Writing with Family and Friends
Letter and Postcard Writing
Letter Writing
Picture Books
As Fast as Words Could Fly. Pamela Tuck. Illustrated by Eric Velasquez, 2018. A young African American boy begins typing his father's civil rights-related business letters on a typewriter and uses his skills to take a stand against racial prejudice.
Dear Mr. Blueberry. Simon James. Aladdin, 1996. A young girl writes letters to her teacher about the whale she finds living in her backyard pool.
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type. Doreen Cronin. Illustrated by Betsy Lewin. Little Simon, 2001. In this award-winning book, the cows find a typewriter and write letters to Farmer Brown requesting changes to conditions on the farm.
Dear Substitute. Liz Garton Scanlon & Amy Vernick. Illustrated by Chris Raschka. Disney/Hyperion, 2018. A young girl writes a series of letters to her substitute teacher.
Dear Tyrannosaurs Rex. Lisa McClatchy. Illustrated by John Sanders. Scholastic, 2014. A young girl writes a letter to invite a dinosaur to her sixth birthday party.
A Letter to Amy. Ezra Jack Keats. Puffin Books Reprint, 2010.
Dear Primo: A Letter to My Cousin. Duncan Tonatiuh. Henry N. Abrams, 2010
The Jolly Postman. Janet and Allan Ahlberg. LB Kids, 2001
Letters to a Young Scientist. Edward O. Wilson. Liveright, 2014
King and Kayla and the Case of the Secret Code. Dori Hillestad Butler. Illustrated by Nancy Meyers. Peachtree Publishers, 2017. A letter arrives at the front door with Kayla's name on it, but with the letters and vowels mixed in strange ways. Kayla cannot read what the words say, but her dog, King, knows who wrote the letter. Can King help Kayla solve the mystery and learn the code to read the words?
Dear Pope Francis: The Pope Answers Letters from Children Around the World. Loyola Press, 2016
Even more books: Teaching Letter Writing with Children's Books
Digital Resources
Letter Generator from National Council of Teachers of English Read/Write/Think offers young writers an interactive introduction to the parts of a letter
U.S. Post Office
The Storied History of the United States Post Office, Time Magazine
Please Mr. Postman (performed by the Beatles)
Postcards
Postcard History from Smithsonian Institution
Interesting facts:
Deltiology is the name for postcard collecting
Government of Austria issued the first postcard, October 1, 1869
U.S. Post Office Department issued first card, May 13, 1873
677 million postcards were mailed in the fiscal year ending in 1908 even though the entire U.S. population was less than 89 million
Apps for creating and sending postcards from your smartphone photos
More "Writing with Family and Friends" pages: Notes, Menus, & Lists | Texting & Social Media