Battle of the Butts is written for elementary-aged kids (roughly ages 5-10), and Ani-Mail is designed for that same age range. If your kid is younger, they might enjoy the book with your help, but some of the activities might be too advanced. If your kid is older, they might find it a bit young for them, though plenty of older kids still love the humor and science.

** While safety is one of our top priorities, Ani-Mail contains small items that may pose a CHOKING HAZARD for small children and is not intended for children under 3 years old. For children above 3 years old, proper adult supervision is required. **

Your child will receive 12 letters over six months. We post outgoing mail every two weeks according to the schedule below.

After you order, we will send the initial package with the signed book and first personalized letter and activity booklet from one of the animals on the closest upcoming scheduled mailing date. Then a letter with an activity booklet will be sent from one of the animals every two weeks according to our mailing schedule (10 total letters and 10 total activity booklets). So that the child will be surprised by which animal arrives in the mailbox every other week, the animal order is random rather than what’s in the book.

After the animals have sent their letters, the author of Battle of the Butts (that’s me!) will send a final wrap-up letter.

Additionally, your child will receive a birthday card from the Butts animals during their birthday month, even if that is outside of their regular six months of mailings.

You can read our full shipping policy here.

The Ani-Mail envelopes will be addressed to the child. The letters will have the child’s name in the salutation, and the signed copy of Battle of the Butts will be personalized. The animals will also send a birthday card to the child during their birthday month.

When you check out, there will be a Name for Personalization field for you to add the kid(s) name(s) and a field for their birthday month. Use whatever name the kid(s) prefers, and please be very careful when filling these out so that the personalization is correct.

We will use the first name for the letter salutation and book personalization, but we need a last name for the mailing address, so we do ask for both the first and last name in the Name for Personalization field.

While each mailing will only contain one set of items, you may include multiple kids by entering something like “Jocelyn, Brian & Joanna,” “The Smith Family,” or even “Ms. Rish’s Class.” If you want each child to get their own set of mailings, then please order multiple products.

Only one birthday card will be sent per order, so if you are including multiple kids in the personalization, please pick the ONE month in which you’d like to receive the card.

If you would rather not use a specific name for the book, letters, birthday card, and envelopes, then enter “NONE” in the Name for Personalization field at checkout, and nothing will be personalized.

If you do not want a birthday card, then enter “NO CARD” in the Birthday Month field.

Yes! We have a gift note you can download here. We have intentionally left it vague, so they will be surprised by what arrives, but you can always provide more details if they prefer knowing in advance.

There’s no set timeline! Some kids will dive in and finish each activity immediately. Others will stretch it out and savor each thing. Some will revisit their favorites multiple times. It’s designed to unfold at your child’s pace.

Honestly? That depends on your child and how you present it. The book creates immediate engagement, and most kids who love humor and science get excited about digging deeper. And since it unfolds over six months with regular mail arrivals, it creates ongoing anticipation.

Yes! If you’re an educator interested in ordering Ani-Mail for your classroom or library, contact us to discuss options for bulk buying and/or modifying the experience for larger groups.

My book Battle of the Butts was initially inspired by kids who didn’t think they liked reading or science. The ewww-factor and humor are the entry point. Once they’re laughing, the learning happens naturally. Plus my 15 years of experience with struggling readers has shown me that books about animals almost always grab kids’ attention. So by extension, Ani-Mail use the same humor and ewww-factors to draw in kids who aren’t initially fans of reading or science.

The science activities are designed to take about 15-30 minutes, use regular household materials, and require adult supervision. But you don’t need to be a science expert! The activity booklets include simple instructions. And doing them together is where the real magic happens!

No. Although letters are sent every two weeks, this is a one-time purchase with no recurring subscription fees.

Yes. If you’d like to break your payment into monthly installments, just look for the “Shop Pay” option at checkout for the details.

Yes, for now.

The shipping and mailing logistics are more complicated for international addresses, so we will revisit those later. 

We stand behind Ani-mail 100%. If for some reason it’s not what you expected, we have a 30-day return policy. Read the details here.