A little green envelope longs to go on a journey. Will it be chosen to deliver Olive’s letter to her far-away friend?

Olive’s friend has moved away, and Olive wishes she could visit her. A little green envelope, lost in the bottom of the desk drawer, knows how Olive feels. It, too, wants so much to travel, and imagines zipping up and down conveyer belts and bouncing along in a mail bag, on its way to deliver an important letter. An old postcard reassures that for every occasion, there is an envelope … but it seems like it will never be the little green envelope’s turn.

When Olive’s grandpa suggests writing her friend a letter, the little green envelope hopes and hopes that it will be chosen to carry the letter to its destination — but will it be a perfect fit?

A diagram on the endpapers shows how readers can create their own little green envelopes!

Key Text Features

illustrations

Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.6

With prompting and support, name the author and illustrator of a story and define the role of each in telling the story.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.3

Describe characters, settings, and major events in a story, using key details.

Gillian Sze is the author of multiple poetry collections, including Peeling Rambutan, Redrafting Winer and Panicle. Her work has been nominated for the QWF’s A.M. Klein Prize for Poetry, and has received awards such as the University of Winnipeg Writers’ Circle Prize and the 3Macs carte blanche Prize. She studied creative writing and English literature at Concordia University and received a PhD in études anglaises from the Université de Montréal. Originally from Winnipeg, she now resides in Montreal, where she teaches creative writing. The Night Is Deep and Wide is her first board book and was inspired by her son who was a challenging sleeper as a baby.

Gillian Sze's profile page

CLAUDINE CRANGLE is a multidisciplinary artist whose previous picture books include Priscilla Pack Rat and Woolfred Cannot Eat Dandelions. As a kid who loved to make things out of cereal boxes, she hopes that this book will inspire creativity and construction. All of the houses in this story were made of cardboard, paper, found objects and various other materials scavenged from recycling bins where Claudine lives, in Toronto, Ontario.

Claudine Crangle's profile page

A sweet and straightforward homage to old-fashioned letter writing.

Kirkus

A love letter to the written word.

Foreword

The Little Green Envelope is a lovely book for anyone feeling the friend-moving-away sads or who just likes to send and receive mail.

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

The Little Green Envelope by Gillian Sze and Claudine Crangle is a reminder of the joy that comes from finding something special, addressed just to you, in the mailbox.

Storytime with Stephanie Blog

The journey of the little green envelope is full of excitement.

International Educator Global Book Recommendations