Book Review: The Stamp Collector

Book Review: The Stamp Collector

Written by Jennifer Lanthier
Illustrated by Francois Thisdale
Published by Fitzhenry & Whiteside

The Stamp Collector, written by Jennifer Lanthier, is a beautiful book about two young boys who grow up in very different areas of the same distant and impoverished country. One lives in the shadows of the city, the other among the fields of the rural land. The city boy has a love of stamps, while the country boy loves words and books. As the two boys grow older, their passions grow stronger until when one, day the country boy finds himself imprisoned for his writing and the city boy is assigned as his jail guard. As the years go by, letters from loved ones are sent to the writer, intriguing the stamp collecting guard. From here, the two men from two very different worlds are united by their true passions and form a unique bond and lifelong friendship.

This is a story about imagination, passion, and friendship. It teaches children that creativity and imagination can take you to the corners of the world, and that kindness and compassion can help sculpt you into an honourable friend.