MULE TRAIN MAIL

In some remote pockets of Arizona, the postman wears a cowboy hat and leads a mule train. The front endpaper illustration traces the mail route through the Grand Canyon. At the South Rim of the Canyon, boxes of mail are transferred from a Postal Service truck to the saddlepacks of Anthony the postman’s six mules. He rides a horse and has an eager dog to help guide him along the zigzagging trail, full of sharp switchbacks. A succession of double-page spreads that need to be turned 90 degrees for proper viewing emphasizes the steep descent of the route. Deep mud, ice and flash floods make the trail treacherous, but never prevent Anthony from completing his route, which is narrated in a simple, concrete present tense. At length, the mule train reaches its destination, the village of Supai, tucked into a green valley, where Anthony unloads the mail and—because Supai is also Anthony’s home—his family greets him. Brown’s illustrations, in pastel and colored pencil, look appropriately sun-washed. Informative as well as evocative, and told with crisp clarity. (author’s note) (Informational picture book. 5-8)