Mayer, Ellen. Gift & Box. Illustrated by Brizida Magro. Alfred A. Knopf, 2023. 978-0-593-37761-1. $18.99. Unpaged. Grades PreK-2.

When Grandma places her granddaughter’s gift into a box, the gift and box become a package. Together, they take a voyage through the postal system. Throughout this journey, they encounter many obstacles, including bumps, seasickness, and smelly exhaust fumes. However, they eventually reach their destination and bring great pleasure and excitement to a young girl named Sofia. They say their goodbyes to each other, but are ultimately in for a delightful surprise.

THOUGHTS: Not only is this a lovely story of friendship, but it also provides readers with insight into how packages get from one place to another. It would be the perfect story to read before taking a field trip to the post office. Another idea would be to pair it with Antoinette Portis’s Not a Box (2006) or Kim Smith’s Boxitects (2019) and encourage students to come up with their own cardboard box creations, as Sofia does with the box at the end of the story.

Picture Book