It Came in the Mail

Nothing like going old-school with a dragon!

Liam loves to get mail, as readers might guess from the endpapers covered with letters. Sadly, he never gets any. Oh well. Liam has an idea; he'll write a letter! He decides to send it to the mailbox itself and the next thing he knows, he gets something, something amazing; a dragon! Liam is so excited he keeps asking for - and getting - more and more and more and more things through the mail. Finally, things get a little out of control and he has idea to help him scale back on the mail.

I've come across Clanton a few times, but this is his first book that thoroughly delighted me. The clever typeface, fantasy flip of the postal service, and the increasing flood of things are both humorous and show more satisfying. I loved the colored pencil look (yes, I realize it's actually watercolor) and the many clever details. The burnt letters, the air mail puns, you can read this book multiple times and find something new every time.

My one quibble is that the diverse kid, Jamel, is relegated to friend instead of protagonist. I think he would have made a great main character and looked awesome on the cover.

Verdict: You'll need to set up an activity station for mail when you purchase this, because every kid is going to want to try their hand at writing letters, just in case they might get a dragon!

ISBN: 9781481403603; Published June 2016 by Simon & Schuster; Borrowed from another library in my consortium show less

Longing for mail, Liam writes a letter to his mailbox, asking it to send him something. Anxious to oblige, the mailbox send him a dragon. So pleased with this gift, Liam asks for more and more from the mailbox, until he is eventually overwhelmed. What can he do with all of these magical packages...? The answer comes when he considers other children, and the fact that they too might want to get some mail...

An entertaining tale about magic, wishes and mail, It Came in the Mail is sure to please younger children who enjoy stories of enchantment. The message about sharing one's blessings is worked seamlessly into the narrative, feeling like a natural part of the story, rather than overt moral instruction that has been tacked on. The show more artwork, done with pencil and watercolor, has a fun cartoon-like appeal. I liked the scene in which Liam is scorched by his new dragon's fire! Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories with a little magic. show less

Liam really wants some mail, but he never gets any, until he has the idea that if he sends some mail, he might receive some in return. "Dear Mailbox, I would like to get something in the mail. Something BIG! Please!" Mailbox obliges with a dragon, which is exciting at first, but Liam wants more, and more, and more. Finally he realizes that it is TOO MUCH MAIL, and asks the mailbox to send some of it to other kids, until he is left with just the original dragon.

Funny fantasy - might encourage kids to send their own mail!

"An idea struck him."
I love that Liam and his friend Jamel are outside with sports' balls... sitting on them... playing cards....

I love the expressions on the faces of the dragon, the duck, etc. The art is wonderful - cheerful, detailed, easy on older eyes but still exciting enough for kids. And I love the story - the theme has been expressed in other books, but this is probably the best of all the times that I've encountered it.

Gonna reread this before returning, and gonna keep reading Clanton.

This story is about a boy named Liam who wants to get mail. He checks his mailbox all the time, but never gets any mail. He gets the idea to write to the mailbox and ask for mail back. The mailbox turns out to be magic and sends Liam a fire breathing dragon. Liam realizes he can get anything he wants from this mailbox so he keeps writing and he gets a whole bunch of stuff. He then realizes that maybe some other kids would want some mail so he starts to send back everything he got back into the mailbox and it goes to other children all around the world. I liked this book and could use it in probably no older than a 1st grade class because it is very simple and the letter writing in it is very simple. Could do an introductory lesson on show more writing and have the students write to the mailbox. show less

Liam loved to get mail but he never did. He would check daily, hourly, and every few seconds, but never found anything. Liam then got an idea; he would send some mail to get some in return! So he wrote a letter to the mailbox asking to get something big in the mail and the mailbox sent him a dragon. Liam then wrote another letter to the mailbox asking for more stuff and the mailbox spit out a bunch of other stuff. Liam loved it all so much that he wanted more. Liam then wrote the mailbox another letter asking for a gazillion more things and mail flooded out of the mailbox. Liam then got another idea; he wrote one last letter thanking the mailbox for all the mail, but asking it to send it to other kids because it was too much for just show more him.

This book was really sweet and funny at the same time. I really liked how Liam figured he wasn't the only kid who liked to receive mail, so he sent all the mail he got to other kids. This story teaches children selflessness by sharing when you can rather than keeping everything to yourself. show less

Adorable. Lots of visual jokes and puns to accompany the cute story.