It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton (review)
Buy Issue for $25 at JHUP- It Came in the Mail by Ben Clanton
Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-0360-3 $17.99
E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-0361-0 $10.99 R 4-7 yrs
Liam loves to get mail, or he would love it, if he ever received any. In a moment of inspiration, he sends a letter to his mailbox, asking it to send him “something BIG!” The mailbox delivers and in grand fashion: when Liam opens the box, he is singed by the fiery breath of the friendly dragon inside. When Liam sends additional requests for mail, he is inundated with a flood of crazy deliveries (pickles, pigs, a funny bone, a flying whale) by his obliging mailbox. The outpouring gets to be overwhelming, though, so Liam enlists the mailbox’s help in spreading the love; as Liam stuffs various items back into the box, they are then sent to other kids’ mailboxes, resulting in the sharing of joy. The simple text plays the story straight, but illustrative speech bubbles and sound effects (“TOOT! WHIRR! WINK SQUIBBLE WIBBLE WHOOP!”) emphasize the humor, as does the old-school draftsmanship that’s just this side of cartoonish. Photographic images of envelopes and postcards, incorporated into the backgrounds of many scenes, add interest, [End Page 568] and the dragon-arrival page is cleverly punctuated by realistic-looking burnt spots. The wish-fulfillment plot will appeal to kids and could be used to liven up a mailthemed storytime, to rekindle interest in a letter-writing lesson, or to spark some creative writing.
