality to them. They are done in a palette of blues, ranging from almost a whitish blue to a darker, more menacing blue when the sea gets rough and sky becomes overcast. It is only as the boy approaches land that greens and yellows are added to the blues.
This allegorical story can be read in different ways, as a journey from childhood to adolescence to adulthood, which seems a little young for a picture book. It can also be read as the journey one takes into the unknown whenever they are faced with new beginnings. I read it as the plight of refugees forced to leave their beloved homeland, and seek a new home where they can put down roots. Whichever you read it, Teacup is an allegorical story about the difficulty and the loneliness felt on a long journey, and one's eventual assimilation into their new circumstances without forgetting where they came from.
February 18, 2017
"And the way the clouds slowly swam into view reminded him of how things
can change
with a whisper."
I love this book.
can change
with a whisper."
I love this book.
July 29, 2017
Gorgeous.
April 13, 2023
One of my most favorite picture books. The French translation has it titled “Over there.” Looking for home in a place across the sea, and finding it in a person instead. Sounds familiar.
November 9, 2019
Absolutely stunning illustrations with a simple yet engaging story.
January 9, 2018
“Once there was a boy who had to leave his home...and find another.”
So begins the beautifully told story about weathering the journeys of life. “Teacup” is gently written with lyrical text and stunning artwork. The illustrations reminded me of the movie Life of Pi and the story is so beautiful. The boys teacup holds only a small amount of earth from his childhood, but little does the boy know that something is growing inside.
I have to say that children’s books can sometimes surpass a 500 paged novel in storytelling. This was incredibly done and one I will cherish forever!
So begins the beautifully told story about weathering the journeys of life. “Teacup” is gently written with lyrical text and stunning artwork. The illustrations reminded me of the movie Life of Pi and the story is so beautiful. The boys teacup holds only a small amount of earth from his childhood, but little does the boy know that something is growing inside.
I have to say that children’s books can sometimes surpass a 500 paged novel in storytelling. This was incredibly done and one I will cherish forever!
October 29, 2016
Soft illustrations get a 4, but the story may be a bit much for youngsters as they ask such questions as:
What happened to his home?
Why did he have to leave?
What did he eat before the apple tree grew?
Where did the girl come from?
What is an eggcup?
What happens to them after that?
I wonder which students will figure out what kind of tree she had in her eggcup.
What happened to his home?
Why did he have to leave?
What did he eat before the apple tree grew?
Where did the girl come from?
What is an eggcup?
What happens to them after that?
I wonder which students will figure out what kind of tree she had in her eggcup.
March 26, 2021
Beautiful illustrations, not sure what the point was of the story. It's fantastical, but not particularly inspiring. If there was a lesson to be learned I'm quite sure I missed it. The jump from the boy doing stuff and then suddenly there was a girl and then in the end looks like they had a kid, eventually, was too abrupt.
July 30, 2017
This book was so sweet! It could easily have been an entire novel. It's a really unique idea.
January 30, 2018
Unparalleled beauty of artwork. Worth picking up for art alone.
October 15, 2020
This is a beautiful picture book, about travelling to another land. I would definitely put it in the 'sophisticated picture book' category, since some of the imagery is quite subtle.
April 5, 2023
pretty art, nonsensical story (nonsense not in a cute kids book way just it did not make sense kind of way)
February 18, 2018
What an absolutely beautiful book!
February 11, 2022
This is an absolutely gorgeous story about growing up, going out into the world, and finding your place as an adult, while never forgetting your memories of childhood (that teacup of soil).
What I just said isn't at all what the words in the book said, though. Everything is suggested. Everything is a symbol. All we know is this little boy takes a teacup of soil into a rowboat and rows alone through a vast and pretty scary ocean. (It's gorgeous, though.) At one point he remembers his mother, which will lead to questions: where is his mother? did his mother kick him out? did his mother die? An apple tree magically grows from the teacup, a bigass tree that bears fruit, from the teacup, in the rowboat, on the ocean. There's a lot of symbolism here that doesn't make sense unless you understand that it's just a symbol. (It's gorgeous, though.) Also, if you read this to children, be prepared to answer the question: what is an eggcup?
A child alone on the vast ocean is not a soothing story, I felt a lot of tension as I read this. There is a happy ending, however. Phew! And it's really, really gorgeous.
I don't think this is a good picture book to read to kids, and I could have used more contrast between the text and the background, but the art work is so gorgeous that I'm giving this five stars anyway. It's like: the story gets -1 star, the art gets 6 stars, so that adds up to 5 stars. I recommend this to adult collectors of gorgeous picture books. I might buy a copy myself.
What I just said isn't at all what the words in the book said, though. Everything is suggested. Everything is a symbol. All we know is this little boy takes a teacup of soil into a rowboat and rows alone through a vast and pretty scary ocean. (It's gorgeous, though.) At one point he remembers his mother, which will lead to questions: where is his mother? did his mother kick him out? did his mother die? An apple tree magically grows from the teacup, a bigass tree that bears fruit, from the teacup, in the rowboat, on the ocean. There's a lot of symbolism here that doesn't make sense unless you understand that it's just a symbol. (It's gorgeous, though.) Also, if you read this to children, be prepared to answer the question: what is an eggcup?
A child alone on the vast ocean is not a soothing story, I felt a lot of tension as I read this. There is a happy ending, however. Phew! And it's really, really gorgeous.
I don't think this is a good picture book to read to kids, and I could have used more contrast between the text and the background, but the art work is so gorgeous that I'm giving this five stars anyway. It's like: the story gets -1 star, the art gets 6 stars, so that adds up to 5 stars. I recommend this to adult collectors of gorgeous picture books. I might buy a copy myself.
December 17, 2016
Beautiful metaphor. Incredible artwork, I actually got goose bumps just looking at the beautiful paintings.
January 4, 2018
A beautiful but odd book. A young boy sets off in a boat with few possessions and a teacup with earth from the land where he used to play. The writing describes the ocean movement and activity during the voyage. The boy seems to become a young man during the voyage. When he finally spots land he is glad. During his travels the teacup sprouted a tree that provided him with apples to eat. One day a young woman turns up in another boat. She has brought with her a broken eggcup that has also sprouted a tree. It becomes apparent that the two develop a relationship as illustrated by the final illustration of three sets of footprints; one set much smaller than the other two.
The artwork is stunning and, I'm sure, would have been a Caldecott contender if the illustrator and been from the US.
This book is beautiful but is esoteric. So best shared one-on-one.
The artwork is stunning and, I'm sure, would have been a Caldecott contender if the illustrator and been from the US.
This book is beautiful but is esoteric. So best shared one-on-one.
May 10, 2015
This is a tender and sensitive story about a child who, alone, leaves his home to begin again. So poignant is this story that tears sprang to my eyes on the first page. Rebecca Young has written beautifully, using subtle innuendo to convey the journey of the protagonist. She has absolute control of language, allowing her reader to absorb the evocative images that well on the pages and spring to life. The illustrations by Matt Ottley are a superb accompaniment to the story. This picture book is a must for Stage 4 readers.
February 6, 2017
Welp, I'll be checking out every other book Matt Ottley has illustrated now. This is flippin' gorgeous, and Rebecca Young's sweet, spare story was a perfect bedtime read. When we were done, my 9 year old son sighed and said dreamily "Such a happy ending." Loved it.
July 2, 2015
I loved the illustrations.
July 13, 2015
Beautifully composed illustrations that left me in awe and lingering on each page, sweeping my hand over them as if I could touch whales and clouds and oceans.
December 17, 2016
I could lose myself in these breathtaking illustrations. What a mysterious story! Do the tiny footprints at the end mean the two have had a child?
January 18, 2017
A gorgeously illustrated and elegantly written book about loss and redemption. The images of the ocean are especially remarkable.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 229 reviews