In Writing: Bunny Mail

I have enjoyed stories by Rosemary Wells since before I could read them myself. Growing up, it became a tradition to listen to Timothy Goes to School the night before the first day for school. 

We already have Morris's Disappearing Bag and Bunny Cakes in our home library, so I was thrilled to discover Bunny Mail (2004) to share with my little one.

 

"Max really wants a bright red motorcycle just like the one Wilma Warthog has. So he decides to write a letter asking for one. Unfortunately, the postman can't make heads or tails of it. Can Grandma decipher Max's letters and help make his wish come true? 

With flaps to open and letters to read, this heartwarming story will strike a chord with every young child who's ever struggled to get his message across."

This one happens to be a Christmas in July sort of story, but more importantly in my house, Max and Ruby are exchanging letters with their Grandma. My girls are playing mail tag with my mom this summer. My mom loves bunnies and Real Mail. In fact, she's the one who started sending me Real Mail when I was away at college and the name stuck. Thanks, Mom.

In Writing: Signs on the Wind

 I think part of the reason I majored in art history was because of the beautiful books: sturdy, cloth-bound volumes with thick pages and large color plates. I generally enjoy reading, but given the choice between studying images and text, I will choose images. 

Lenore Tawney: Signs on the Wind--Postcard Collages (2002) is a beautiful book. A brief but informative essay by New York Times' Art Critic Holland Cotter introduces Lenore Tawney and her work. The remaining 80 pages of the this 95-page publication each contain a photograph of a postcard collage created and mailed by Tawney between 1961 and 1990. All arrived intact at their destinations, despite containing some rather fragile elements. Since reading that she "considered the postmark itself an essential collage element," I hold her in highest esteem. Every time I peruse these collages, I find something I missed before.

It is a joy to discover an artist I never had the chance to study, to explore and fall in love with their work, and glean inspiration for my own correspondence art.

In Writing: The Englishman Who Posted Himself...

The Englishman Who Posted Himself and Other Curious Objects by John Tingey, published in 2010, is a fascinating study of the creative challenges W. Reginald Bray (1879-1939) set forth to the Royal Mail during his lifetime.

His experiments began in 1898 after obtaining a copy of the Post Office Guide, regulations published by the British postal authorities. It seems he considered these regulations a challenge, not a guideline. This enjoyable read includes plenty of photographs to illustrate his many and varied postal antics.

He may well be the pioneer of mail art. I wonder, did the author of Flat Stanley know of this Englishman who traveled by registered post in 1903?

In Writing: Flat Stanley

My eight-year-old spent the morning sorting through her books and reading as she went. When she finished, she had a pile of books for me to store away and an organized bookshelf!

She discovered a mail-related story I had forgotten, Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. It was written in 1964, but surprisingly, I did not read it when I was young. It was introduced to me when my oldest daughter was in kindergarten or first grade. I read it aloud to her until she could take over and read it herself. Then she read it aloud to me! (Our edition is copyrighted 2003.)

"When Stanley Lambchop wakes up one morning, his brother, Arthur, is yelling.
A bulletin board fell on Stanley during the night, and now he is only half an inch thick!
Amazing things begin happening to him. Stanley gets rolled up, mailed, and flown like a kite. He even gets to help catch two dangerous art thieves. He may be flat, but he's a hero!"

It's hard to believe, but our Flat Stanley was never cut out and sent off on an adventure. Maybe I will add this to my list of mail-related projects for the summer.

You can find more about Flat Stanley and the latest generation of books at flatstanleybooks.com. Learn about the Flat Stanley Project at flatstanley.com. Author Jeff Brown passed away unexpectedly at the end of 2003, so I believe the new books are ghost-written by Sara Pennypacker, author of the Clementine books.

In Writing: Postcards From Camp

Today was the first full day of summer break from school here. All my girls received some Real Mail from Grandma, but so far, only the littlest has made anything to send back. Next week, the oldest will attend day camp, but none of the girls have yet experienced a sleep-away camp. I didn't go away to camp until the summer between my junior and senior years of college, when I worked as an arts and crafts counselor and had a cabin of eight-year-olds down in North Carolina.

 

Postcards From Camp, A Postal Story Presented By Simms Taback, is great fun for campers and mail artists alike.  The art was created by hand using mixed media, collage and gouache. I am particularly thrilled by the use of postage stamps, both real and imagined. Every time I flip through it I see something I missed before.

The book begins with a foldout list of camp essentials, and the story is told through the exchange of illustrated postcards and letters by camper Michael Stevens and his father Harry Stevens. The postcards are printed on the pages, but the four letters slide out of actual envelopes secured to the pages (like the Griffin and Sabine books.) 

Michael isn't so sure he wants to stay at camp, but with time and postal encouragement from his dad, this humorous story has a happy ending. Both my older daughters (ages eight and twelve) have enjoyed reading and rereading this one.

Feeling inspired? Send some mail art to camp! Check out this post over at Good Mail Day, and help Marissa get her campers excited about 

Real Mail!

Wednesday In Writing: The Postmistress

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake caught my eye from the clearance bin at the local Barnes & Noble store. Of course, with a cover photo and title like that, I knew it was going home with me. I began reading almost immediately, unusual for me, but I am making an effort to "do it now." At first, I just read a few pages or maybe a chapter before bed, but I was lucky to have a large block of quiet time on Mother's Day, and I finished it in one fell swoop. 

I loved it. It is a beautifully written story of life, love, and loss set during World War II. As the title and cover art suggest, the local post office and postmaster as well as letters have a starring role in the narrative. I have always been fascinated by personal stories from that era; as I read The Postmistress, I sometimes had to remind myself I was reading fiction. I enjoyed reading the author's notes and The Story Behind the Story at the end of the novel. I was sorry to see it end.

Wednesday In Writing: Frog and Toad

My initial inspiration for Wednesday In Writing came when I retrieved The Frog and Toad Treasury from the attic for my youngest daughter. Like her two sisters before her, she thoroughly enjoys hearing the stories over and over again. (I believe the oldest actually requested it for the youngest.)

The Treasury is made up of three Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel: Frog and Toad are Friends (1970), Frog and Toad Together (1971, 1972), and Frog and Toad All Year (1976). Each book contains five stories, usually one for each season of the year, plus an extra. The last story of the first book is titled "The Letter."

Toad was sitting on his front porch. 

Frog came along and said, 

"What is the matter, Toad? 

You are looking sad."

(click image to improve readability)

It is only a twelve-page, easy-reader story, but it made me realize how many children's books we have that feature mail. I suppose I am drawn to them, but sometimes I am pleasantly surprised to find letters and postcards playing an important role in the stories I read aloud.

Wednesday In Writing: Letters from a Nut

 My sixth-grader brought this home from her classroom library. 

Of course, I was excited to see a book of letters in her reading pile!

She is a fast reader and finished it the day she brought it home. 

I had time to read about halfway through before it went back to school. 

An absurd, fun read, especially if you enjoy "Seinfeld" humor.

You can find more here at the Ted L. Nancy Official Website.

Wednesday In Writing: Outside Over There

Outside Over There, a Caldecott Honor Book published in 1981, has always been my favorite Maurice Sendak book. It is the final book in the trilogy that began with Where the Wild Things Are (1963) and continued with In the Night Kitchen (1970). This book features a heroine named Ida, and the illustrations are softer and more detailed. The story itself reads like a poem and ends with a letter.

 

"...and up the ringed-round hill to her Mama 

in the arbor with a letter from Papa, saying:

'I'll be home one day,

and my brave, bright little Ida

must watch the baby and her Mama

for her Papa, who loves her always.'"

Thank you to Bianca for sharing this quote last week. 

I laughed so hard I cried.

"Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it. I answer all my children’s letters — sometimes very hastily — but this one I lingered over. I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, “Dear Jim: I loved your card.” Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it."

The Pen Thief posted a lovely example of an envelope (cover) illustrated by Sendak in 1966, as well as an image of the 2006 USPS Favorite Children's Book Animals postage stamp featuring a Wild Thing.