When I was little, I thought that delivering mail had to be one of the best jobs around. You got to drive a special truck (no doors — so awesome!), most of your day was spent outside, and best of all, piles and piles of letters and packages were in your care. For a kid with a serious obsession with books and paper, mail was a daily treat. It didn’t matter that the mail wasn’t for me; I just pretended that it was! Bills, junk mail, catalogs — I loved it all, and I couldn’t wait to grow up and experience the thrill of seeing my own name on the envelope (especially those window-pane envelopes because they always looked so official and important). Nobody told me that most “grown-up” mail requires payment which then results in a smaller bank balance. Ah, the harsh reality of adulthood.
Even though the thrill is gone when it comes to the contents of my mailbox, I retain a fondness for the job duties required by mail carriers. I’m sure this is what prompted me to check out this week’s book “Mr. Postmouse’s Rounds.” Marianne Dubuc’s utterly likeable picture book tells the story of a mouse who works for the post office. Wearing a jaunty hat and post-office-approved shirt and pants, Mr. Postmouse “carefully loads up his little wagon” and sets off on his daily rounds of mail delivery.
First stop is Mr. Bear’s house. At this point we learn that Mr. Bear is waiting for a letter from his aunt Ursula (and if you know that “ursine” is the Latin term for bears, “Ursula” should elicit a giggle or two). But, not only do we discover that Mr. Bear has an aunt, we get to see inside his house — bear-tastic! Mr. Bear happens to be entertaining a visitor, and if you have little ones in the house, see if they recognize who it is. Also, take a close look at Mr. Bear’s clever method for gathering honey — it’s bee-charming.
Each house along Mr. Postmouse’s route is home to a different animal family. Thanks to the homes’ cut-away views, winsomely illustrated by the author, readers get a peek into the living habits of bears, rabbits, penguins — even dragons! — plus many others.
