I like the idea and possible applications of Maggie Lauren Brown’s 2023 picture book The Postcard Project. Lola spends a good stretch of her summers with Gram. She loves her grandmother, but at one point, Lola gets homesick. Her grandmother honors her feelings, and they try different things to help with it: text messages, phone calls, video calls, drawing in the sand at the beach, etc.
Nothing really helps. Then, while they are making pancakes, Lola has an idea: turn the pancake box into a postcard. They trim, write, stamp, and send, and it works. It helps with Lola’s homesickness. One postcard turns into many, and postcards to her parents from Gram’s place shift to postcards to Gram once Lola goes home.
I love the attention and time given to Lola, and appreciate the way one card becomes many. Two pages at the end of the book invite readers to make their own postcard projects.
I see two drawbacks here. First, I was not at all convinced that a modern child would find a postcard better than phone calls and video calls. That needed more development. And second, unfortunately, I found Asma Enayeh’s art underwhelming.
But a crafty kid/family might really enjoy this.
