Please, Mr. Postman! It Came In the Mail by Ben Clanton

LIAM LOVED GETTING MAIL.

TOO BAD HE NEVER GOT ANY. (BOOGERS!)

THEN ONE DAY AN IDEA STRUCK HIM.

IF HE SENT SOME MAIL, THEN MAYBE HE'D GET SOME!

Liam gets a clean sheet of notebook paper and, using his lessons in writing a friendly letter, pens a nice, neat note:

Dear Mailbox,

I would like to get something in the mail. Something big! Please!

                              Love, Liam

To his surprise, as soon as he pops the letter into the box and closes it, it starts to jiggle and make strange squiggling noises.

And when Liam opens the mailbox, there's a blast of flame and lots of smoke. And inside is a green dragon, tagged [FOR LIAM.] He wipes the soot off his freckled face, hugs his dragon, and names him Sizzlefritz!

But Liam thinks big. He writes another note, asking his mailbox to send more stuff!

And stuff he gets! Pigs and pickles, a trombone and a tricerotops! A funny bone with endless knock-knock jokes.

But that's not enough for Liam. He posts another request, and soon the STUFF--everything but the kitchen sink (and there may be one of those at the bottom of the pile)--loom in a stack over his head. Liam seems to have the Midas touch for mail.

But he's beginning to have deep thoughts. When is enough ENOUGH?

And what is he going to DO with all this STUFF?

In Ben Clanton's be-careful-what-you-wish-for fantasy, It Came in the Mail (Simon and Schuster, 2016), Liam learns that he loves, not only to get stuff, but to give stuff away. Liam keeps his dragon Sizzlefritz and a horse that his best friend has taken a shine to and sits right down to write a thank- you note to his mailbox, with one more request:

Can you help me send some of this stuff to other kids?

                                   Love, Liam

Clanton's little wish-fulfillment fantasy has something to say about greed, overconsumption, fairness, and the joys of philanthropy, all while retaining the humor of Liam's multiplying embarrassment of riches. thanks to his classic illustrative skills and clever thought balloons that add to the fun. Pair this one with Tomie Da Paola's Newbery-winning classic tale of too much of a good thing, Strega Nona. Other books by Clanton include Rex Wrecks It! Something Extraordinary, and The Table Sets Itself (see reviews here).