A giant THANK YOU to all the wonderful writers who entered the Tweens 'n Tea writing contest! I've receieved all of your entries and will be reading them this week. Stay tuned...

Welcome to The Steeping Leaf on the web! Annie, Genna, and Zoe hope you'll enjoy the site. To order The Teashop Girls online, please visit your local Indie Bound bookstore, Powell's Books, or Amazon.com. 

To read an excerpt, click here. 

For some wonderful Teashop Girls tea party activities, click here.

Dear Reader,

Being in middle school can be pretty rough. Everything about everyone is changing so fast. And there are so many things to worry about all at once: school, family, crushes, jobs, and last but definitely not least, friends.

Annie, Genna, and Zoe have been best friends forever. But with eighth grade ending, the girls are beginning to grow up and grow apart. When Annie takes a job at her grandmother's teashop, things begin to look up. In between whipping up chai lattes for customers, tasting new teas, and attempting to catch the attention of her barista boy crush, Annie is finally beginning to feel as sophisticated as her best friends. But an eviction notice spells trouble for the Steeping Leaf. Annie's ready with her multistep Save the Leaf Action Plan, but will it be enough? Can Annie rally her friends to save the Leaf before the teashop and the Teashop Girls are history?

EVENTS QUICK REFERENCE! (for details, click on the Events Calendar page)

Library author visit, Palmyra Public library, WI 1:30pm 07.07.09

Summer Reading Program author afternoon, West Bend Public Library, 2pm 07.17.09

Library author visit, Port Washington Public Library, WI 07.30.09

Summer author visit, Oconto Falls, WI 07.31.09

Good girls author discussion panel, Mt. Mary college, Milwaukee 11.04.09

Laura Schaefer author night, 6:30pm, Middleton Public Library, 11.16.09

Tea with the author event, George Watts tea house, Milwaukee WI 11.09

Poll

What do you like to enjoy with your tea?

Total votes: 9

News

Watch Laura talk tea on TV!

2009-04-11 10:37
Click here for a clip of Laura's appearance on Milwaukee's television show The Morning Blend. It's a tea party for three!

Caramel roobios from Cha Cha Tea

2009-03-28 15:33
Try Laura's new favorite tea, caramel rooibos, by visiting www.chachatea.net

Book plates!

2009-02-17 10:59
If you'd like an autographed book plate for your copy of TSG, e-mail Laura at teashopgirls@gmail.com with your mailing address. :-)

Lots of new Teashop Girls events!

2009-02-02 17:02
Be sure to click on the event calendar and scroll around. Laura just added lots of new, exciting Teashop Girls events to the page! Please note the dates are not in order. Apologies. :-)

Teashop Girls is in the news!

2009-01-23 19:17
Click here for a terrific feature story on The Teashop Girls and its Madison roots in 77 Square.

A special Teashop Girls toast...

2009-01-21 15:18
...to Miss Print for her exquisite review.

Podcast

2009-01-19 18:30
Listen to Laura talk TSG on Stu Levitan's show. To download the podcast, click on the second January 11th segment on this page.

New pics!

2009-01-13 23:01
Click on the photogallery tab for great new pics of The Teashop Girls reading and signing in Madison last night. Thanks again to everyone who came out in the blustery, blizzardy weather.

Follow Laura on the web

2009-01-10 14:34
Teashop girl Laura Schaefer is all over Web 2.0! Get your fix of blogs, photos, and tweets at the following sites. Please add me and then stop by to leave comments any time. twitter.com/teashopgirl flickr.com/photos/teashopgirls http://teashopgirl.blogspot.com www.myspace.com/laurajs79  

Thank you to Toki Middle School!

2009-01-09 11:08
The Teashop Girls took over Toki Middle School in Madison today, and it was a huge success. Thank you to teacher Jacque Strahl and all of the sixth graders for the good questions. Here are my pictures: