CHILDREN'S LETTERS
Children's letters may be written on ordinary stationery, but it adds a
good deal of interest to their letter writing if they may use some of
the several pretty, special styles to be had at any good stationer's.
The following examples of children's letters include:
Letter of invitation from a child to a child.
Letter of invitation from a parent to a child.
Letter from a parent to a parent inviting a child.
Letter of thanks to an aunt for a gift.
Letter to a sick playmate.
Letter to a teacher.
Letter to a grandmother on her birthday.
_Invitation to a birthday party_
April 14, 1921.
Dear Frank:
I am going to have a birthday party next Friday afternoon,
from three-thirty until six o'clock. I hope you will come
and help us to have a good time.
Sincerely yours,
Harriet Evans.
500 Park Avenue
_Accepting_
439 Manhattan Avenue,
April 16, 1921.
Dear Harriet:
It is so kind of you to ask me to your birthday party next
Friday afternoon. I shall be very glad to come.
Sincerely yours,
Frank Dawson.
_Regretting_
439 Manhattan Avenue,
April 16, 1921.
Dear Harriet:
I am very sorry that I cannot go to your birthday party on next
Friday. My mother is taking me to visit my cousin, so I shall
be away.
Thank you for asking me. I hope you will all have a great deal
of fun.
Sincerely yours,
Frank Dawson.
_Invitation from a parent to a child_
Dear Ethel:
The twins are going to have a little party on Friday afternoon
and they would like you to come. Can you come at three-thirty?
Tell your mother we will arrange that you get home at six.
Cordially yours,
Katherine G. Evans.
_From a parent to another parent_
Dear Mrs. Heywood:
Dorothy will have a birthday on Tuesday, the thirteenth of June.
We are planning, if the weather is fine, to have a lawn party.
Otherwise we shall have it in the house. She hopes that you will
let Madeline come and I am sure they will all have a good time.
If you send Madeline at four I will see that she returns home
at six.
Cordially yours,
Bernice Lawson Grant.
_To a friend_
Bellville,
Lancaster County, Pa.,
June 14, 1922.
Dear Bob:
Will you visit us on the farm during your summer vacation? Father
has bought me a boat and we can go fishing and swimming. Mabel has
a pony and I know she will let us ride him.
Please let me know if you may come and if you may stay two weeks.
Sincerely yours,
Roger Palmer.
_Thanks for a gift:_
159 West Tenth Street.
December 12, 1921.
Dear Aunt Louise:
You were wonderful to think of sending me those fine skates for my
birthday. They are just the kind I wanted and I wish to thank you.
I shall take good care of them.
Your affectionate nephew,
John Orr.
_To a sick playmate_
46 Elmwood Avenue,
June 16, 1922.
Dear Dorothy:
I am so sorry you are ill, but your mother says you are getting
better. If you like, I shall let you have my book with the poem
called "The Land of Counterpane." It is about a sick little boy
who is playing with his toy soldiers and people and villages. In
the picture they seem to be making him forget he is sick.
All the boys and girls hope you will soon be out to play again.
Sincerely yours,
Betty Foster.
_To a teacher_
500 Park Avenue,
New York, N. Y.,
February 8, 1920.
Dear Miss Sewell:
I want to thank you for your kindness in helping me with my
studies, especially arithmetic. Without your help I should
not have been able to pass my examinations.
Mother asks that you will come some day next week to take
tea with us.
Sincerely yours,
Susan Evans.
_To a grandparent_
Dear Grandmother:
I wish you a very happy birthday and I hope you will like the
present I sent you. Mother helped me to make it.
I send you my best love.
Your loving grandchild,
Evelyn.
Here is a charming letter[17] that Helen Keller when she was ten years
of age wrote to John Greenleaf Whittier on the occasion of his birthday:
South Boston, Dec. 17, 1890.
Dear Kind Poet,
This is your birthday; that was the first thought which came
into my mind when I awoke this morning; and it made me glad
to think I could write you a letter and tell you how much your
little friends love their sweet poet and his birthday. This
evening they are going to entertain their friends with
readings from your poems and music. I hope the swift winged
messengers of love will be here to carry some of the sweet
melody to you, in your little study by the Merrimac. At first
I was very sorry when I found that the sun had hidden his
shining face behind dull clouds, but afterwards I thought why
he did it, and then I was happy. The sun knows that you like
to see the world covered with beautiful white snow and so he
kept back all his brightness, and let the little crystals form
in the sky. When they are ready, they will softly fall and
tenderly cover every object. Then the sun will appear in all
his radiance and fill the world with light. If I were with you
to-day I would give you eighty-three kisses, one for each year
you have lived. Eighty-three years seems very long to me. Does
it seem long to you? I wonder how many years there will be in
eternity. I am afraid I cannot think about so much time. I
received the letter which you wrote to me last summer, and
I thank you for it. I am staying in Boston now at the
Institution for the Blind, but I have not commenced my
studies yet, because my dearest friend, Mr. Anagnos, wants
me to rest and play a great deal.
Teacher is well and sends her kind remembrance to you. The
happy Christmas time is almost here! I can hardly wait for the
fun to begin! I hope your Christmas Day will be a very happy
one and that the New Year will be full of brightness and joy
for you and every one.
From your little friend
Helen A. Keller.
[17] This and the letter following are from "The Story of My Life," by
Helen Keller. Copyright, 1902, 1903, by Helen Keller. Published in book
form by Doubleday, Page & Co.
And the distinguished poet's reply:
My dear Young Friend:
I was very glad to have such a pleasant letter on my birthday. I
had two or three hundred others and thine was one of the most
welcome of all. I must tell thee about how the day passed at Oak
Knoll. Of course the sun did not shine, but we had great open wood
fires in the rooms, which were all very sweet with roses and other
flowers, which were sent to me from distant friends; and fruits of
all kinds from California and other places. Some relatives and
dear old friends were with me through the day. I do not wonder
thee thinks eighty-three years a long time, but to me it seems but
a very little while since I was a boy no older than thee, playing
on the old farm at Haverhill. I thank thee for all thy good
wishes, and wish thee as many. I am glad thee is at the
Institution; it is an excellent place. Give my best regards to
Miss Sullivan, and with a great deal of love I am
Thy old friend,
John G. Whittier.