Stan the Van Man by Philip Webb illustrated by Emma Vere-Jones

 

This is not an earth-shattering book or perhaps even one you need to rush out and read or buy for your library but IF you can find Stan the Van Man it contains an interesting and important story about literacy even though the rhyming singsong style text might drive an adult reader slightly crazy. I am sure young children will enjoy the chaos and funny parcel deliveries and perhaps discover that some adults can have literacy problems. 

Stan volunteers to drive the mail van to help the desperate Post Office owner Miss Mickle. There are heaps of parcels that need to be delivered but along the way Stan also meets people who need his help - a little boy is stuck up a tree and a man needs help with his broken-down car. Once he has helped them, he starts to deliver the parcels but somehow everyone gets the wrong delivery. 

Mrs Vine gets a skateboard, kneepads and a hat; Guy gets two squeaky cat toys; Mr McDrew gets a pink toy horse on a pull along stand; and Miss Brock doesn't find her sunscreen but instead it is a bottle of tomato sauce. Oh, and perhaps worst of all Professor John Moore opens his parcel and finds a pair of frilly ladies' underpants!

Everyone races down to the post office to complain. Then we discover the problem:

"Stan's face went bright red and he lowered his head. 'I've not learned to read,' he replied. ... 'Here's the van key. This job's not for me,' and he turned and walked out the of the door."

How do the people feel? How do they react? Is there something they can do for Stan? Oh, and it fun to think about the way no one swapped their parcels back to the right owner - I wonder what the professor is doing with those undies?

Stan the Van man was published in 2015 by Scholastic in New Zealand - so it might be in your local school library as I imagine it was offered on their book club or in a standing order. 

Blurb from illustrator web page: Miss Mickle’s Post Shop is in chaos. Her van driver has walked off the job, the parcel sack is overflowing and there’s no-one to deliver the mail. When her neighbour Stan offers to help out, Miss Mickle thinks he could be her knight in shining armour. But Stan’s hiding a secret… he can’t read. And now it seems his secret might throw Miss Mickle’s postal service into even more chaos than before… Told in rhyming verse, Stan the Van Man was the recipient of the 2014 Storylines Joy Cowley Award. With illustrations by Philip Webb, this is a heart warming tale recommended for children aged 4-8- or anyone who wants to celebrate the joy of reading.

Companion book (same theme but a more powerful story):

Mr George Baker