The Jolly Postman

The Jolly Postman (or Other People's Letters) by Janet and Allen Ahlberg

I saw this book on my book shelf and thought I would post about it because it is one of my most memorable reads and while it is secular in nature, it has some neat fatures I though you other moms and grandmas might be interested in. First of all it's historic, because it is an old book, written a long long time ago before there was even email. As you know, back it the olden days, in the days before email, when I was just a kid, I had to walk all the way out to my mailbox to get the mail!

This secular minded book is a book of letters that the reader gets to open and read, which if you are about eight is very fun. The letters are not addressed to the reader... they are letters received (once upon a time in a land far far away...) by some famous fairy tale characters, including the Three Bears, The Wicked Witch, (She gets "junk" er... a .. catalog advertisements for witchy stuff,) The Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella, and others.

Now, I have to say that I have not read between the lines in these sotries AND since the Ahlbergs are British, I was sort of wondering if this book was and inspiration, once upon a time for JK Rowlings.. (of Harry Potter Fame) I do not know for sure, but I can tell you that I personally found the endorsement or shall I say legitimizing of the Wicked Witches World (WWW..BTW) a bit painful for me personally as a Christian reading the book to my younger kids. I actually got the book before I was a Christian, before I had any personal conviction about presented fairytale witches any other way the "wicked and evil, except for maybe good white witches like in the Wizard of Oz.

(I mean, the dilemma for me was, do you instruct your kids that witches are not real otr that witchcraft is not a sin? Do you instruct them that they are real, and how do you really feel about Holloween? (or maybe that witches are "funny" instead of really "wicked"?)

At any rate, you may want to wrap your head around the right perspective there... especially before reading it to your youngsters. I can tell you we have read a few fairytales ourselves in life, or at least seen the Disney movies.. and I am sure that some people find what the Ahlbergs came up with, particularly for witches junk/catalogue mail, including "Little Boy Pie Mix" pretty funny. (I think she is the 'Hansel and Gretel' Witch of storybook lore, at least she lives at a Gingerbread Cottage.)

And did I mention that they are British? Oh well, that explains it all, I am sure!

It's a cool concept for a book. Some of the pages in the book serve as book pages, others as envelopes, addressed to the various characters... of course and complete with stamps. The reader must look inside each envelope, remove and read the contents. (It's just like the book says, reading other people's letters.)

Truth is, the fairytale motifs and characters are, as such, ingrained in my brain, and I have a brother who is a postal worker so I found this kid's book to be quite fun. I think it's quite imaginative too. It is definitely a book with secular appeal, but it is one I have kept on my books shelf for years. I am posting about it, mostly as an educator, because I think it presents a great premise for a kids' writing project... have them make their own book of letters....

Simply choose your own characters, maybe the animals you live with... favorite book characters... people in history... or write letters to the people in the future, (like a time capsule...write to them about the events of today) Simply imagine the mail they might receive or write to each of them. In fact you could skip spending the $20.00 for the book, and forgo the witch issue too... and make your own cool "other people's letter's" book for your own kids to read.

I say this simply because I think the letter reading is the best part of this book. But keep in mind however, that it's won't be as fancy as the Ahlberg's who took a number of years to actually formulate this one. I can only tell you that a book of letters was fun to read. The best part was the surprise of what could be inside an envelope to each!

The book is a little series too. There is also, The Jolly Pocket Postman.. (He gets shrunk and you need a magnifying glass ... included with the book) to "see" him. (actually not too small) ) and the Jolly Christmas Postman... (Post man through the now and Santa Story)