Tea at the Treedome (book)

Tea at the Treedome is a SpongeBob SquarePants book. It was released on August 1, 2000 and reprinted on Kindle on March 21, 2011. The book is based on the episode of the same name and is the first-ever SpongeBob SquarePants chapter book.

Synopsis

SpongeBob meets Sandy Cheeks, a Texas squirrel who has a love for karate. After she gets done fighting a giant clam, she invites SpongeBob to her treedome for a spot of tea and cookies. After he receives the invitation, SpongeBob asks Patrick for advice on how to get to know Sandy better.

At the treedome, not realizing it is full of air, SpongeBob tries to get water while Sandy isn't looking. Patrick comes by and tells him that water is for quitters. Soon enough, this drives SpongeBob insane, and Patrick comes inside the treedome to help him out. Both of them end up drying up. However, Sandy shortly brings them back to life by making water helmets for them.

Cover

The cover shows SpongeBob happy outside Sandy's treedome, holding flowers. Patrick can be seen in the background, holding his pinky finger up while observing him.

Book and episode differences

• In the episode, SpongeBob's field guide is just called Field Guide, while in the book, it's called Barks Junior Field Guide.
• During the clam wrestling scene in the episode, Sandy says; "Take that, you sorry old clam! Y'all need to learn some manners!" In the book, she says; "Take that! And this! And a mouth of that!"
• In the book, it is revealed that SpongeBob's pants popped off when he tried to pull the clam's shell open. This did not happen in the episode.
• In the book, it says that Patrick was wearing blue shorts, while in the episode he's wearing his normal shorts.
• In the book, SpongeBob picks flowers for Sandy. In the episode, this is not shown; rather, he shows up at Sandy's treedome already having flowers.
• In the book, SpongeBob asks for water, prompting Sandy to go grab the pitcher of tea. When she returns, he hands her the flowers he brought. She takes them and goes back into the tree to put them in a vase. SpongeBob lunges for the door, but cannot move, and imagines himself opening the door and escaping back into the water. Sandy returns with the flowers. In the episode, Sandy asks if he needs anything, to which he requests water. She goes to the tree to get a vase. SpongeBob stumbles to the door and attempts to open the door, but after remembering what Sandy and Patrick said, he decides that he does not want to give up and sits back down, repeating the phrase "I don't need it" to himself.
• In the book, it was revealed that SpongeBob was having a dream after he and Patrick passed out due to a lack of water, where he was at a party at Goo Lagoon. This did not happen in the episode.