The Jolly Postman; or, Other People's Letters

I think we can all agree this book is genius. Despite the simplicity of the poetic text, it still includes some funny ideas, and again the illustrations though deceptively simple also contain some nice background details. Meanwhile, the idea of having actual removable letters for children to take out of envelopes and read makes this a book that will be returned to over and over and always cherished. It also uses a different form of letter for every single one and could easily be used in an English class to teach different forms of writing. So much effort went into crafting this book. Deeply impressed.

I fondly remember the mad scramble to procure this book back in my elementary school days. Along with the Waldo series, these Jolly Postman books were at a premium among the school kids, because we loved the innovative books. Waldo was about finding that sneaky man in a striped shirt; this book was about the surprises found in every envelope. To clarify, let me back up. This picture book has an unusual format. In between the story and illustrations are pages that are mock envelopes, because this book is about a postman delivering letters to inhabitants of fairy tale land. He has important missives for the three bears, the Wicked Witch, the giant, Goldilocks, and even the Big Bad Wolf. The story is told in simple rhyme, with a rhyme show more scheme that is lilting and not forced, and has bright and festive pictures that suit the setting. The envelopes appear after the postman has delivered his mail, and we get to read what each inhabitant receives. As if it weren't enough fun getting to peek in on other people's letters, each delivery is different; a letter, a postcard, an advertisement, even a book and publication notice. The author doesn't neglect the little details, either, with appropriate postage stamps and return addresses. I loved this book as a child, and I love it as an adult, with an extra appreciation for its craft. I can't wait until my girls are old enough to love it as much as I do. show less

The Jolly Postman Or Other People's Letters is a great children's story of a postman delivering letters to all of the people around the town. The book is filled with envelopes with letters in it that can be opened and read by the reader.

Even though when I was a kid I thought this book looked scary because of the colors, I would still recommend or use this book because of the fun font used in the letters that are written throughout the story. This font shows the approachability for students to write letters. These letters are not perfect, instead they are fun! The reader can't help but wait to find out where the postman is going to go next! This book could be used in a classroom for a teacher to develop students writing skills. I would show more assign my students to decide to write back to one of these letters and make our own story in our classroom that the students would have ownership for. show less

A favorite at our house. The Jolly Postman delivers mail to various nursery rhyme and folktale characters; every other page has an "envelope" with a letter inside. A funny book with charming illustrations.

This book will definitely get kids writing. It is all about letters and even includes some. Once they read this book, they will definitely want to write a letter of their own. I enjoyed the rhyming of the book because it made for a more smooth read. I also think it's a great idea to include lifelike letters that include common stories.

Wow! What an awesome book for children of all ages!! This book touches on all of the fairy tales that children are hearing at home and at school. It is about the Jolly Postman who delivers mail (letters) to fairy tale characters from other fairy tale characters. Children will love this book because it contains real letters! When reading through the book, each new part has a letter that you can take out and read. This is a great asset to a book because instead of just reading the letter on the page a child can take it out and see it as if they intercepted the mail from the character in the book.

This book is the cutest book I have read in a long time. My favorite book as a child was Felix and the Flying Suitcase and it was one of my favorite books because it had letters that could be removed and read just like this book. I was smiling from the first letter in the book, and I am so excited that I ended up picking it off of the shelf to read. The irony and humor in this book are in subtle little marks like the heading of the letters and who it was sent from. Any child would love reading this book, even if they had not read all of the fairytale stories that are included in the book. Children who know the fairytale stories would enjoy the irony and humor that is throughout the book.