The Mail

School Library Journal

Gr 4-6Each of these well-organized but brief overviews covers its topic from ancient times to the present and provides colorful illustrations, photographs, and lively details along the way. A lot of facts are packed into these titles, making them good choices for reports as well as for general reading. Mail begins in ancient Persia with the Royal Road and continues through postal systems in the Roman Empire; China; Europe; and pre-Columbian, colonial, and revolutionary America. The effect of rail and steamship transportation is noted, as is the development of stamps and postmarks. Public mailboxes, international delivery, current processes of sorting, and philately all are included. More specific topics are covered in books such as J.J. DiCerto's The Pony Express (Watts, 1989). Money begins with life before money, barter and early trade, and the development of coins. It continues with ``gold fever'' and the switch to non-gold and non-silver coins and paper currency. Forgery, the history of the banking community, credit cards, and international currency and exchange are all discussed. Joe Cribb's Money (Knopf, 1990) has similar visual appeal and provides slightly more depth of information. Eve Drobot's Amazing Investigations: Money (S.&S., 1988; o.p.) has much greater detail and a wealth of illustrative anecdotes.Joyce Adams Burner, formerly at Spring Hill Middle School, KS