During their spring break, the Polo Grounds Girls LitClub traveled down from Harlem for a special tea party dressed in their nicest outfits. With Dorothy and Brooke’s help, we prepared a comprehensive spread. (Yes, there were cucumber sandwiches.) Hadeer Maher, Pam Allyn’s mentee from the George W. Bush Presidential Center Women's Initiative, joined us that afternoon. As we ate finger foods, Hadeer helped all of the girls translate their birthdays into Arabic.

Sticking their pinkies out while sipping tea, some girls affected their voices to resemble British accents: “May I have a spot of tea, please?” and “Oh, that sounds simply splendid!” Like in our weekly meetings, we took time to read from R.J. Palacio’s Wonder. Still nibbling on snacks, the girls listened while scanning the LitWorld office. For all of the girls, it was their first time seeing the space.

But why read my reaction, when you can hear a review straight from the source? After the tea party, Dasira, a LitClub member, wrote us a message through the LitWorld website:

"Hi my name is Dasira and I go to LitClub at the Polo Grounds. LitClub is so fun I really love the trips and I feel so comfortable being in girls club because they give us these notebooks and when I write my feelings I feel happy because the LitWorld staff read it. I LOVE GIRLS CLUB AND LITWORLD!!!!!!!"

--Susannah Rosenfield, LitWorld Intern