Published by Chicken House, 2022.

The Boy in the Post is brilliantly imagined, wildly eccentric and lots of fun.

It’s the story of three siblings, the wonderfully named Orinthia, Séafra and Taber, who accept a summer holiday job from Grandy Brock. Grandy lives in a dilapidated mill and has collected a menagerie of furry and feathered creatures in a bid to set up an alternative postal service. He’s trained these animals as posties, coining the phrase animails. Cats lick stamps, baboons frank envelopes, wombats stack parcels and porcupines deliver mail.

The children are given the responsibility of training two homing pelicans – Geronimo and her baby Gungho. Six-year-old Taber becomes especially fond of Geronimo and is devastated when the big bird fails to return from making an overseas delivery. So much so that Taber mails himself to New York, where Geronimo was sent. Orinthia and Séafra follow suit, stealing a precious stamp and hopping in a freight crate. And soon all are embarked on an extraordinarily daring first-class adventure. The children travel by land, sea and air (in incredible hot air balloon scenes) to rescue their brother and are soon caught up in kidnapping, blackmail and dodgy dealings on the black market.

I absolutely love the cast of characters. The siblings are sparky and brave and fabulously inventive. Grandy Brock’s adopted children are fantastic too. There’s great camaraderie between them all and such a range of relatable personalities.

The book also has a wonderful warmth about it. Its difficult to pinpoint exactly when it’s set but there’s a cosy, slightly vintage feel to it.

I absolutely loved The Boy in the Post and it’s definitely an adventure that children are going to want to be part of.

Rating: 💙💙💙💙💙

Suitable for children aged 8+

Thank you to Chicken House for sending me this book to review.