Robin Pulver's books have been favorites of mine. They are, simply, picture books that can teach kids about punctuation (PUNCTUATION TAKES A VACATION for instance). Here is THANK YOU, MISS DOOVER (Holiday House, 2010), a story about a teacher who hopes to instruct her young charges in how to write a thank you letter. I do not want to give away too much: let's just say that this is a great book to point out the need for multiple revisions. <202> Pair this with Loreen Leedy's MESSAGES IN THE MAILBOX and Janet Stevens' DEAR MR. MUTT and perhaps even THE JOLLY POSTMAN.
A different kind of thanks is the focus of Grace Lin's THANKING THE MOON: CELEBRATING THE MID-AUTUMN MOON FESTIVAL (Knopf, 2010). A family gathers to celebrate the Moon Festival. Bright illustrations show the joy of each member of the family as the feast is assembled. In an Afterword, Lin explains the customs behind this celebration of the moon. <203>