Marty The Mailbox

About the Book

On a quiet country road in rural Prince Edward Island - stood Marty. You see - Marty is a mailbox - not just any mailbox but a very special mailbox. Marty was born in 1921 the result of a thunder and lightning storm. The lightning struck a large Maple tree on the Burdett farm and right where the tree was split is where the owner, Tom, first decided that the area was shaped exactly like the biggest barn on the farm. The men that were helping him with the cleanup didn't see it but Tom did and he took that piece of wood into the big barn and made a winter project of it. He shaved and carved that piece of wood with loving care and in the spring he showed it to the rest of the family. They could hardly believe their eyes - it looked exactly like the big barn outside. Marty went out at the end of the lane that year and became a very important part of the Burdett farm - with his little sign saying Marty the Mailbox. Everyone commented on him - how his little glass windows looked like eyes and how his door looked like a mouth. Some of the neighbors thought that the expression on Marty's little face seemed to change depending on what came in the mail each day. Good news or bad.

About the Author

Ian was born the only son on a dairy farm on Prince Edward Island. By the time he was three years old he was going to the barn on a daily basis. He attended a one-room schoolhouse for eight years - having the same teacher for all eight grades. Ian did well in school although he never took it too seriously - after all, he was going to be a dairy farmer like his dad. He and his father farmed for a number of years and when his father decided to retire after fifty years, Ian decided he wanted to do something else. Ian knew what it was like to work hard and not have any time off just as his father did so he decided on a job where he got a steady paycheck - vacation time - and normal hours. He went to work in a foundry - pouring molten metal for boat propellers. In 2002 Ian hurt his back at work and was off for six months. During this time he found himself telling stories to his grandchildren - then writing down stories to tell them when they weren't around. Once the floodgates were opened the stories began to pour out and he has now written 15 stories to date. His grandchildren took one of his stories to school for show and tell and the class liked it so well that the teacher invited him to come to the classroom to read another then another and he found that the kids were really interested and enjoying his stories. He has since won a literary award and continues to write.