Age Group: 5 - 9 Years

• Ahlberg, Janet. Jolly Christmas Postman. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., c1991.
  About the book:
  

  Ingram

  The Jolly Postman returns with a pouch overflowing with holiday cheer--letters from the Big Bad Wolf, a miniature book, a terrible board game, even a Humpty Dumpty jigsaw puzzle, and more, all tucked into envelopes bound right into the book. "Pure delight."--Kirkus Reviews, pointer review. Full-color illustrations.



• Ahlberg, Allan and Janet. The Jolly Postman. New York: Little Brown Children's Books, 2001.
  About the book:
  

  Ahlberg, Janet and Allan. The Jolly Pocket Postman. London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1995.

  Ingram

  As the Jolly Postman goes from house to house in this magical kingdom delivering the mail, children can read, on every other page, the whimsical letters tucked inside their own envelopes. "Delightful, full of clever detail, and frequently hilarious. . . . A real treat."--Publishers Weekly. Full-color illustrations.



• Ahlberg, Janet and Allan. The Jolly Postman and Other Peoples Letters. New York: Viking Penguin,1999.
  About the book:
  

  Fifteen years ago, long before anyone else thought of tucking actual letters and notes inside a book, Little, Brown published The Jolly Postman by Allan and Janet Ahlberg. This wonderful book gave children a chance to read letters sent from one fairy tale or Mother Goose character to another. Among the funny notes was one from Jack, who lolled on a sun-renched island, thanking the Giant for the gold that let him afford such a nifty vacation. All this amusing correspondence was deftly illustrated and the book attracted hordes of eager readers.



• Bailer, Darice and Tom Antonishak. Wanted - a Few Bold Riders: a Story of the Pony Express. Norwalk, CT: Soundprints, c1997.
  About the book:
  

  Ingram
  While visiting the Pony express exhibit at the National Postal Museum, Kevin travels back in time and becomes Warren Upson, a famous rider with a difficult route.



• Bensen, Joe and John Potter. Pony Bob’s Daring Ride: a Pony Express Adventure. Helena, MT: Falcon, c1995.
  About the book:
  

  This is the story of Pony Bob, the brave young man who made the longest and most daring ride in the history of the Pony Express. He covered more than 300 hot and dusty miles across Nevada, in just 2 days. Travel with Pony Bob and discover just what made his ride so treacherous, and learn the fate of those he left behind.



• Bergel, Colin and Mark Koenig. Mail by the Pail. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, c2000.
  About the book:
  

  This is a delightful story that illustrates the mail delivery system for Great Lakes freighters. The J. W. Westcott Company operates the mailboat for the U.S. Postal Service marine post office in Detroit —the only mailboat that delivers mail to freighters while they are moving.
  The colorful pictures and expressive words in "Mail by the Pail" will interest young readers as well as anyone living in the states that border the Great Lakes.



• Brill, Marlene Targ and Craig Orback. Bronco Charlie and the Pony Express. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, Inc., 2004.
  About the book:
  

  Relates how, in 1861, a boy named Charlie Miller became the youngest rider for the Pony Express, a mail service that linked the east and west coasts of the United States.



• Flanagan, Alice and Christine Osinski. Here comes Mr. Eventoff with the Mail! New York: Children's Press, c1998.
  About the book:
  

  Follows a letter carrier for a day at his job from the time he arrives at the post office to pick up and sort the mail until the last item is delivered.



• Flanagan, Alice. Letter Carriers. Minneapolis: Compass Point Books, 2000.


• Ford, Carolyn and Sally Schaedler. Nothing in the Mailbox. Katonah: Richard C. Owen Publishers, Inc., 1996.
  About the book:
  

  Never receiving anything for himself in the mailbox, a child decides to write letters to almost everyone he knows, with happy results.



• Gibbons, Gail. Post Office Book: Mail and How it Moves. New York: T.Y. Crowell Jr., c1982.
  About the book:
  

  Publishers Weekly
  Gibbons takes readers step-by-step through the mailing process, from the moment the letter is dropped into a mailbox until it reaches its final destination. She includes a glossary and a brief history of message-sending.



• Greene, Carol. At the Post Office. Chanhassen, MN: Child's World, Incorporated, The. Library Binding,1998.
  About the book:
  

  Takes the readers on a field trip to a post office where they walk through a typical day learning about its functions.



• Greene, Carol. Postal Workers Deliver our Mail. Chanhassen, MN: Child's World, c1998.
  About the book:
  

  Describes the jobs done by the many workers who contribute to the delivery of our mail.



• Johnson, Jean. Postal Workers: A to Z. New York: Walker & Company,1987.
  About the book:
  

  School Library Journal
  Kindergarten-Grade 3 Using an alphabet format, a simple vocabulary, a few lines of text per page, and large black-and-white photographs, Johnson describes the complex process involved in delivering the mail. Beginning readers will enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at equipment and procedures necessary for the collection, sorting, transport, and delivery of the mail on a year-round basis. A more detailed text at the end gives added information. A book that is appropriate for updating the community helpers' section.



• Kule, Elaine. U.S. Mail. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, c2002.


• Langen, Annette et al. Letters from Felix: a Little Rabbit on a World Tour. Hauppauge, NY: Parklance Pub., 2003.
  About the book:
  

  Publishers Weekly
  In one of the inaugural titles from the Abbeville Kids imprint, Sophie's family is returning from vacation when her stuffed rabbit, Felix, disappears in a crowded airport. Readers will spot the lost toy on the luggage conveyor depicted in the first of Droop's cheery, busy spreads. As the distressed child goes home, Felix embarks on a whirlwind international tour, communicating with Sophie via five letters (which can be removed from envelopes attached to the pages). After each epistle describes the rabbit's sightseeing adventures in London, Paris, Rome, Cairo, Kenya and New York City, Langen fleshes out Felix's travelogue with additional information about the locales. Though its format obviously recalls the Jolly Postman books, Langen's wordy, occasionally awkward narrative lacks the ingenuity of those works. There are, however, several fetching extras: also tucked into the envelopes are a color snapshot of Felix in front of the Eiffel Tower and a "secret pyramid map" from Egypt; and-when he finally arrives home on Christmas Eve-Felix carries a suitcase containing six travel decals. All ages.



• Levinson, Nancy Smiler and Joan Sandin. Snowshoe Thompson. New York: HarperCollins, c1992.
  About the book:
  

  School Library Journal
  Kindergarten-Grade 3-- This fictionalized account of John Thompson's first winter trek across the Sierra Nevada in the mid-19th century will captivate many beginning readers. When mail delivery is halted because of heavy snows, Norwegian-born Thompson (one of American's skiing pioneers) volunteers to deliver a young California boy's letter to his father in Carson City, Nevada. The boy, Danny, helps him make a pair of skis--splitting and sanding the wood planks, boiling the wood, and shaping the tips.



• McCormick, Anita Louise. Pony Express in American History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, c2001


• Miller, Raymond. U.S. Stamps: Collect all 50 States. Tangerine Press, 2003.


• Ready, Dee. Carteros y Carteras. Decatur, IL: Capstone Press, Inc.,1998.


• Ready, Dee. Mail Carriers. New York: Holiday House, 2000.
  About the book:
  

  Ingram
  Explains the clothing, tools, schooling, and work of mail carriers.



• Schaefer, Lola. We Need Mail Carriers. Mankato, MN: Pebble Books, c2000.


• Shepard, Daniel. Where Does the Mail Go? Mankato, MN: Yellow Umbrella Books, c2003.
  About the book:
  

  Ingram
  Provides a clear explanation of how a letter travels from the mailbox to its final destination and examines modern post office machines, jobs of mail handlers, and special postal services.



• Siracusa, Catherine. No Mail for Mitchell. New York: Random House, c1990.
  About the book:
  

  Publishers Weekly
  This Step into Reading book stars Mitchell the dog, a friendly, dependable mailman. The simple yet witty pictures show him delivering a lavender hatbox to the stylish Mrs. Groundhog; a copy of Mouse and Garden magazine to Mrs. Mouse; and a box of books (return address: Random House) to the erudite Beaver family. But the hardworking Mitchell returns home to find his own mailbox empty. He decides to write a letter to himself, but when he goes out into the rainy night to mail it, the envelope blows away in the wind. When Mitchell braves the elements to deliver a special birthday package, he comes down with a bad cold. Mr. Pig takes over, and the bulging sack he brings to Mitchell's door makes the ailing mailman very happy. With its controlled vocabulary, large type and bright illustrations, Siracusa's cheerful tale is a welcome addition to this excellent series for beginning readers.



• Stewart, Alex. Sending a Letter. Danbury, CT: Scholastic Library Publishing, 2000.
  About the book:
  

  Booklist
  Sending a Letter is a historical view of communication, from messengers and smoke signals to e-mail and faxes.



• Tunnell, Michael and Ted Rand. Mailing May. New York: Greenwillow Books, c1997.
  About the book:
  

  School Library Journal
  Five-year-old Charlotte May Pierstorff begs to visit her grandmother, but her parents cannot afford to send her. In Idaho in 1914, the train is the only way to make the 75-mile trip over the mountains. The Pierstorffs come up with an unusual solution - mailing May. Sending her as a package is a third of the cost, and since her mother's cousin Leonard handles the railroad mail car, she does not have to travel alone. Children will delight in the fantasy aspects of the tale even after they discover that the story is true. Tunnell describes his research in an author's note. Rand's watercolor illustrations are masterful, as is the design of the book as a whole.
  Image: "Owney" National Postal Museum Library, Smithsonian Institution Libraries.



• Wales, Dirk and Diane Kenna. Lucky dog: Owney: U.S. Rail Mail Mascot. Chicago, IL: Great Plains Press, c2003.
  About the book:
  

  Booklist
  Wales' account of the U.S. Postal Service's first, and probably only, canine mascot will strike a chord with animal lovers and inspire inquiries into history and geography. In 1887, on a cold, rainy night in Albany, New York, a postal worker takes pity on a shivering dog that has taken shelter in the depot. Although it's against the rules, the supervisor allows "Owney" to stay. One day, the dog jumps aboard a mail train and discovers he likes riding the rails. News of his adventures, which ultimately include a trip around the world, spreads as he travels, and people give him baggage tags from the places he visits. The overuse of exclamation points aside, the narrative is clear and straightforward, and the scratchy, earth-toned illustrations aptly convey both the scraggliness of the stray and the nineteenth-century backdrop of the story. A satisfying tale, all the more pleasing for being true.



• Watts, Bernadette. Harvey Hare, Postman Extraordinaire. New York: North-South Books, Inc., 1999.
  About the book:
  

  School Library Journal
  A gentle story of friendship and hard work rewarded. Harvey Hare is truly dedicated. "No matter what the season, no matter what the weather, Harvey made sure the mail was delivered." Readers see him drooping in the heat at high noon on a summer day, soaked by autumn rains, and hopping through snowdrifts to make his deliveries. Finally, the animals decide to give him a present in thanks for his service. They agree upon an umbrella made of spring grass, leaves, twigs, and flowers to protect him from the elements year-round. The softly colored illustrations reflect the shades of the changing seasons and adeptly portray the animals' natural world. Children will find Harvey's ears particularly expressive, and will certainly agree that this hare is a postman extraordinaire. An appealing look at the value of doing one's work well.
  Image: Savage, Jeff. Pony Express Riders of the Wild West.
  Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publishers, Inc., 1995.

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