Post Card Passages - OUT OF PRINT

Author: Susan Joyce ~ Illustrator: Doug DuBosque
ISBN 0-939217-27-9

   
   

1995 IRA / CBC Children's Choice 1995 IRA / CBC Children's Choice 5 stars

Great Aunt Gladys travels the world -- and loves to share her discoveries in post cards she writes to friends and family. Young Suellen writes back. Over the years, as their correspondence develops, Gladys helps nourish the girl's dream of traveling the world... an inspiring journey for armchair travelers of all ages... reminds all adults of the influence they can have over a growing person, even from a distance.

Teaching activities

This clever picture book neatly ties in with the joy of writing...

-- Los Angeles Times

Wonderful visual appeal…readers ages 8 to 12 will find lots of visual detail and information to hold their interest.

-- Greensburg, PA., Times-Review

A cultural as well as geographical tour, the book is nicely priced and recommended.

-- Steve Brock, Internet Book Reviewer

An extraordinary, whole-language, multicultural book that is certain to capture the hearts and minds of all ages. An excellent book for a thematic unit integrating reading, writing, history, art, photography, geography, social studies, math... you name it. Post Card Passages can be used across the curriculum and is certain to bring students and teachers to the library for research again and again.

-- Bonnie Gladstone, Library Media Specialist, Portland OR

Glimpses of many alluring sites...

-- Publishers Weekly

Truly happy reading for anyone, any age, who dreams of going to faraway places around the world…

-- Molalla, Oregon, Pioneer

Clearly intended to whet the appetite for travel…

-- School Library Journal

   
   

Teaching activities for Post Card Passages

Ideas for Parents and Teachers

Start your dreams
Pick a faraway place to find out more about. Go to your library and research the place. Where is it? Who lives there? What language do they speak? What kind of food do they eat? What kind of clothing do they wear? What's the climate like? Do any unusual animals and birds live there? Would you like to travel there? Why? Why not?

Spin the globe
Choose a place you'd like to visit. Calculate the total travel distance to get there. How long will the trip take -- can you get there in one day? What time will you leave on your journey? When will you arrive? How many hours will you -gain' or -lose' because of travel to a different time zone?

Go figure...
Plan a trip to the faraway place you'd like to visit. Decide how you want to travel each step of the way -- by boat, car, airplane, jeep, bicycle, camel.... How long will you be gone? What is the weather like at your destination? Make a list of important things you will need to take on your adventure.

Pack your bags...
Now... pack your bags. Don't forget passport, money (What currencies? How much?), notebook, phrase book...clothes, umbrella, cellular phone....

Don't forget to write...
Design a 5" x 7" postcard from the faraway place you are visiting. Draw a picture on the front showing something unique about the locale. On the back, create an original stamp design reflecting some aspect of the place (history, heroes, birds, flowers...?). Include a price on the stamp. Create a postmark with the date and place the post card is mailed. And of course! -- write a message to a friend or family member telling highlights of your trip.

Share adventures...
Display the post card collection. Based on the post cards, what are some of the interesting things travelers learned from their research of faraway places? Discuss the trips individuals planned, and different ways of travel -- did some people travel in luxury, while others became overland adventurers? Did anybody have an unusual adventure? Tell your friends and family about your trip -- good and bad. Where do you want to go next?

copyright © 1997 Susan Joyce DuBosque