Drop me a postcard!

Described as the ‘Best British Children’s Literature Blog’, Playingbythebook.net is written by Zoe Toft, a 37-year-old mother from the UK. A trained linguist and a self-confessed lover of dictionaries, Toft reviews picture books that she reads with her children. Interestingly, each review is accompanied by an activity inspired by the book. When Toft reviewed my book Nonie’s Magic Quilt, for instance, she merged it with making a quilt for her daughter.

Toft came up with an unusual idea last year. “My kids and I love receiving ‘proper’ mail,” she says. “There were many online postcard swaps, but none that the kids could participate in. So I thought up a swap where every postcard would include a children’s book recommendation, because sharing a favourite book is a great way of making a connection.”

The swap is structured so that each family sends cards to five families across the world. In turn, they receive cards from five other. The postcard can be printed or drawn, with a book recommendation. Effectively, ten books are talked about, and ten families find a window into each other’s lives.

Toft’s first postcard swap brought together over 250 families. “The toughest part is pairing up people, making sure everyone receives families from five different countries, with children of similar ages. The reward is hearing about the little connections they make. I don’t want to make the world any smaller, but I think it’s important we feel connected to each other.”

During the swap, Toft ‘met’ many people, including Sandhya L., a writer for Saffrontree.com, an Indian children’s-book-review site. Sandhya’s family sent cards to the UK, US, Singapore and Spain. Her daughter “was delighted to receive letters addressed to her. One came from the Republic of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean! In these days of instant communication, it was exciting to get post.”

Another new friend was homeschooling mom Bronwyn Lavery of Christchurch, New Zealand. Lavery set up a world map, marking the locations of families her kids connected with. “I told them about the distances each card would travel. We loved sharing our favourite books and searched for books that were recommended.”

When Christchurch had a 6.3-magnitude earthquake in April 2011, Toft got in touch with Lavery and heard that many families had lost their homes. Together, they paired families around the world with those in Christchurch, and, “Thanks to the kindness of strangers, we sent 565 books into welfare centres and care packages as well, so that the families would have something to enjoy as they rebuilt their lives.”

To find out more about the International Postcard Swap for Families and to participate, go to http://www.playingbythebook.net/?p=12489 (short url:
http://bit.ly/he4Q1Q) Or email zoe.toft@kuvik.net. The last date to register is May 17.