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Seven Little Postmen

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This lively poem by the author of Goodnight Moon tells the tale of one little boy’s letter. What happens after the boy drops it into the mailbox? How does it get to his grandma’s house? Children will enjoy this rollicking tale
of the seven little postmen who got the mail through.

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

3 people are currently reading
222 people want to read

About the author

Margaret Wise Brown

393 books1,210 followers
Margaret Wise Brown wrote hundreds of books and stories during her life, but she is best known for Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny. Even though she died nearly 70 years ago, her books still sell very well.

Margaret loved animals. Most of her books have animals as characters in the story. She liked to write books that had a rhythm to them. Sometimes she would put a hard word into the story or poem. She thought this made children think harder when they are reading.

She wrote all the time. There are many scraps of paper where she quickly wrote down a story idea or a poem. She said she dreamed stories and then had to write them down in the morning before she forgot them.

She tried to write the way children wanted to hear a story, which often isn't the same way an adult would tell a story. She also taught illustrators to draw the way a child saw things. One time she gave two puppies to someone who was going to draw a book with that kind of dog. The illustrator painted many pictures one day and then fell asleep. When he woke up, the papers he painted on were bare. The puppies had licked all the paint off the paper.

Margaret died after surgery for a bursting appendix while in France. She had many friends who still miss her. They say she was a creative genius who made a room come to life with her excitement. Margaret saw herself as something else - a writer of songs and nonsense.

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5 stars
184 (41%)
4 stars
153 (34%)
3 stars
77 (17%)
2 stars
23 (5%)
1 star
6 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
Profile Image for Rob.
28 reviews
June 23, 2011
I know... I know...

This book may seem "a little" under my reading level. And, it is. But, it's also a childhood favorite of mine. And it's one of the books that we've been reading to the kids. (Well, "kids-to-be," if you want to get technical.)

Something that I didn't really understand when reading this as a child - and can appreciate as a former employee of the US Postal Service - is that this book does a fairly accurate, if simplified and a little outdated, job of describing how a litter moves through the mailstream.

And, it's a fun read, to boot.
Profile Image for Lucy.
595 reviews153 followers
June 25, 2013
Seven Little Postmen carried the mail
Through Rain and Snow and Wind and Hail
Through Snow and Rain and Gloom of Night
Seven Little Postmen
Out of sight.
Over Land and Sea
Through Air and Light
Through Snow and Rain
And Gloom of Night--
Put a stamp on your letter
And seal it tight.
Profile Image for Marya.
1,462 reviews
May 18, 2025
Even after the advent of FedEx and UPS, I still have a soft spot for the United Postal Service. This book reminds us all of what a miracle something like a postal service is, even if the seven little postman look kind of like interchangeable pod people.
603 reviews2 followers
April 19, 2021
More nostalgia from me. I own this and the little name plate on the book is filled out it was given to Cody DOuglas Kofoed form Grandma and Grandpa May 1, 1976, Wow...45 years ago. Where is little Cody now? Did he become a postman. ok enough rambling.

This book is very cute. A boy writes a letter to his grandma. This book follows the letter until it gets to grandmas. The pictures are cute. It makes me miss my grandma.
Profile Image for Jenna.
2,980 reviews40 followers
February 15, 2020
Puolessa välin kirjaa huomasin kirjoitusasun "postiljooni", vaikka olin siihen asti lukenut kirjaa sujuvasti käyttäen termiä "posteljooni". Tämän huomion jälkeen kirjan lukeminen alkoi takuta pahan kerran, kun tajusin lukeneeni aivan puuta heinää.

Nostalgiapläjäys tämäkin, kuten moni muukin Tammen kultaiset kirjat-sarjaan kuuluva teos.
Profile Image for Kathleen.
1,416 reviews8 followers
June 4, 2018
A classic little golden book in every sense. It was originally published in 1952, so long as you remember that, enjoy the book for what it is.

I enjoy the concept of how a letter gets from one place to another. (What's a letter? Your child may ask. Seize the educational opportunity). The rhyming patterns through me off when trying to read it aloud the first time. If my little boy grows into a boy who loves to read about vehicles, I know we'll be reading it a lot.



Profile Image for Donald.
1,731 reviews16 followers
July 19, 2019
A whimsical look at the journey of a "secret" sent through the mail! It was published in 1952, and I can tell you as a letter carrier now, things have changed quite a bit! But, ultimately, a letter from a little boy does get to his grandmother, and that really is a cute thing!

In addition, this book is written by Margaret Wise Brown, she of "Goodnight Moon" fame! So it's pretty cute for that reason too!
Profile Image for Shannon.
92 reviews
November 8, 2024
Nice illustrations though not great prose. First published in 1952, it was cowritten by Margaret Wise Brown, the author of Goodnight Moon.
I was expecting more rhyming.
The illustrations, unfortunately, feature an all-white cast of characters.

I bought this Little Golden Book while on a family trip to Washington, D.C. this past summer. It was in the gift shop at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, which was a great museum.
Profile Image for Heather McC.
1,068 reviews7 followers
February 16, 2024
I'd like to think that if this story was written today, there'd be some postal women to join the effort in securing and delivering the mail and various packages. Seven little members work hard together to ensure that messages come across loud and clear.
Profile Image for Kylie Abecca.
Author 9 books42 followers
November 8, 2019
The story is adorable, however it was difficult to read aloud as parts of it rhymed and parts didn’t, so you build up a good little rhythm and then the story suddenly changes.
Profile Image for Nigel.
85 reviews
May 1, 2020
Another Little Golden Book that I absolutely loved reading along to while listening to the record as a child.
Profile Image for Sean Harding.
5,779 reviews33 followers
March 8, 2021
Young geezer sends letter to some old chook and this details the seven posties who handle the letter in between.
And there you have it, Wise Brown in summary.
Profile Image for John Stotler.
10 reviews
March 23, 2015
Horrible, horrible book. It rhymes! Except when it randomly doesn't. You'll be reading the book to your children, start bouncing along with the cadence of the rhyme, and it will just.... disappear. Maybe Margaret Wise Brown lost her rhyming dictionary?

It tells your children that when the mail truck comes to an intersection, EVERYONE ELSE STOPS TO LET THEM THROUGH. Like an ambulance, but more so.

Goodnight Moon is legend in our house. This book has become legend as well, but mainly for how awful it is. I can understand nostalgia for it if it was read to you as a child, but it just feels like noone had enough interest to finish it, so it got slapped together and pushed out.
Profile Image for R..
2,100 reviews
January 18, 2016
There is actually a poem by the same title in the back of the book that this story is based off of. The entire premise is that a little boy has a secret to tell his grandmother, so he sends it in a specially sealed letter through the mail. Very little mail seems to be sent this way today, aside from bills that adults read, so children don't have the same experience with this mode of communication as they used to. It makes for an even more interesting story as they learn just how things used to work and they way presents are still mailed today as those are things that can't normally be sent electronically.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for f.
30 reviews2 followers
March 13, 2009
the art has a nice charm, and i like that it focuses on all the unseen work that goes into delivering the mail. However, the book is from a 1952 alternate universe where all US letter carriers were white men in a completely caucasian america. it also seems to want to rhyme but doesn't, which is really frustrating. i like the poem at the end:

Seven Little Postmen
Out of sight.
Over Land and Sea
Through Air and Light
Through Snow and Rain
And Gloom of Night-
Put a stamp on your letter
And seal it tight.
31 reviews
January 26, 2010
You've become more interested in the processing of the mail in this book, and wrote and sent a letter to grandma inspired by the book. You also recently acted out gathering, dumping out, and putting mail into a mailbox (tissue box) like the postmen in the book, including delivering letters to various stuffed animals.
1,089 reviews20 followers
December 9, 2011
Not Margaret Wise Brown's finest hour I think. The tale of a letter going from a boy to his grandmother. It contains a secret so he puts a wax seal on it. Do kids these days know what that even is? I don't think I've ever seen one.... Still, nice to see how the letter gets to Granny. The rhymes are a bit forced I think though, still enough interest to hold a modern toddlers attention.
Profile Image for Heather.
1,949 reviews1 follower
March 21, 2011
22 months - cute book and the rhyming parts are great. The non-rhyming parts seem abrupt and akward.
Profile Image for Richard Epstein.
380 reviews20 followers
December 25, 2013
The seven little postmen deliver mail swiftly, efficiently, and cheerfully, and with a good deal of charm. This obviously is a work of primitive science fiction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews

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