THE MAILBOX IN THE FOREST

A young girl exchanges letters with a forest friend.

Even from her apartment window in the city, first grader Mayu can see the forest that is near her grandparents’ house. Every time she looks at the forest, she smiles and imagines what it must be like to be in it. Luckily for Mayu, she stays with her grandparents for the winter holidays and is excited to explore. One day she stumbles across a box in a tree, labeled “mailbocks” and inviting passersby to drop in their letters. Realizing whoever made the box spelled mailbox wrong, she writes a letter with the correct spelling. The next morning she finds a letter for her in the forest mailbox, which begins a correspondence with her mystery forest friend, whose name she learns is Konta. She soon discovers the joys of writing letters and that her new friend is a young fox. Hara pens a sweet story of magically everyday life and an unexpected friendship. Appropriate to the focus on letter writing and format, each letter is placed on its own page, Mayu’s missives tidy and Konta’s full of misspellings and cross-outs. The illustrations switch between full color and black and white, adding playfulness and whimsy. This Japanese import is infused with distinct cultural elements, from foods to the teru teru bozu doll Mayu makes with her grandfather to ward off the rain.

A charming story of everyday life with a hint of magic.