3.5★
“But you can read a letter as many times as you want. And it holds happy memories!”

Mayu’s grandfather explains how letters can be better than phone calls. She is visiting her grandparents who live across the road from a big, beautiful forest, which she can just see the top of from the building she lives in.

She has asked her grandmother whether there might be someone living in the forest – bears or raccoons or fairies. She hopes so! Grandma assures her there are only small animals.

At home, grandfather is writing to a friend, which is when the phone call conversation began.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“Grandpa wrote his response to the letter while Mayu worked on her arithmetic homework beside him.”

They stop for lunch, and here I will mention the Japanese references.

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“’Oh, yay! It’s omurice!’ Mayu said. ‘Ooh, I love rice omelette!’”

When she goes for a walk, she looks right, then left, then right – and I thought to myself, that’s Australian or English or, ah yes, of course, in Japan they drive on the left.

Anyway, back to the story. As she crunches over leaves in the woods, she looks for animals, and suddenly: “Placed in between two tree trunks was a box with writing on it that said:”

My Goodreads review includes an illustration with the caption:
“MAILBOCKS
Please put letters
in here
Everyone is welcome
From forest friend”

Being a clever little girl, Mayu immediately notices and wants to correct the misspelling. And guess what? She has a pencil and shopping receipt in her pocket, so she fixes the sign, writes a nice note on the docket, and pops it in the mailbox.

When she goes back the next day, there’s a note for her. How exciting! And thus begins a penpal friendship.

“Mayu ripped out the gift that had come with the magazine she and her grandmother had bought the day before—it was a small stationery kit!—and wrote her response.”

(What is it that’s so irresistible about a new pen or pencil and brand new writing paper?)

Notes are exchanged back and forth during her holiday until they meet, which turns out to be quite a surprise.

She loves going back and forth to the big forest to see her new friend.

But soon her family comes to pick her up, and how she and her friend figure out how to touch at the end of the holiday is an interesting twist. She promises to write to her grandparents too.

“I’ll make sure to come back and visit. And I’ll write you letters sometimes too! Phones are nice, but, you can read a letter as many times as you want, and it holds happy memories inside.”

“Mayu smiled and she hugged her bag into which she had carefully packed all her letters from Konta.”

AT the end of the book, the author has designed a page to look like an attractive piece of stationery with lines and images at the bottom for kids to write their own letter.

It’s a cute little book and might encourage some children to try writing to a penpal or relative, particularly at the time I’m reading this, in the middle of a pandemic, where people are often separated for health reasons.

Thanks to #Netgalley and Museyon Books for the copy for review.

Mayu is a first grader and is staying with her grandparents in the summer. She explores the woods across the street.
Musyon and Net Galley let me read this book for review (thank you). It has been published and you can get a copy now.

This delightful story has Mayu finding a mailbox in the woods She doesn't know who put it there but she leaves a letter. Someone writes back to her. They exchange letters until she finally meets the other letter writer. She's excited when she sees who it is but she's disappointed she has go home the next day and she can't write to him from there.

But a solution pops up. His bird friend will carry the messages back and forth. Now Mayu is happier. And she'll be back next summer...

A cute story about Mayu, a six year old girl who is visiting her grandparents for the winter holidays. They live very near a forest, which Mayu is excited to explore. She finds a "mailbocks" in a tree, and starts a correspondence with the mysterious someone who put it there, and a friendship begins. Soon, though, it's time for Mayu to go back home. Will she and her new friend figure out a way to keep in touch?
I love that the story focuses on the custom of letter writing, and helps kids understand how much fun it is to send and receive snail mail- I'm old enough to remember doing that, and I still have old letters from friends. The illustrations are a mix of black and white, and warm, soft colors that underscore the sense of magic in the story. For inspiration, there's a blank piece of stationary at the end to encourage young letter writers!

#TheMailboxintheForest #NetGalley

Mayu visits her grandparents and fetches the mail for them. Her grandfather and grandmother are pleased to receive cards and letters. Grandfather mentions that "you can read a letter as many times as you want. And it holds happy memories!" Mayu maintains that calling on the telephone is faster, so she has never written any letters. During a walk through the woods near the house she discovers a "mailbocks" with a notice on it that says, "Please put letters in here Everyone is welcome From Forest friend." She becomes excited about receiving a new letter each day from her mysterious friend and saddened when it rains and she can't visit the mailbox. From her own experience Mayu learns that her grandfather is right, letters do hold happy memories.

This charming story shows the difference between generations in how written communication is valued. Mayu's grandparents appreciate their correspondence, looking forward to it and cherishing it. At first Mayu doesn't see the appeal of waiting for a letter to arrive when a phone call is so much faster, but that is because she has never received any letters herself. Once she has, then she wants to make sure that the letters can continue even when she returns to her home in the city.

Young readers will laugh at the spelling mistakes of Mayu's penpal and wonder along with her about his identity. The mystery will be solved to their satisfaction by the end of the story and they will also be pleased by the arrangements for the letters between the friends to continue. Adults reading along will appreciate the whimsical artwork and perhaps be inspired to share stories of special cards and letters they have received over the years (or even pull out some they have saved). There is even a blank letter form in the back of the book to encourage readers to write their own note to someone special.

The Mailbox in the Forest is a lovely book which tells the important tale of friendships and family. It has lovely illustrations to accompany it.

Thank you to NetGalley and MUSEYON for my ARC.

The Mailbox in the Forest



by Kyoko Hara and Illustrated by Kazue Takahashi is a delicate, tender story of friendship and understanding. Everything starts when little Mayu stays for some while to the house of her grand-parents. They live close to a forest and Mayu is intrigued by the mystery that the forest is transmitting her. Although her granny reassures her that no one lives in the forest, Mayu is skeptical.

At the same time her grand-father receives several letters and there is a postcard for Mayu as well! Mayu asks to her grand-father what she finds of exciting in reading a letter: her grand-father asks her if she has sent a letter to someone. Mayu tells him that she hasn't never done it, because calling by phone is simpler. Her grand-father so explains her the art of letter-writing. You can re-read what a person sent you, a lot of times, affirms him.


Mayu now, would want to have someone with which exchanging thoughts, but...Where to find him?


Then, one day, wondering in the forest, she discovers a sort of mailbox: someone waits for some letters.

Mayu writes the first one, starting, she discovers, a wonderful and mysterious correspondence with a guy who, certainly doesn't have a great property of language, but that he is more than OK to her.


At the end the big suprise and the promise of staying in touch also when Mayu leaves because it is time to return home.


Although in this story there is the discovery of a wild animal as a correspondent, it is understandable that behind that animal, as also for example in the legend of the wolf of Gubbio, there is boy with some difficulties in this case, someone who didn't sufficiently study for too many reasons, maybe sick, but that he is kind, nice, and has a lot of stories to tell. A real and appreciated friend for Mayu.

I see in this fairy-tale the encounter of two completely different friends in "friendship" for each other, with an important lesson learned: it is crucial to stay in touch with our dear ones and sometimes letters are better than a call or an e-mail.


I love the cover, and all the illustrations have a delicate and dreaming touch.


Highly recommended.


I thank Akira and NetGalley for the copies of this book.


Anna Maria Polidori

Mayu was excited to visit her grandparents. They lived a ross the street from a small forest, and she looked forward to visiting there often. In the forest, she found a mailbox asking for letters.

This is a charming story of a little girl hoping to meet someone nearby, and finding a surprising friendship! The illustrations are like folk art, but they add an old-time sweetness that I didn't expect. They drew me in, and I could almost hear the autumn leaves crunch!

It's a fanciful story that young children and "friends of the forest" will enjoy.

5/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the free preview of this ebook!

#TheMailboxintheForest #NetGalley

Mayu, a Japanese first grader, is lucky enough to be spending a short vacation with her grandparents. They live very close to a forest and as Mayu is out playing one day she discovers a very odd and mysterious mailbox embedded in the trees. The next day she finds that it is still there and now has a letter sticking out of it that she takes home and responds to. She is excited and pleased when a back-and-forth display of letter exchanging emerges.

A friendship develops between her and the unknown, unseen, phantom penpal. Will Mayu find out who the secret letter writer is?

Luckily for the reader the responder is revealed and Mayu not only gains a friend but discovers the joy of writing and receiving letters. A beautiful twist at the end enables she and her friend to continue corresponding despite the fact that she must return home.

The whimsical illustrations are created in both colour and in black and white. I love the whole aspect of kids writing hand-written letters to friends and family not by using text messages and emails. I highly recommend this book.

My grandmother used to always tell me she loved hearing from me on the phone, but preferred letters. I didn't understand at the time, just as the little girl in this story doesn't understand when her grandparents tell her the same thing, when she is visiting them.

They try to explain that you can keep rereading them, and have them with you for always, unlike a phone call.

So when the little girl discovers a mailbox int he forest, with a letter in it, she writes back to the mysterious person, and they start writing back and forth, until she discovers who her mystery correspondence is with, and she realizes she wants to keep writing when she goes back home.

For the other letter writers is a fox child, and they find that with the help of a bird, they can keep writing letters, long after she has returned to the city.

Cute sweet pictures. A slightly strange story, but gentle as well.



<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

I received an advance copy of, The Mailbox in the Forest, by Kyoko Hara. I really enjoyed this book. Its about family and friendship. I really liked the illustrations too.

Perhaps it's because this was Japanese, but it has a lot of calm, old-school, classical qualities almost lacking from modern books for under-tens, and it's all the better for it. A young girl spending some days with her grandparents on the edge of a forest sees the pleasure a letter gives the old man, and then, surprise surprise, finds a magical-seeming letterbox in the middle of said forest, where nobody lives. A correspondence is started, which makes a friendship, even if it's not perhaps what one would expect. Nicely designed artworks and an ease about the text make this a warm little read, and one that definitely comes recommended.

This is a very sweet story, but I'm at a loss to figure out the appropriate age range. On the one hand, the language is straightforward and simple for early readers, but it's more text-intensive and the illustrations aren't as much of a focus as one would expect for a picture book for young children. This might be best as a read-t0-me book for younger kids, though early grade readers should be able to manage on their own.

The actual story was a little bittersweet--the fox's loneliness came through vividly--but the ending was hopeful. I liked the fact that Konta wasn't the strongest writer, but that didn't stop him from trying and continuing their friendship. There may be students who find it reassuring to see that on the page without undue attention or shaming.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

The Mailbox in the Forest by Kyoko Hara is a charming picture book about a young Japanese girl who discovers a new friend, while at the same time discovering an appreciation for the mostly lost art of letter writing. This is a feel good read that will appeal to both young and old.

Mayu is a first grader visiting her grandparents when she wanders alone into the forest, soon discovering a structure labelled 'mailboks'. Inside she finds a letter from an anonymous writer who is hoping for a response. Intrigued, Mayu writes back, correcting the spelling of 'mailbox' and a friendship is founded on the strength of the back and forth missives. It is not long before the anonymous letter writer and Mayu meet face to face, and the little girl is delighted to discover who has been at the other end of the engaging correspondence.

This is a lovely story, beautifully illustrated, and charmingly engaging. I would be delighted to share it with the young readers in my life.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Museyon for an ARC.