Two Fine Ladies

The "Two Fine Ladies" series by Antonia Zehler charmingly suits any girly-girl early reader. I know of two books in this series: "Two Fine Ladies Have a Tiff" and "Two Fine Ladies: Tea for Three." In about 30 pages of one or two sentences per page, a young lady who loves pink, dressing up, and tea parties can learn a little about friendship and compromise. The illustrations show two girls ("fine ladies") who live in a pink cottage and drink tea, but look suspiciously similar to little girls playing dress up because of their long dresses that drag on the floor and sleeves that hang past their arms. Their hats and necklaces droop in just that "dress up" sort of way, too.

The moral of the stories are not deep, but nevertheless can be valuable lessons in friendship for young girls. In "Have a Tiff," the girls wake up grumpy and fight. Yet drinking tea alone is not fun, so they soon patch their friendship. In "Tea for Three," they pick up a bear (perhaps a teddy bear, grown real in their imagination?) while out on a drive in their pink love bug. He comes home to tea, but spoils it. They realize that they care for their new friend more than they care about spilled tea or cookie crumbs. If the lessons of friendship do not tempt the reader, the illustrations will be too delightful to pass up.