Aunt Olga's Christmas Postcards

Linda Ludke is a children’s librarian at the London Public Library.

Anna loves spending time with her 95-year-old Aunt Olga. On a Christmas
visit, Olga pulls out her prized collection of postcards from around the
world. As they look at the nostalgic scenes, Olga reminisces about her
youthful love of dancing, skating, and poetry. Her first job was as a
postcard-greeting writer, and she has been “mad about rhyme” ever
since. With warmth and humour, Aunt Olga encourages Anna to write some
verse of her own: “Everybody has poetry inside them. It just needs a
reason to come out.”

Vintage postcards are a beautiful complement to the text. Pictures of
winged cherubs, Santa Clauses, and soldiers on the front lines provide a
glimpse into bygone years. Some of the cards feature sepia-toned
photographs and verses in different languages. Airy black-ink line
drawings by Bruce Roberts have red and green watercolour splashes and
provide a good balance to the more ornate images.

An author’s note includes information on the history of Christmas
postcards as well as instructions on creating handmade cards. Highly
recommended.