Pen pals forever (series) by Lenny Pelling

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Random House, 2010.
Junior primary. This series of small books aimed at junior primary school people (the target audience says beginner reader) will have appeal to young girls who have recently begun school, and so making new friends and finding out about writing. The two girls in these books, Polly and Jez, are great friends because their mothers were pen pals, but their separation means writing letters to each other to tell their friend what is happening to them. Each volume has things for the reader to do at the end of the book; recipes, craft ideas and ideas for letter writing.
In Summer days (ISBN 9781864719000) the girls are introduced to the reader. Polly is about to go on a caravan trip around Australia with her grandparents. Her letters and postcards to Jez are full of the sights she sees, while Jez replicates some of the things Polly talks about in her own home.
In School days (ISBN 9781864719017) the girls are off to school, but while Jez goes to a conventional school, Polly is taking classes over the internet with a class which spreads over Australia.
In Olden days (ISBN 9781864719024) the two girls relive the past through Polly's Gran's stories, and Jez's mother's letters. This book involves recipes and stories of the past. Fran Knight

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