The best thing about Book Sale, the shop for pre-loved books here in the Philippines, is finding rare treasures to share to my children.
Our latest adventure is about going back to the basics, which include learning how to send letters through the post office.
We visited the post office last month to learn about this process.
Last February 3, a Sunday, I was going out of an outdoor shop at the Elizabeth Mall when I saw Book Sale and decided to spend some there to go over their titles and pick up some books for the children.
For Php 110, I purchased 10 books, one of which is entitled “Where did it come from: Letter.”
As you may have guessed by now, the book is all about snail mail.
The book, illustrated by Diane Tippell, presented the long process of how a letter from the US found its way to Britain.
There’s a lot of sorting involved in the process and I wished we could visit a bigger post office here in the Philippines for the children to see. I am listing a post office visit in my must-do list when we go back to the US with the children.
The book is written in straightforward language employing the character of the girl, Polly from America, who sent a birthday card to her cousin Joe, who lives in Britain. The texts are not too long and the words are not complicated for our five-year-old twins to understand but it needed some form of animated reading to keep the interest going.
I tried to search for this book online but Google did not display searches about the book. It was conceived, edited and designed by Francis Lincoln Ltd in London. It was printed and bound in Hong Kong. The copyright date is 1987, only a year younger than me.
I love how the publisher acknowledged different organizations, which made the book possible.
To quote:
“We would like to thank the United States Postal Service, especially the staff of the Communications Department; the British Airports Authority; and the Post Office and its workers, especially those at the Heathrow Mail Unit, Mount Pleasant Office, the Travelling Post Office service (Western Region), East Finchley Sorting Office and the Public Relations Department and Gordon Tippell for their help and advice in preparing for this book.”
Would you happen to know a Philippine version of this book? Or something similar?
Let me know!
