When life is busy and chaotic, settling in with a good book usually slows the world down and allows us to escape into imagination. When the book is a children’s story, we share the experience with another, whether we are reading to a child, or the child is reading to us. And when the book is about a topic near and dear to one’s own heart, the reading is all the more enjoyable.
There are many children’s books about the postal experience, and I have selected a few that are among my favorites.
The first, Letters From Felix, by Annette Langen and Constanza Droop, features a lost teddy bear named Felix, who has great adventures as he tries to find his way back to his adoring human, Sophie.
The book is not only a charming read, but also a visual delight. Felix writes letters to Sophie telling her where he is and what he sees at each location. And the book has the actual letters, in real envelopes! It is such fun to turn the page and find an actual letter your child can pull out and unfold and read. The letters always have an interesting tidbit about Felix’s current location and Sophie learns a little bit geography along the way.
In The Day the Crayons Quit, by Drew Daywalt and Oliver Jeffers, Duncan goes looking for his box of crayons only to find a stack of letters from the crayons. Each letter expresses a need, like more variety in life or maybe more respect. The red crayon wants to do more than just color hearts and fire trucks. Beige seeks to be more than just “light brown.” And pink, well pink is tired of being considered a “girl color.” Duncan takes the letters to heart and we get a very happy ending.
I Wrote You a Note by Lizi Boyd, Dear Panda by Miriam Latimer, Abuela’s Special Letters by Jacqueline Jules, and The Lonely Mailman by Susanna Isern, all tell stories about how letters connect us to the world around us in unexpected ways. The books are written for children but they will be enjoyed by anyone.
My favorite of all the books I read for this post is Yours Sincerely, Giraffe by Megumi Iwasa. This is the tale of Giraffe, who wants to expand his horizons beyond his native Africa and decides to write to anyone who lives far away. Lucky for Giraffe that Pelican has just started a mail delivery service. As the story progresses we read about Giraffe’s concern about the letter arriving, and then his anticipation of what might be in the return post. Postcrossers will recognize those feelings! Giraffe’s letter ends up with Penguin, who lives in Antarctica. As the letter exchange continues, the fun begins. Imagine trying to describe something that your reader has never seen. Giraffe tells Penguin of his long neck. Penguin has no idea what a neck is, but with the help of Whale, they try to figure it out. The back and forth conversation via letters is both funny and thought provoking. And when Giraffe finally goes to visit Penguin, and decides to dress like what he imagines penguins look like… well, my grandchildren found it quite entertaining!
What are some of your favorite postally theme books for children? Tell us in the comments!
PS – A big thank you to postmuse, who patiently read all these books to her grandchildren and then wrote about them for our blog. 😊
50 comments so far
"The Jolly Postman" by Janet & Allan Ahlberg would have to be my favorite postal themed book!
Back in the 80s, there was a middle grade book called Tough Luck Karen by Johanna Hurwitz which inspired my love of mail and started me on penpalling which eventually led to postcrossing. Karen had difficulty in school, but loved writing to her penpals, so her teacher showed her how to get creative and incorporate that into her classwork. There's also an adult crafting book simply called Mail Art, which talks all about how to make beautiful letters, envelopes and postcards and they recommend the postcrossing website. :)
This is so great! I immediately ordered 'Letters from Felix'. I was already contemplating to write letters to my grandson(5). This will help!
Wonderful, wonderful blog. I must find some of these books for my nieces and nephews.
oh yes the Jolly Postman! I treasured this book when I was a kid! I had the Jolly Christmas Postman. I think I have read it a million times!
We love gifting postal-themed books to little ones, so it's nice to discover more books around this theme :)
I had the jolly Christmas Postman and The Jolly Pocket Postman :)
Some so lovely books about mail for my little ones to read
But perhaps not just meant for them of this I must concede
I want to keep them pristine and enjoy them on my shelf
Do I buy yet another set they can crease and enjoy themself
"Mailing May" is one of my favorites.
What a wonderful article. I bought a copy of "The Day the Crayons Quit" at my granddaughters' school book fair. My granddaughters and I sat in the car reading it while we waited for their Mother to finish shopping. As we read, all snuggled up in the front seat, it started to rain....followed shortly by a gale of laughter. It is one of my most treasured memories. "The Day the Crayons Quit" is a funny read, rain or shine. :)
German Kids love "Letters from Felix" and I'm too. One of the best books for children!
I loved "The Jolly Postman" as a child! Still fond memories of removing each letter from inside the book. It was such a good idea! Definitely one to read to my own children some day.
These are great! Thank you so much for sharing. I also love The Jolly Postman - as do my kids - and A Letter for Amy by Ezra Jack Keats.
Has anyone read Same, Same but Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw or Pen Pals by Alexandra Pichard? Those are both about Pen Pals. I am going to see if I can find them from the library for my 7-year-old who, after I started with Postcrossing, asked if she could have a pen pal.
My favorite in this category is a Little Golden Book that I received when I was a child. Called "Seven Little Postmen," it tells the tale of a boy's letter and its progress to his grandmother's house. Of course, many of the jobs done by postmen in the book are now automated, but it still warms my heart. Cane be found on Amazon and other places. You'll love it!
Another children's book is "The Post Office Book: The Mail and How It Moves." Not as touching as the one about the postmen [above], but informative for young children. Enjoy.
Such wonderful books. I also like, "It Came in the Mail" by Ben Clanton
-Mr. Postmouse's Rounds by Marianne Dubuc
-Dear Mr. Blueberry by Simon James
-Dear Mrs. LaRue by Mark Teague (there are other titles in this series.)
-The Post Office Book by Gail Gibbons
"The Day the Crayons Came Home" by Daywalt and Jeffers has Duncan receiving postcards from his crayons:) Super cute.
Sunny the Meerkat writes home using postcards in "Meerkat Mail" by Emily Gravett. Both are great.
Have any of your ever received a postcard from Germany with one of the Felix stamps on them? I'm afraid I have now run out and they're no longer available ...
https://www.coppenrath.de/news/03-03-2015-felix-der-hase-auf-briefmarken/
adorable post ❤
I did not know children's books on this subject :)
Thanks for sharing
From the Soviet times of my childhood I remember a good poem by Marshak S. Ya. "Mail" Who is knocking at the door to me
With a thick bag on the belt ... about the postman :)
The story "Postage stamp of the country of Gondelupe" I'm not nostalgic about those times, but I want to say in the Soviet books was the soul
http://s-marshak.ru/books/p/p14/p14_01.htm
I often send cards and postcards to my Grandchildren who are 3 and 4 and live in the Netherlands. When I visit I always take several books. I can't wait to get some of these and read the books to them!
Wonderful suggestions. Thank you so much for taking the time to share these titles with us. I use postcrossing in my preschool classroom and I am always looking for good books to connect with our postcards.
I think we have all the books from the serie "Letters from Felix" - and my daughter loved them! - but I wondered if any other of the books mentioned above are also available in German? Does anybody knows something about it? Thanks for your answers!
"the day the crayons quit" is so imaginative. I hope my child will read these books in the future.
LOVE that- the day the crayons quit, oliver jeffers illustrations are great, and who could forget the sequel to the day to crayons quit- the day the crayons came home, featuring colors that are not basic, like neon pink and how duncan lost them out of his crayon box and they are writing him letters about where they are, hmm reminds of a book, what book- of course- none other than letters from felix!!!
In France, I love “Bonjour Facteur” from Michaël Escoffier and Matthieu Maudet (École des Loisirs). It’s about a mistake of delivery and it’s just adorable. (For toddlers)
Seven Little postmen was published as a "little golden book"in 1953.
There is a Dutch translation (de zeven postbodes) from 2003. It is still available in (on-line) book shops. A few years ago it was my as well as my grandchildren's favorite.
griffin and Sabine is probably my favorite letter book. although it probably isn't for children
Letter to Felix and and Letters from Santa Claus.
I am not sure, but maybe Harry Potter series might be also an example, an owl post of the magical world plays quite an important role in the story.
Also, books regarding mail, not so chldren-related but the 'P.S. I love you' can be another example, too...
Oh, I also remembered that there is a series of Soviet animation "Prostokvashino" about a young boy who decided to live in a small deserted village by running away from his home with a couple of talking animals. There is also a character of a Mailman, named Pechkin. He is famous for loving formalities and rules that might seem quite outdated. As I have researched the question, this animation is loosely based on a children's story by Soviet writer Uspenskiy.
In Kazakhstan, I don't remember any stories or books about mail service for children though. Quite unfortunate!
In the Czech Republic, they recently published a book "Expeditions from a postcard" about a boy, whose father is an interpreter who promises his son to send a postcard from the places which he travels to. It turns out that these cards have a special postmarks, thanks to which he appears at the place where it was sent from. It creates funny and crazy situations! :)
Last year I was writing about it on my blog: https://blogoknihach.wordpress.com/2017/01/17/expedice-z-pohlednice/ The blog is in the Slovak language, but you can use Slovak->English google translator, the result is very good. Just an update to that blog post: back then, I was starting keeping postcards in a photo album, but then I found filing pockets divided into four parts, originally for photos, which are perfect for the cards of this size. I should post an update also on the blog ;)
Postcards play a role in "See You Next Year" by Andrew Larsen and Todd Stewart, a lovely story which "perfectly captures the timelessness of a summer holiday. The effect is nostalgic and almost hazy, as if seen in a dream, a memory, or through the shimmering air of a hot summer day."
I purchased this book as a gift for my daughter - highly recommend it!
"Brieven aan bijna niemand anders"
I am sorry, I don't know if there are any translations, but for the Dutch reading people, this book by Toon Tellegen is , like all his books, very nice!
"A letter for tiger" ("Post für den Tiger") by Janosch has to be part of this collection, too! It's about a little bear and a little tiger who miss each other when they're not together, so they invent a postal system, a telephone and even air mail.
Janosch is a famous german author and illustrator of many children's books. He even got the Order of merit of the Federal Republic of Germany ("Bundesverdienstkreuz") for his artistic work.
@Cassisia We absolutely adore "A letter for tiger", and luckily it's also been translated to Portuguese — so it's one of those books we also gift often. Something for the next list!
Yes @Cassisia, I was going to say "Post für den Tiger"!
A German childrens book called "Zum Elefanten immer geradeaus" is also a favourite with my 5 year old. It's about a goat in the mountains looking for a job - and finding one as a mail carrier in Africa. On her first day, she has to deliver a telegramme to the elephant. Only, she doesn't know any African animals... It's a funny little book I love reading as much as my son loves listening to :)
The Jolly Postman (AND a Christmas version with the same characters) came to mind first. Another favorite was "Dear Peter Rabbit" by Alma Flor Ada. All of the characters from the favorite fairy tales are writing letters to each other about a birthday celebration. I also found out there's another with the same title that shows the actual letters Beatrix Potter wrote to her nieces and nephews and this became the famous "Peter Rabbit" stories!
I have enjoyed reading this blog and all the comments so much! I would like to add a few books that I really love: "Love Mouserella" by David Ezra Stein is adorable. Mouserella writes a letter to her Grandmother because she misses her! Another is "My Pen Pal, Santa" by Melissa Stanton. Santa is a good pen pal! And last but not least is "Pen Pals" by Alexandra Pichard. Oscar the ant and Bill the octopus are pen pals. It's hilarious!
This is a bit late, but...German commemorative stamps have been made for both "Briefe from Felix" and "Post für den Tiger." (Both Janosch (as Cassisia notes) and "Briefe from Felix" writer Annette Langen are German authors and these books were initially published in Germany.) Unfortunately the stamps are no longer available...I would have bought more "Briefe von Felix" stamps if I realized it had such an international following!
I totally agree with all of the people who recommend "Yours Sincerely, Giraffe." We have the German translation in the library and I recommend it to kids much older than the "recommended" range and also to adults as a short story. It is very simple, but also quite elegant and thoughtful.
I had a book in my classroom library (years ago) and the title was something like "Our Trip". It was children's picture book and told the story of a road trip of a family from the central part of America to the Pacific Coast in California.
Every page was a "postcard": illustration on one side, message to the family back home on the back. I wish I could recall the exact title! Although it may be out of print by now.
Here's one I don't think has been mentioned yet: "Don't Forget to Write". Also.....look what I found! :-D http://www.playingbythebook.net/2010/04/27/99-picture-books-about-post-mail-letters/
Thank you so much, for these reading tips!
I´ve ordered the German version of "Yours sincerely Giraffe" right away. It´s called "Viele Grüße, Deine Giraffe". Looking forward to a lovely read!
Has to be Happy Postcrossing GB!
But they are all fab.
In my childhood I read all Felix stories. Often I send letters like Felix to friends. He inspired me.
I would love the "Netherlands" set. Just to send them to anyone to show what my country is like :)
I like the "Around the World" with cancellation marks of different origins the best. These are part of what I expect and collect while postcrossing, in addition to the card, stamps, and kind words. So, why not collecting a bunch on a single card?
I loved The Jolly Postman sooooooooo much as a child. Such fun to take all the letters out of their envelopes and read them!
And the "grown up" version - the Griffin and Sabine books by Nick Bantock. <3
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