Sari-Sari Stores, Letter Writing, And More!

While Olive usually has lots of fun at her grandfather’s house, today she is sad because her best friend has moved away. Her grandfather suggests she write a letter to her friend. Meanwhile, a little green envelope waits patiently in a drawer, waiting to be used. The envelope has waited for a very long time and hopes that this time it will be the perfect fit for Olive’s letter. When Olive chooses the green envelope, it happily goes on a journey to connect with Olive’s friend. This is such a sweet read for kids who have friends moving away. I remember going to my grandparents’ house as a kid and taking out their pile of cards and envelopes to decorate!

This moving picture book is told through a series of letters between two neighbors. The correspondence begins when Jackson accidentally kicks a ball into Mr. Graham’s garden. Mr. Graham invites Jackson over to help with the garden, and afterward blooms a friendship between the two despite the differences in their ages. Letters follow the two as Jackson celebrates his 7th birthday and Mr. Graham enters a nursing home. As a warning, this does end with Mr. Graham’s death, though Jackson continues to write letters to him and to garden.

Alice loves everything about her street. When she overhears neighbors complaining and grumbling about the street, she writes letters to help the object of their frustrations feel better, from a letter to the snow about how excellent it is for making snow angels to a letter to a maple tree. When neighbors find and read these letters, it makes them feel better about their community. Then one day Alice wakes up in a bad mood and her street doesn’t seem as appealing anymore. When she discovers a letter another child has written to the crocuses, she not only feels better, she also makes a friend.

The Dear Beast chapter book series follows Andy’s two pets — a silly dog named Baxter and a grumpy cat named Simon — and their many shenanigans, which are shown via letter correspondence. Baxter lives at Andy’s dad’s house, while Simon lives at Andy’s mom’s house. Andy’s mom has a business trip and, for the first time, Simon will be staying with Baxter, whom Simon refers to as the Beast. Simon is less than thrilled by the idea and takes the first opportunity to slip away. Baxter is desperate to find him. There are currently four books in this really fun chapter-book series.