The Van Gogh Cafe

Written By: Cynthia Rylant

The Van Gogh Cafe is a place filled with magic.  It is a place where dreams come true and broken hearts can mend.  Marc, the Cafe’s owner, and Clara, his daughter, believe that each day will bring new magic to the Van Gogh Cafe, and they are always right. 

Rylant starts this work of fantasy with a strong lead, “The Van Gogh Cafe sits on Main Street in Flowers, Kansas, and the building it is in was once a theater which may be the reason for its magic.  Anyone who has ever seen anything happen on a stage—anything—knows that a theater is so full of magic that after years and years of opening nights there must be magic enough to last forever in its walls.”  It is hard to imagine not turning to the next page and continue reading after the introduction of the magical place.  Readers cannot help but wonder, what is so magical about this place?  What happens there?

Another interesting style Rylant uses throughout this piece is that she ends each chapter with a statement that leads us to the main purpose of the next chapter.  For example, on page 21, Rylant ends the chapter with, “But they’re nothing compared to magic muffins….” When you turn the page, the next chapter is titled, “Magic Muffins.”  She does this with every chapter except for the last one, entitled, “The Writer.”  

As with her other stories, Rylant uses very descriptive language.  For example, I am able to visualize the magic muffins on page 22 when she writes, “The muffins are inside the little foil package, of course, which Marc has unwrapped.  Tiny muffins, gumdrop muffins, they are charming…. “Like shells,” Clara says.”  The magic of the cafe comes alive through Rylant’s descriptions—we almost feel as though we are there in the cafe experiencing the magic for ourselves.

In addition to using descriptive language, Rylant also uses simplistic language that is poetic, yet very easy to understand.  For example, on page 14, Rylant writes,  “So she waits.  She eats a lot of pie and she waits.  Something else is bound to happen eventually.”  By using short sentences, Rylant is able to put emphasis on what is important in the sentence—the fact that the girl is waiting.  Even in longer sentences like this one, “Magic is a powerful word and often misused.  Some say magic comes from heaven, and others say it comes from hell, but anyone who has ever visited the Van Gogh Café knows that magic comes from a building that was once a theater; from a sign above a cash register that reads BLESS ALL DOGS; from a smiling porcelain hen on top of a pie carousel; from purple hydrangeas painted all over a ladies’ bathroom; from a small brown phonograph that plays “You’d Be So Nice to Come Home To,” the language is simple, yet powerful and descriptive.

The magic in Rylant’s, The Van Gogh Cafe is contagious.  Visitors to the Cafe believe in its magic, and readers cannot help but get caught up in the hopes and dreams that the Van Gogh Cafe inspires.   

Silver Packages: An Appalachian Christmas Story

Written by: Cynthia Rylant

Paintings by: Chris K. Soentpiet

Every year at Christmas time, a train comes through Appalachia.  It is not just any train—no, just any train would not stir up much excitement.  It is a very special train—the Christmas Train—and from the day children are born in the mountains, they learn to wait for the Christmas Train that arrives every year on December 23^rd. 

You may wonder why the train is so special.  The answer lies in learning something about generosity and kindness—about tradition—about owing a great debt and giving back. 

In her story, Silver Packages, Rylant recalls her memories of growing up in Appalachia.  Her story is loosely based on a real train, known as the Santa Train, which comes through the Appalachian Mountains and delivers special gifts to those who are waiting every December.  It has been a tradition for the past 65 years and is a way for business owners to give something back to their community. 

Similar to some of Rylant’s other stories, she takes us through the passing of time as the story of the Christmas Train transpires.  Rylant begins by telling us how the tradition of the Christmas Train came to be many years ago and how on the twenty-third, “—the train will slowly wind up and around the mountains, and on the platform of its caboose will stand the rich man in a blue wool coat.  He will toss a sparkling silver package into the hands of each child who waits beside the tracks, and for some, it will be the only present they receive.  So the train is awfully important.”   

As the story continues, so does time.  Rylant introduces us to Frankie, a young boy who waits for the Christmas Train every year, hoping to receive a particular present—a Doctor kit.  Several years pass and Frankie waits for the Christmas Train each year hoping for the particular present that he yearns for—but it never comes.  What he does get each year is something that he needs more—socks, mittens, a hat, and a scarf.

Many more years pass and Rylant now describes Frankie as an adult saying that, “When Frankie grows up, he moves away, out of the hills.  He lives in different places and meets different kinds of people and he himself changes a little into a different kind of person.”  Frankie then begins to reminisce about the mountains and of his fond memories of waiting for the Christmas Train.  Most of all, he realizes that the rich man always gave him what he needed—and he remembers something about owing a debt just as the rich man had.

Through the passage of time, Frankie has grown up to become Frank, and although he has moved away from his home, he cannot fight his memories. He does finally return home and has found a way to give back to his community—he comes back as a doctor.  

Cynthia Rylant often writes picture books with adult themes.  I had a difficult time deciding if this book was more for children or for adults—so I decided that it could be for both.  The story inspires selflessness, kindness, and generosity.  The story itself, being based on a true story, is something that children can also learn from.  However, the passage of time and the nostalgia of the Frankie are more suitable for an adult’s understanding.  Also, the social issue of poverty is presented, as it is evident throughout the text that many of the families are poor.  This however, can certainly be addressed with children.

Rylant’s use of descriptive and poetic language with varied sentence structures make her words come alive.  For example, “He returns to the hills where he has grown up, and that winter, near Christmas, he stands at the tracks, watching the children wait for the train.  And it comes, as always.”  When read aloud, the sentences read like a poem.  The second sentence is emphasized due to its length.  We also sense the feelings Frankie is having when he returns to Appalachia, “The grown man watches the steam engine move toward him, watches the caboose roll by him, and he nearly runs after that train, so strong are his memories.  This grown man nearly runs after a silver package.”  Again, Rylant varies the length of her sentences—reading like poetry and providing emphasis on what is most important in the second sentence. 

Accompanying the eloquently written text are full-bleed, double-spread paintings by Chris K. Soentpiet which truly bring the emotions of the characters in the story to life.  Each illustration adds to the meaning and depth of the story.  The story begins on the title page, where a framed illustration of a brown sack filled with silver packages is waiting on the caboose of a train—the subtle hint of the story continues on the dedication page where a train can be seen traveling through the snowy hills of Appalachia.  The horizontal lines of the train evoke a sense of tranquility and peacefulness.  The gradual slopes of the Appalachian hills evoke the same feeling.

The mood quickly changes with the text as Rylant tells how the story all began.  Dark hues of blue and black saturate each page—even giving darkness to the snow on the ground.  Soentpiet creates tension in the beginning when we read about the rich man who got in a car accident by positioning him and his car diagonally across the center of the page in the foreground.  The colors are dark and threatening—but in the distance, a light shines and a woman stands in a doorway—letting us know that everything will be all right.  We begin to sense the warmth of the community as a the woman nurses the rich man back to life—warm tones of orange, yellow, and brown lighten up the page—but tension is still sensed with the diagonal position of the characters.  The mood changes throughout the rest of the story as the palette of colors becomes brighter—using warm-earthy tones to create a sense of humbleness within the characters and to contrast against the white snow. 

One of the most notable features of these representational illustrations is that of the emotions present in the characters.  One of my favorite illustrations in the story is when Frankie opens his first silver package on Christmas morning.  Soentpiet shows Frankie in the center foreground of the left-hand page allowing us to see his disappointment in the gift that he has been given.  On the right-hand side, Frankie’s family is drawn in the background with smiling faces—grateful for the gifts that they have received and unaware of Frankie’s feelings.  Rylant writes, “Frankie looks at his mother and father and brothers and sisters and tries not to cry.”   These detailed emotions combined with the fact the illustrations are drawn from a very close perspective, help us to feel emotionally connected to Frankie.  We feel empathy for how hard this moment is for him, and we hope that next year he gets his Doctor kit.  We can relate, because we know that being upset is to be ungrateful, but it is hard to push aside your dream.  

Both Rylant and Soentpiet combine their talents to create an emotionally powerful story.  Cynthia Rylant believes that stories come from memories.  Her strong childhood memories have led her to create this thought-provoking and beautiful story of a tradition that continues today.

But I'll Be Back Again: An Album

Written by Cynthia Rylant

I imagine it must be very difficult to write about your own life—especially knowing the amount of people who will read it.  You have to be strong in order to hang your dirty laundry up in order for all to see.  I believe that Cynthia Rylant is a very strong person who has given readers a glimpse into her life through most of the books she has written.  Her autobiography, But I’ll Be Back Again, helps to provide a further glimpse into Cynthia Rylant’s childhood and the possible reasoning behind the themes of her books.

When I first started teaching, I saw Cynthia Rylant in a very different light than I do now.  I did not realize how many books were in Rylant’s extensive collection.  I mostly knew her as the author of series such as Henry and Mudge and Mr. Putter and Tabby and a few choice read-alouds such as The Relatives Came, In November and The Great Gracie Chase.  I now realize she writes in a variety of different genres and for a variety of different audiences—whether other adults realize it or not.

Many of Rylant’s books have reoccurring adult themes such as the passing of time, death, loneliness, old age, or the loss of a loved one.  Her books also present certain social issues such as poverty and homelessness.  I had not realized this about Cynthia Rylant until I started to read more and more of her books.  I was surprised to find that many of her picture books are more for adults than they are for children.  For example, the story, Mr. Griggs’ Work at first seems like a story about a friendly old mailman who loves his job.  Reviewers of the book say that the story is great for teaching children about providing services in an Economics Unit.  Upon deeper analysis, however, one realizes that the character of Mr. Griggs is simply a lonely old man who puts all of his time and effort into his work.  There is no evidence through the illustrations that he ever married or had any children.  Everything he does relates to the mail.  Through this story, we see the theme of loneliness shine through.  Another book, An Angel for Solomon Singer is also about an old man who is lonely and leaves us with questions about the social system in place in our society. The Old Woman Who Named Things is about an old lady who had suffered the loss of all of her loved ones and was afraid of loving anything living ever again for fear that they’d be gone.  

As I started to wonder about why Rylant wrote using adult themes, I started to research her and her reasoning behind her books.  I realized that her childhood was not perfect.  She especially suffered from loneliness and loss.  The more I realized this about Cynthia Rylant’s childhood, the more the themes of her books made sense to me.  If I read Cynthia Rylant’s autobiography prior to making the connection of many of the adult themes in her books, I think I would have been very surprised to read about her childhood. 

The autobiography was published in 1989 and the name, But I’ll Be Back Again, seems to be inspired by the Beatles song, I’ll Be Back.  Throughout the book, Rylant includes quotes from various Beatles songs.  Due to all of the research I had already done on Rylant, I did not find that her autobiography provided me with any new information about her life.  Much of her information in her autobiography corresponded well with the poems she wrote in, Waiting to Waltz.  It almost seemed as though the autobiography provided a further description of each poem in her book. 

Author Lois Lowry emphasizes the fact that her ideas for fiction stem from memories that she has.  Cynthia Rylant seems to do the same—it is powerful to write about the things that you know and have lived.  Rylant states, “They say that to be a writer you must first have an unhappy childhood.  I don’t know if unhappiness is necessary, but I think maybe some children who have suffered a loss too great for words grow up into writers who are always trying to find those words, trying to find a meaning for the way they have lived…”

Rylant’s books are almost like therapy for her.  At the end of her autobiography, she mentions that she has been divorced twice before the age of thirty and that she is ashamed of her failures.  Through this, Rylant discovered that she did not expect much happiness from her life—she felt life was supposed to be hard for her.  It took her awhile to figure out how to find comfort in a life that did not hurt and she mentioned that today she is happy.  She has a son and hopes that his childhood will be easier than hers. 

It has been more than twenty years since Rylant’s autobiography has been published.  I wonder if she will ever write another one that emphasizes the events of her adult life and how they have provided new inspiration for her books.  Would she focus on the negative or the happiness and joy that being a mother has brought to her? 

Waiting to Waltz: A Childhood

Poems by Cynthia Rylant

Drawings by Stephen Gammell

Cynthia Rylant typically draws from experiences she has had as inspiration.  In Waiting to Waltz: A Childhood, Rylant writes a collection of poems inspired by her experiences in Beaver, West Virginia.  Rylant moved to Beaver with her mother at the age of eight and experienced sorrow, joy, love, loss, fear, disappointment, and death while she was there.

Even in this short group of poems by Rylant, we are given a glimpse into Rylant’s personality and style.  It is no wonder that Rylant has a gift for poetry—she always writes poetically even in prose.  Free-write poetry seems like a natural step for Rylant to take.  Her language does not necessarily follow any rules, but it is simply beautiful. 

This book is recommended for readers who are eleven years old and up.  I agree.  The content initially seems rather simple because all of the things are things that kids may deal with growing up.  At the same time however, a certain maturity is needed in order to interpret and appreciate the poems—especially since the poems go beyond what an eleven-year-old experiences.  For example, the later poems talk about going steady, dating, and leaving home. 

The pencil illustrations that accompany the poems almost look as though someone has spilled water on them—making them look like black and white watercolor.  They provide a glimpse into Beaver, but also leave significant details out—allowing the reader to make up their own pictures in their mind.

This group of poems allows us insight into Cynthia Rylant’s personal life and thinking—yet, we do not feel like we know everything there is to know about her when we finish.  As an adult who has read several Cynthia Rylant books, this poetry collection makes me want to learn more specific details about her childhood.  I am looking forward to reading her autobiography. 

I Had Seen Castles

Written by Cynthia Rylant

I have always been an outsider to war.  When I look into the eyes of a soldier, I see a hero.  I see someone who has risked his life for our country and protected us from harm.  I see strength, bravery, and wisdom—and I am thankful that he has made it home and can find happiness with his friends and family.  When I look into the eyes of a soldier, I do not see the war—I see hope for a better future.

But, when I look into the eyes of a solder, I am, and always will be, an outsider. 

The eyes of a soldier tell a different story.  They cannot take back the unimaginable things they have seen and there are no other eyes—other than those that have seen the same—that can truly understand.

John Dante is seventeen years old in the midst of World War II.  His friends who are eighteen have already enlisted in the War.   John has mixed emotions throughout the book on whether or not to join the war, but in the end—he decides to do so when he turns eighteen. 

I Had Seen Castles, a powerful young-adult fiction novel written by Cynthia Rylant, opens our eyes not only to the brutality and horrifying experiences of fighting in a war, but to the innermost thoughts and feelings of those fighting.  It’s a story about love, loss, hope, and growing up far too fast.  

As with many of Rylant’s other books, she is able to emotionally engage us in the text through her use of descriptive text.  Her language is poetic and beautiful, even though she is describing horrifying events.  “The pictures in Life may have shown suffering and death to the people back home, but they never showed dismemberment.  The shoes with feet and legs up to the knees still standing, and nothing more.  The rest of the boy is gone.  Or the chest cavity blown wide open so that the heart can be seen, still beating, and the boy to whom the heart belongs reaches out and asks to be helped to die.” And, she put into perspective how many innocent people died, “Thirty million Russian people died in the Second World War.  Not soldiers—families.  Thirty million people.  Mothers and grandmothers, fathers and children.  They burned and bled, littering the landscape.  Their beds burned and their toys.  Their wedding pictures and their babies’ carriages.”   She helps open our eyes as readers and the way she describes death and the war makes us think about its’ true purpose.

Rylant mentions in the back of the book that although she did some research for the story, she relied heavily on her heart in order to write it.  Her inspiration for the story was due to special newspaper editions with interviews from World War II Veterans—marking it’s fiftieth anniversary.  I wonder how much information she gathered from real veterans and how much she made up or assumed a soldier would think.  I did read in a biography of Rylant that her father was a veteran of the Korean War and died when she was only thirteen.  It did not seem that she was that close to her father or knew much about him.  I wonder how much, if any, of her inspiration came from her father’s experiences.

John Dante was forever changed after the war in ways that few could understand.  After all, John had seen castles—and everything else could never be seen the same way.

Missing May

Written by Cynthia Rylant

The loss of a loved one is a tragedy that all of us will go through at some point in our lives.  Loved ones are taken from us at many different points —sometimes unexpectedly and other times we are given the opportunity to prepare ourselves the best that we can.  I often wonder why it seems that some suffer much more loss than others—and much earlier in life than they should.  How do young children learn to cope with the loss of a loved one—especially when feeling like the adults in their life need their support?

By the age of twelve, Summer has already suffered from a lot of loss.  Since her mother’s death when she was a baby, Summer was passed from one relative to another where she was, “treated like a homework assignment somebody was always having to do.”  Finally, when Summer was six years old, she found a family who loved her—a family that needed her.  She was taken to live in West Virginia with her Aunt May and Uncle Ob. 

Summer finally felt she had come home when she was surrounded by, “Whirligigs of Fire and Dreams, glistening Coke bottles and chocolate milk cartons...”  She lived a happy, yet simple life, up until the point when her Aunt May died unexpectedly.  Summer and Ob’s lives would never be the same as they learned how to grieve and continue to live through their great loss.

Summer suffers in silence as Ob suffers outwardly.  She tries to be his strength when he cannot get out of bed in the morning.  At the breakfast table, Summer drinks coffee and Ob drinks cocoa—making it clear who takes care of whom.   She worries and is saddened by the fact that she is not enough to keep Ob going.   She thinks, “I wasn’t enough to bring Ob to life each day.  That it wasn’t enough he had me left to still love.”  Although she is hurting, she remains strong for Ob, hoping that he will things will go back to the way they were—or as close to the way they were without May being around.

Cletus, a boy from school, helps Ob in particular with his grief.  He talks to him with the maturity of an adult and is described by Summer as “...Always living full of hope and confidence.”  Though resistant to it at first, Summer and Cletus end up becoming friends as he helps both Ob and Summer through their loss.

In Cynthia Rylant’s, Missing May, we become emotionally attached to Ob and Summer as they learn to cope with their loss.  In a short amount of pages, Rylant is able to successfully develop these characters through her use of description.  She makes us aware of Summer’s thinking, but leaves us wondering about Ob’s inner-thoughts.  By the end of the story, we realize that Summer needed a sign from May that things would be alright.  The owl flying over-head was like the spirit of May—telling Summer that it was okay to cry.  Suddenly, Ob seems like a pillar of strength, comforting Summer and telling her, “She’s still here, honey.   People don’t ever leave us for good.”  It becomes apparent that Ob has realized he needs to be strong for Summer and continue to live for her.  After a breakfast of bacon and eggs, one that is cooked by Ob for the first time in his life, Cletus, Summer, and Ob set out all of the whirligigs in May’s garden—finally setting them free. 

Hansel and Gretel

Retold by Cynthia Rylant

Pictures by Jen Corace

“It has been said that guardian spirits watch over and protect small children, and that may be so. But there are also stories of children who find the courage to protect themselves. Such is the story of Hansel and Gretel.”

Just as in her retelling of Cinderella, Cynthia Rylant again forgoes beginning the traditional tale of Hansel and Gretel
with the words, “Once upon a time…” and instead, pulls us into the story using beautifully-crafted and poetic language that leaves us anxious to turn the page and read her version of the tale we already know.

When the story begins, Hansel and Gretel are free, happy, and unaware of their unforeseeable future. Although the text tells us that their stepmother blames them for the family’s unfortunate circumstances, the illustration shows the children running excitedly towards their home—past their stepmother—looking like they are going to give some flowers that they found to their ill father. It is apparent that although the stepmother is evil, she may not have treated Hansel and Gretel in an obvious evil manner as of yet.

As I turn to the next page, I am immediately distanced from the action as Corace frames the illustration of the evil stepmother convincing the father that the children must go. I feel protected because of the distance, but at the same time—I want to jump in and do something!

Upon hearing the plan, Hansel vowed to protect his sister. “He possessed the courage his father lacked, and would do what was necessary to protect his sister.” As in Rylant’s version of Cinderella, the mention of important character traits is again emphasized in her version of Hansel and Gretel. We learned in Cinderella that the prince had loyalty, integrity, courage, and honor. In this story, we are learning the importance of courage as an important trait to possess.

As the story continues, we learn that courage is not just a trait possessed by males. Gretel shows her courage as she thinks of what her brother has always told her, “Take courage, Gretel,” and was able to show how smart she was as she tricked the witch into climbing into the oven.

Upon their return home, Hansel and Gretel realize their stepmother has died from eating a poisonous mushroom and that their father is happy for their return as he, “…picked them up in his arms and held them and cried a thousand tears for their safe return…and finally, released from her spell, their father, too, had nearly died from the shame of having abandoned his children.”

Rylant ends the book with, “Love would take care of the rest,” instead of the traditional, “They lived happily ever after.” This makes me feel like the story has been brought back to something more realistic. Meaning, challenging things may happen to the family again in the future, but love will help them get through it. I think this is a good message for all.

As I was reading another review of this book, it was pointed out that the illustrations of the people lack pupils. I thought something was different about the illustrations of the characters, but I could not place my finger on what it was until I read this other review. Why did Corace decide to leave out the pupils of the character’s eyes? Expressions of sadness, worry, and evil are clear nevertheless even with the lack of pupils.

Through Cynthia Rylant’s retelling of both Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel, she withstands the integrity of the essential elements of the original tale, but adds a new dimension by emphasizing important values that children, regardless of culture, can relate to and strive to possess.

Walt Disney's Cinderella

Retold by Cynthia Rylant
Illustrated by Mary Blair

“This is a story about darkness and light, about sorrow and joy, about something lost and something found. This is a story about Love.”

A unique start to a traditional fairy tale—Rylant forgoes the typical, “Once upon a time” introduction and sets the stage for a love story—initially lessening the element of magic and the distance of time.

Throughout the story, Rylant continues to emphasize the concept of love early on expressing that Cinderella, “…wished for one thing only: Love. Every day Cinderella wished for Love.” This was unlike her stepsisters, who only wished for riches. “Love meant nothing, and if Love ever did come to them, it is unlikely they would even have known what it was.”

I wonder why Rylant always capitalized the “L” in “Love?”

From what I can remember of Disney’s version of Cinderella, it is never really explained why one may fall in love with the prince other than for the reason that he is a good looking prince. Being given the name “Charming,” only means that the prince has a talent for getting whatever ladies he would like to have. Rylant helps me to see the prince as someone other than just that by describing him as “…a son with integrity and courage and loyalty and honor. The young prince had every quality anyone could ask of a man who would someday be king.” By describing the prince in this way, Rylant again lessens the element of fairy tale for me and gives me more of a feeling of reality. Prince or no prince, these are important qualities for a man to possess and are a sign that a man will treat a woman the way she should be treated.

The prince, who was never named Charming, was not married because he had not yet fallen in love. He was yearning for something more—just as Cinderella was yearning for something more.

Rylant, retelling the Walt Disney version of Cinderella, did keep the essential elements of the fairy tale—including the Fairy Godmother and her magic. In spite of the unrealistic magic, however, Rylant continued to emphasize the type of magic that is realistic—falling in love. “Who can say by what mystery two people find each other in this great wide world? How does a young man find his maiden? His heart leads him. He finds her in a room. He asks her to dance. And when he touches her, he knows…In silence, Love found them [Cinderella and the prince]”

I can’t help but wonder what would have happened if the prince bumped into Cinderella when she was wearing rags. Through the text, it would seem as though he would have found her regardless of her attendance at the ball.

I find it interesting that Rylant chose to end the fairy tale with, “They lived happily ever after,” when she began it in such a non-traditional way. I would have expected her to end the story as she had started it—emphasizing the story of love.

The Fleur de Lis covering the front page and found throughout the illustrations confirm that Walt Disney’s version of Cinderella is based on the story told in France—where the introduction of the glass slippers, mice, and pumpkin became important symbols of this traditional tale that we recognize today.

Many of the illustrations throughout the story reminded me of the images captured in the Disney movie—particularly the scene of the stepmother and sisters practicing their music, the horse-drawn carriage, the castle, and the characters themselves.

Although there were similarities (also noted in copyright specific images that were used from Disney), the illustrations lacked emotional appeal for me. The illustrations, although full-bled, did not enable me to connect with the characters because they were distant and not very detailed. The lines did not seem “clean,” which I believe gave the images more of a cartoon feel. The only face that was drawn with true detail was that of the evil-step-mother, which in my mind did make her stand out. Most illustrations were dark and only used a few colors within the limited color palette.

I find the mesh between the illustrations and the text very interesting because in my opinion, the text seems to take on a more serious tone—emphasizing love—a very real emotion—versus the illustrations that have a more distant and loose feel. On the other hand, perhaps since love is such a subjective and personal thing—maybe Blair chose to illustrate with neutral and blurry images to emphasize that love—is not always something that can be defined in words or pictures and is different for all.

Mr. Griggs' Work

By Cynthia Rylant

Illustrated by Julie Downing

If you ask a Penn State Alumni of the past 30 years a few of the people or things they remember most about their time at Penn State, they are very likely to mention Mike the Mailman. Mike the Mailman continues to love his job as a mail clerk and because of this, he always made a trip to the post office an enjoyable and entertaining experience. As I read through this Cynthia Rylant picture book, I kept thinking of Mike the Mailman. Also, the words, “Speedy Delivery,” from Mr. McFeely echoed in my mind.

Of course then, having fond memories of United States postal workers who’ve entered my life, I initially read this book with a set of gleeful eyes. Rylant writes about a postal man, Mr. Griggs, who loves everything about his job. In fact she writes, “Mr. Griggs loved his job. He thought about it almost all the time.” These words are accompanied by Downing’s beautiful pastel illustrations of Mr. Griggs weighing his container of juice, organizing his bathroom supplies in mail slots, and washing postal themed dishes while wearing a US Mail apron and a blue checked shirt with red buttons. Mr. Griggs could not even get a good night’s sleep without worrying about the mail and would sometimes find himself wandering to the post office in the middle of the night to find out, “how much it would cost to mail a one-pound package to New Zealand or a three-ounce letter to Taiwan.”

Even a peaceful walk through nature reminded Mr. Griggs of the mail. A blue jay reminded him of express mail, a squirrel carrying an acorn up a tree to another squirrel reminded him of special deliveries, holes in a rotten tree would remind him of mailboxes, and a chipmunk would remind him of a stamp from 1978.

When Mr. Griggs got sick, I was worried about Mr. Griggs. In fact, I was wondering if he was going to die since this was about a man who was pretty old. Mr. Griggs was not worried about himself though—he was worried about the mail! When he was finally well again and able to return to work, you’d think that it was the happiest day in all of his life.

Hmm—the happiest day in all of your life being one where you return to work at a post office seems awfully suspicious. Hmm. And just like that, it hit me. This book is more similar to Rylant’s The Old Woman Who Named Things, and An Angel for Solomon Singer, than I initially had realized. I turned back and reread the book again—this time, with different eyes. The eyes that have seen some of Rylant’s other books and have noted similarities between them. Mr. Griggs is an old man who is all alone. Sure, he has customers that come to see him everyday, but they aren’t his family. Why is he worrying about the whereabouts of a package that was mailed by someone else fifteen Christmases ago? As I looked through the illustrations again, I looked beyond all of the postal-themed paraphernalia that initially stood out from each full-bled illustration and I noticed the details of Mr. Griggs’ home—particularly when he was sick. Where were the pictures of his wife and kids? Did he ever marry? There isn’t anybody at home to take care of him.

In the eyes of a child, Mr. Griggs is simply an old man who loves his job. I wonder if kids see Mr. Griggs as a grandfatherly figure. I do not think I personally would because Mr. Griggs seems too absorbed in his work to truly develop relationships with other people. In the eyes of an adult, Mr. Griggs is lonely. Although he is portrayed as being relatively happy through colorful illustrations and poetic text, what does he have without the mail? It does not seem like much of anything. Is he lonely because of his job? Or, does he choose to love his job because he is lonely?