Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:26:53 +0100

Writing regular letters is obviously the main part of penpalling, but many penfriends swap items regularly as well. The penpal community has a whole list of things which are swapped, not just postcards or photographs but many specialist items too. One of the best things about penfriends is the fact that everyone knows different people, especially when writing to penpals abroad.

Location and Collection-Friendly

So, if, for instance, pals know of someone wanting a friend in a specific place, they can keep an eye out for addresses in that region or country. The same is true of collectors, who can put like-minded souls in touch with each other.

Friendships Books (FBs)

Friendship Books (or FBs for short) are the main way in which swapping penpals find more penfriends and swappers. FBs are small booklets that come in many different sizes and colours. The general idea is to staple a couple of small sheets of plain paper or stationery together, with or without a cover, choose a recipient, write their name, address and interests or collections on the first page, write yours underneath as the maker and send it to someone else to add their details. They should then send it to one of their penfriends, until the Friendship Book is full and can be returned to the person for whom it was made. Swappers can make FBs for themselves too, but it is advisable not to send too many to the same pal, because the variety of different contacts will be lost.

Queen Rania of Jordan did not receive offers to publish her new children’s book in Hebrew, official Jordanian sources said.

The sources said Thursday that those offers would have gone directly to the U.S. publisher, Hyperion, following reports the previous day that Rania had rejected offers to publish The Sandwich Swap in Hebrew.

The book was published in English and Arabic and launched in the United States in April. The New York Times best-seller addresses dialogue and tolerance, and the Jordanian sources stressed that Jordan was committed to these messages.

The book’s main characters, Lily and Salma, allow the differences in their food to stand in the way of their friendship. Lily brings a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich to school, while Salma brings pita and hummus. After a schoolwide fight, they eventually work out their differences.

According to Rania’s website, proceeds from the sale of the book will go to an organization in Jordan that is renovating 500 schools there.

The book, directed at children aged 4 to 8, was co-written with Kelly DiPucchio and illustrated by Tricia Tusa.

From the Jewish Journal

The original text of the article may be found here.