Product Description

Nowadays it's no big deal or a girl to travel seventy-five miles. But when Charlotte May Pierstorff wanted to cross seventy-five miles of Idaho mountains to see her grandma in 1914, it was a very big deal indeed. There was no highway except the railroad, and a train ticket would have cost her parents a full day's pay.

Here is the true story of how May got to visit her grandma, thanks to her won spunk, her father's ingenuity, and the U.S. mail.

00-01 CA Young Reader Medal Masterlist and 01 Colorado Children's Book Award (Pic. Bk Cat.)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #100954 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-30
• Released on: 2000-09-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 32 pages

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2. Five-year-old Charlotte May Pierstorff begs to visit her grandmother, but her parents cannot afford to send her. In Idaho in 1914, the train is the only way to make the 75-mile trip over the mountains. The Pierstorffs come up with an unusual solution?mailing May. Sending her as a package is a third of the cost, and since her mother's cousin Leonard handles the railroad mail car, she does not have to travel alone. Children will delight in the fantasy aspects of the tale even after they discover that the story is true. Tunnell describes his research in an author's note. Rand's watercolor illustrations are masterful, as is the design of the book as a whole. The intriguing cover is made to look like a suitcase. With the tweed of the traveling bag as a backdrop, the title is framed in the shape of a postage stamp, and two other old-fashioned stamps and a "photograph" of May holding the same suitcase are featured. The device of the painted photographs or other pieces of realia such as a postal tag or train schedule appear throughout the book's glowing two-page spreads and add to the story's authenticity. This well-crafted presentation provides a brief, but sweet, glimpse into the past.?Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

The New York Times Book Review, Betsy Groban
...a heartwarming period piece based on a true incident, lovingly told, beautifully illustrated and extremely well produced in an oversize format. (Ages 4 to 8)

From Booklist
Ages 5^-8. Based on an incident that occurred in Idaho in 1914, this story tells of little May, who longs to visit her grandmother. May's parents cannot afford a railway ticket for the 75-mile trip, but with the help of cousin Leonard, who mans the mail car on the train, May's father takes advantage of the new parcel post regulations: he presents his daughter at the station post office as a package he's mailing to Lewiston. Affixing 53 cents in stamps to the back of her coat, the good-natured postmaster checks May in as poultry ("biggest baby chick on record"), and Leonard delivers her to Grandma's house the next day. Told in the first person from May's point of view, the story has a folksy quality and a ring of truth that will hold children's interest beyond the central anecdote. Rand's watercolor illustrations beautifully evoke the period and the feelings of the well-drawn characters. Particularly helpful in bringing the past to life are his essentially narrative style and the inclusion of small, sepia-toned paintings of photographs beside the large full-color paintings. Carolyn Phelan

Customer Reviews

Mailing May: An Adaorable Story for One and All!
Mailing May is the delightful tale of how a family living in 1914 ingeniously figures out an inexpensive way to send their little girl to her grandmother's house for a visit. May desperately wants to see her Grandma Mary, but unfortunately her family does not have enough money to buy her a train ticket. She attempts to find a job at Alexander's department store, and is crushed when he has no positions for young children. After returning home distressed and upset, May is woken up that night by her father, who has a special surprise. Her parents bring her to the Post Office and successfully convince the postmaster to mail her as a package. Stamped and addressed, May boards the train escorted by her cousin Leonard, who is in charge of the mail. After a long journey across the state, the mailman and his precious package reach the end of the tracks. Leonard delivers the package to Grandma Mary who is eagerly awaiting her arrival. May is able to visit her dear Grandma, but only with a little help from the US Post Office.

Enjoyed the Idea
I think with the postal service (as with many other institutions we take for granted), children often wonder "What would happen if . . ." Michael O. Tunnell's "Mailing May" plays with this idea. May, a little girl in the book, wants to visit her grandmother, but her family doesn't have the money for a train ticket, so May's father and Leonard (the post-man) must come up with an alternative solution. Ultimately they mail May like a package, and even the grumpy conductor of the train can't help but laugh at the idea. That the story apparently is true, and not merely a "what if" tale (according to the back of the book) seems to only increase reader delight.

Note on the illustrations: The illustrations are 3/4-page watercolor paintings, with smaller paintings of postage stamps, photographs, tags, and railroad documents, thus adding to the story's sense of reality and historicity. They help establish the early 1900s setting, and develop the characters through facial expressions.

Charming History
This is a wonderful story, a true story, and made me think of the many afternoons with my dad when I was tiny singing the Guthrie tune "I'm gonna Mail Myself to You". The drawings are superb, they seem like paintings rather than illustrations in a children's book. Sweet and lovely. Worth every penny.