Mail by the Pail

by Colin Bergel

Book Overview

A delightful story that illustrates the mail delivery system for Great Lakes freighters.

In the port city of Manistee on the coast of Lake Michigan lives a girl named Mary. Mary's father is a sailor who works on a lake freighter called the Big Laker. The Big Laker delivers iron, stone, and coal to the many cities along the Great Lakes. Mary's father will not be home this year for his birthday and Mary wants to send him a card. But...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0814328903
• ISBN13: 9780814328903
• Release Date: October 2000
• Publisher: Wayne State University Press
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 8.5" x 11.0"
• Age Range: 4 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 1 to 7

Customer Reviews

Great Story, Beautiful Illustrations

If you are looking for a gift book that someone will remember, this is it. This is the kind of book that imparts information in a clever and entertaining way. Readers learn about mail delivery to the Great Lakes freighters, while enjoying the heartwarming story of a little girl sending her Dad a birthday card while he is working on the freighters. The illustrations are beautiful, and really add to the story. This book should be in every school's library.

Wonderful Book

This is a beautiful book, it is well written and extremely accurate. The book tells a story about a young girl who wants to send her father a birthday card. Her father works as a sailor aboard a Great Lakes freighter and she is happy to learn that a boat in Detroit, Michigan delivers U.S. Mail to all ships passing Detroit. She sends his card and he receives it a few days later when his ship passes Detroit. The illustrations are also wonderfully done and very accurate. What I liked best about the story is that it is educational and emphasizes a strong family bond. I rated this book five stars and have bought several copies as Christmas presents and have donated a copy to my daughters school library.