Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Ages: 4 – 7 years
If you had young children in the 70’s or 80’s or were a child in this era, there’s a good chance you will remember the book, The Jolly Postman.
This book is just as fun today as it was decades ago. My ‘modern’ children just loved removing and reading the letters from the envelopes contained within the book’s pages…
…just as I did all those years ago.
The Jolly Postman (or Other People’s Letters) is a positively delightful story that both brings back great memories and keeps kids entertained with its removable letters.
The Jolly Postman delivers letters upon a bicycle to various well-known fairly-tale characters.
His first letter is delivered to The Three Bears. Children can remove the letter from an envelope and either read it themselves or have a parent read it out loud.
The letter is from Goldilocks. She is apparently in trouble from her mom and has written an apology letter for eating Baby Bear’s porridge and breaking his chair. She signs off the letter with an invitation for Baby Bear to her party.
The Jolly Postman goes on to deliver a letter to the Wicked Witch who lives in the gingerbread cottage, a giant, and Cinderella.
When he delivers a letter to the Big Bad Wolf, he is understandably nervous. The letter delivered to the wolf is an official attorney’s letter requesting that he cease occupying grandma’s cottage at once and informing that the Three Little Pigs have firmly resolved to sue for damages.
The last letter is a birthday card for Goldilocks.
Janet and Allan Ahlberg created some of the world’s most popular picture books and this one, in particular, is still entertaining and relevant just as it was all those years ago. The concept is clever and the illustrations are still delightful.
A cleverly entertaining story that brings back great memories, The Jolly Postman still entertains with its removable letters and well-loved characters decades after it was originally published.
