The King's English Bookshop

WASHINGTON LIFE|FEBRUARY|

Magic—and a bit of whimsy—were in the air at the elegant tea party hosted by Karen Sonneborn and Katherine Boone to celebrate Amy Ephron’s new children’s book “The Other Side of the Wall.” The fantastical story is set in London, where a young girl, Tess, is charmed by a 14-year-old boy who is invisible to the rest of the world, as they have tea alone at a hotel called The Sanborn House (the author’s sly nod to the Sonneborn family and their festive tea party that launched her first book in the “Other Side” series).

More than 100 guests nibbled tea sandwiches and sugar cookies iced with the haunting image of the book’s cover, sipped tea and champagne and enjoyed a performance from a British magician. An impromptu, 1920s-inspired dance, which Lily Sonneborn (Karen’s daughter) and Maia Wapnick performed, set the tone for Ephron’s reading. A bundle of books were donated to Lawrence E. Boone Elementary School in the District.