by Moe Zilla

Created on: May 26, 2009

Her Grandma Mary lived "a million miles away through the rough old Idaho mountains," but unfortunately, her family can't afford a railroad ticket. It's a glimpse into the past, and a funny story to boot. The little girl's parents finally come up with a solution to May's travel problem, as suggested by the title. Their solution? "Mailing May!"

Children's literature professor Michael O. Tunnel wanted to contribute something to the genre, and he's tapping into a true story. He confirmed the facts with the National Postal Museum (part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.) and members of Idaho historical societies. It happened in 1914, and the real May lived for another 82 years. To confirm the details of her story, Tunnel even interviewed her son!

It was cheaper to deliver a 50-pound package by railroad than it was to purchase a passenger ticket for a little girl on the same train. And the mountain roads to Lewiston were difficult to cross, Tunnel writes in a note at the end of the book. "Traveling by train - either as a passenger or a package - was the only good way to make the trip." Fortunately, May's cousin actually works in the railroad's mail car, and the postmaster in Grangeville, Idaho decided to play along.

"Let's see," he says. "The postal code says not to mail lizards or insects or anything smelly... Guess you pass the smell test." His rule book doesn't say anything about children - and it even acknowledges that baby chicks can be mailed. He tells the little girl to step on the big scale, and when May weighs in at 48 pounds, he jokes that she's simply the "biggest baby chick on record."

Professor Tunnel pays loving attention to all the historical details in his story. The illustrations (by Ted Rand) actually get inset drawings of black and white photographs, suggesting the legends lurking behind the faces in old photographs. When May visits the post office, there's a drawing of a horse-drawn mail wagon. But Tunnel writes that "I discovered that the most important detail has nothing to do with railway schedules or postal rates, but rather with the wonderful, creative ways in which ordinary people solve difficult problems."

The postmaster glues stamps to her coat - along with a mailing label with her grandmother's address. May sits on top of the other luggage, as her cousin wheels her to the black steam engine hissing on the tracks. Her train slips through the mountains and crosses tall trestle bridges.

And the book ends with the mail carrier delivering May to her Grandma.

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