The Jolly Postman, Or, Other People's Letters

The Jolly Postman must surely be one of the most innovative and interactive books for young children. Accompany the Jolly Postman on his rounds as he delivers post to classic children's characters, all of which happily live within his delivery round. Meet the Three Bears, Cinderella (now happily married to her Prince Charming), Goldilocks and many more. The real magic in this book lies in the inclusion of actual and highly personalised post for each character--each tucked into a neat envelope between the pages of the book. Enjoy Goldilocks' "Sorry" letter to the Three Bears, a Postcard to the Giant from Jack and, most amusing of all, the writ issued to the Big Bad Wolf (still occupying Grandma's cottage) by lawyers acting on behalf of both Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs.

The story is told in charming verse to compliment this very active and unusual storybook. The Jolly Postman is a treasure for children aged 2 to 6 years old. --Victoria MacKenzie

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View books by Allan Ahlberg, Janet Ahlberg.

Lovely book! - Rated
Lovely book. Great pictures. Our children love it.
It is one of my favourites.

Grown into it. - Rated
I bought this a few months back but my boy never really got into it until now : he is 3 1/2. The rhyming story is OK, as is the gift set but the hook is obviously the letters.
Of these Goldilock's apology (however badly spelt), Cinderella's book deal and the birthday card are genius. The others are OK but it's these 3 which my boy firmly believes are real. It does lead to the difficult question why we have Goldilocks birthday money but, I am sure, there are trickier questions to come.

Great idea, but... - Rated
When we first saw this book we thought it was a great idea - a great way to introduce letters, post cards and the likes to our children.
However, reading some of the letters included in the book we came across sentences like "I am very sory indeed that I cam into your house and ate Baby Bears porij." Surely in a book intended to teach children to read, the spelling and grammar should be a good example. We stopped when we came across Jack's post card to the giant...
"Dear Giant Bigg,
having a nice time - me, my mum and your hen what lays the golden eggs. (It's better than traveller's cheques.) Saw a bloke as we was flying down - he was bigger than you! I've took note of his address. Take care of yourself - and your talking harp - I'll be back for that one of these days, I shouldn't wonder.
Bye for now - your (very) little pal, Jack"
Obviously Jack's ill gotten gains have not been put towards teaching him how to write. Nor does he seem to have a conscience as he writes so flippantly about his next planned crime.
It's such a shame that a good idea like this has been spoilt by such poor examples of English.

A delightful present for any child. - Rated
This book is one of the most enchanting I have ever read. It is a delightful read for both children and adults alike. Everyone loves to receive letters in the post and this gives that thrill to a child - the one person that can experience excitement at its raw level.

The linking poems are gentle and roll well together to link the different characters together on the Jolly Postman's journey. In addition to the poems, there is an abundance of material contained in the letters etc themselves which will bring a smile to any child's face.

The book is a great tool for sparking the inquisitive and imaganitive parts of the child's brain without ever becoming dull. I gave this book to a friend's daughter when she was two and a half - she now reads the book to me purely from memory! She loves to look inside the envelopes and find the letters inside and tell me what is going on in each of them.

A timeless classic to be enjoyed over and over.

A jolly good read - Rated
One of my favourite things about The Jolly Postman, as the subtitle of ‘Or, Other People’s Letters’ suggests, is that it really IS as if you were sneakily peeking at an assortment of letters addressed to others. This splendid children’s book follows the Postman of a fairy-tale land, as he spends a busy day delivering mail to well-known characters from stories. The book is set out in the following format: one page contains a beautiful colour illustration of the character(s) involved, and the other page is an envelope, which the reader can open to reveal a letter. The rhymes are short yet humorous, and useful for children that are learning to read to practise their skills. An example of one of the verses is:
“So the witch read the letter
With a cackle of glee
While the Postman read the paper
But LEFT his tea. (It was green!)”

The envelopes are all different, and the decision of the authors to include a wide variety of letters (formal and friendly) is nothing short of ingenious. Each envelope displays the name and address of a character, and a stamp and postmark for added authenticity. The giant (of Jack and the Beanstalk) for instance, receives a postcard in an airmail envelope, from Jack. The wicked witch receives a brilliantly amusing catalogue from Hobgoblin Witch Supplies, Goldilocks gets a birthday card (with a one pound note inside), and Cinderella is delivered a charming mini-book of her life from a publisher.

The Jolly Postman is truly one of the most inspired children’s books I have ever had the good fortune to come across, and anyone who has enjoyed it like me may also like to track down the two other books in the same series, ‘The Jolly Pocket Postman’ and ‘The Jolly Christmas Postman’ (both of which are superb).