Snail Mail
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
A long, long time ago, before email and texting, the mail was delivered in a much slower way-it was called Snail Mail (because some thought it was delivered by a snail). Although it took much longer, everyone agreed that letters were a little more special when they were delivered by Snail Mail. They might be handwritten. They might include a drawing. They might even contain a surprise inside! One such letter was sent by a Girl to the Boy she loved, and it was up to four special snails to deliver her card across the country. The snails trek across the country-through desert heat and dangerous blizzards, across mountains and plains, through cities and forests-and along the way, they find that taking time to slow down and look around makes the journey all the more beautiful.
Snail Mail's playful and educational story encourages kids to have slow living, and to approach life with determination and wonder. Julia Patton's rich illustrations showcase America's diverse terrain and national monuments from coast to coast. Kids and parents alike will delight in this celebration of America's beauty and the power of a simple handwritten letter.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Four snails carry a letter "made by a Girl who loved a Boy" from Santa Monica to New York City in this appropriately leisurely paced tale about the pleasures of taking one's time. After Colonel McHale Snail issues the directive to "Go!," the snails inch ahead, chanting the Snail Mail Promise: "Neither rain, nor snow, nor heat, nor hail will stop a snail from bringing the mail." In measured prose that seems to mimic the letter carriers' pace, Berger (Monster's New Undies) tracks the snails across various terrain: "And even though their progress was very slow... there was something special about slowing down... to look around... and notice... what an amazing place the country was." Patton (The Very Very Very Long Dog) works mainly in light, wispy tones as though the scenes are filtered through a thin layer of snail slime which makes some of the snails difficult to decipher. Exceptions include a spread revealing a double rainbow, sunset, and lime-green meadow, and another featuring postcardlike images of some iconic sites (Mount Rushmore, Yellowstone). Readers are rewarded when the couriers finally hand the Boy the letter (though some may be disappointed that its contents aren't shared), after which the snails receive their own letter containing four gold medals "for good service." Ages 4 8.
