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Scholastic signs picture book inspired by Matilda Handy's 'postbox to heaven'
Scholastic has signed This Letter Says I Love You, an "accessible" picture book inspired by 10-year-old Matilda Handy’s "postbox to heaven".
Written by Lucy Rowland with illustrations from Sharon Rentta, This Letter Says I Love You is pitched as the "perfect picture book to support children to navigate their grief".
Handy came up with the "postbox to heaven" as a way to connect with her grandparents who had recently died. The original postbox was set up in Gedling Crematorium and now over 40 postboxes have been introduced across the UK. A copy of Handy’s letter to her grandmother is included at the end of This Letter Says I Love You.
"I created the postboxes as a way to remember my Grandma Pat, Grandad Ron and Grandad Keith", said Handy. "They let me write letters and feel close to them. I’m really thrilled that this is going to be a book, as I hope it can help others remember their loved ones as well."
Fiz Osborne, former publisher, acquired world rights to the letter from Handy. Commissioning editor Becky Brown acquired world rights to the text from Anne Clarke Literary Agency and illustration rights directly from Sharon Rentta. The book will be published in May 2025.
Rowland added: "It was a real honour to work on this book. Matilda’s story is such a special and inspiring one, so I wanted to get the words just right. I hoped that the text would feel personal to Matilda and her family, while also being universal enough so that it can be read by anyone experiencing loss and grief."
Rentta added: "Working on the illustrations for this book has been such a rewarding experience. It gave me the opportunity to visually compliment Lucy Rowland’s wonderfully evocative, moving and uplifting text, made all the more powerful by being inspired by Matilda Handy’s own personal experience. That feeling of connection to our loved ones, even if we can’t see them anymore, is something that really struck a chord with me, as I’m sure it will with the reader."
