Mailing May (edition 2000)

Mailing May, set in 1914, is an interesting tale based off of a true story, about a girl named, Charlotte May Pierstorff. Charlotte May, who simply goes by May, desperately wants to visit her Grandma Mary. However, there are a couple of barriers in her quest to visit Grandma Mary. One if that it’s seventy-five miles away over the mountains of Idaho. The other is that her family doesn’t have the $1.55 to send her by train. With some creativity and some help from the post office, May sets out on an adventure to fulfil her wish of visiting her Grandma. Mailing May, written by Michael O. Tunnell and illustrated by Ted Rand, is a feel good story that reminds us not to give up on what’s important to us. It would be a great book for grades K-3.

I would use this book for a third or fourth grade class, due to the higher level vocabulary. The story is a good one to use for a third grade class to talk about narratives. There is a very clear beginning middle and end and also a problem and solution that the students could talk about and retell. They could also come up with their own narratives that are similar to the story. This would also be a good story to use for a fourth grade class due to the higher level vocabulary. It would be a good book to introduce descriptive language and help expand the students vocabulary.

This book would be good to use for a kindergarten class as an interactive read aloud to teach about history and math. They could see the difference between the price of a train ticket and the price of mailing May and they could understand why it was easier to mail her than buy her a train ticket. May seems to be around their age, so they would relate and they may want to be mailed too, which would lead to a discussion of how mailing packages works.

This book could be used for an interactive read aloud with first-grade students. It is a fun storyline that they would enjoy and uses easier vocabulary they could understand allowing for some learning. The interactive read aloud would be appropriate because it would be easier than having a copy for all and it could be used to teach multiple standards.

This book was fun! I had no idea that part of Idaho's history and the beginnings of parcel post involved mailing a girl to see her grandmother! But it happened between Grangeville and Lewiston!!! SO cool!