Postman with the Most, Man... (The Jolly Pocket Postman - Alan Ahlberg)

Member Name: spacey

Product:	The Jolly Pocket Postman - Alan Ahlberg
Date:	05/05/01 (663 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: First class for children and adults, Interactive, Surreal

Disadvantages: No, don't think so..

The Jolly Pocket Postman by Janet & Allan Ahlberg.

This is a quite enchanting and extraordinary addition to the Jolly Postman series of books. The authors have cleverly interwoven the stories of Jack & The Beanstalk, Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, with shades of Sliding Doors (I kid you not, read on!).

The Story
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The Jolly Postman starts his day in quite ordinary fashion, having his breakfast, reading the paper and feeding the dog. However, when he tries to go to work on this particular day, he finds that his bicycle tyre is flat. This one, seemingly innocuous event, sets an adventure in motion.

His slight change of routine leads to him being hit on the head by a rattle, a very big rattle, dropped by the baby of the Beanstalk Giant (of course!). This in turn knocks him unconscious. He survives, though, because Alice, The Mad Hatter and the March Hare rescue him. They offer him tea, from a pot engraved with the famous words “Drink Me,” which, naturally, causes him to shrink. At the same time, Alice bites into an “Eat Me” cake that causes her to grow into a giant.

In his miniature state, the Postman encounters all manner of scary “giant” creatures, of the reptile and insect variety mostly, which cause him to run away, straight into the path of Dorothy, Toto and her motley crew, on their way to the Emerald City. He joins them on the Yellow Brick Road. However, his intended trip to see the Wizard is interrupted by the re-appearance of Alice, in giant size, and, the Gingerbread Boy rushing past on a bicycle, who runs the Postman over. For some reason (not made clear, but then, how much of this story is???), this causes the Postman to revert to real size, whereupon he finds himself tended by some of his customers, who inform him he has a “nasty bump.”

Next day, The Jolly Postman wakes in bed surrounded by his friends, and wonders whethe
r it was “all a dream….” (Shades of Dallas too???).

The Extras
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Interspersed throughout the book are “pockets” designed like envelopes, which contain letters, a telegram, a “coded” message, a postcard and a miniature book. The child reading this book is also given, in the pocket at the beginning of the book, a lens, like a magnifying glass. The various missives add pieces to the story, and it’s magical to watch a child, for the first time, opening each of these “envelopes” to discover what lies within. After the first time, they never seem to get bored of doing it, despite knowing in advance what’s in there!

There are also several “jokes” in tiny writing (hence the magnifying lens), mostly alluding to the fact that the authors have played fast and loose with any normal rules relating to rhyming. Most of this, I am quite convinced, is there for the benefit of the grown-ups – to ensure they enjoy the book as much as the children.

The Sliding Doors connection
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The very last “pocket” of the book contains the miniature book (Jolly Postman’s night time reading). It is entitled “If The Tyre Had Not Been Flat.” It calls upon the reader to suppose that if the Postman had not set out on foot, then the rattle would not have landed on his head, and all the ensuing events would not have unfolded. It further requires the reader to suppose that if the rattle had not landed on the Postman, it might have landed on Robin Hood’s head instead, bringing much misery to the Babes in the Woods, whose rescue by Robin and his Merry Men would have to be put off for another day due to the incapacitation of he-of-the-green-tights and feathered cap. (Say again???)

Finally, within the miniature book there is one final pocket, containing a miniature postcard, apparently
sent by Alice, Dorothy and Toto, telling of their successful arrival in the Emerald City, and advising that they have bumped into Peter Pan, and that Alice and Dorothy are now apparently engaged in a cat-fight to be his girlfriend!

To summarise, this book is a great read for children, and the extras engage them totally. It’s a game as much as it is a book. That’s what I think of it with my “parent” hat on. However, once the kids went to bed, I read it again. This time, I came to the conclusion that both the authors have an exceptionally vivid and bizarre collective imagination, or else they are familiar with certain herbal substances. Either way, they make me laugh, and they entertained my children, so I’m happy.

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