In the book Flat Stanley, Stanley was mailed to California instead of going by train or plane to save money. This idea seems hilarious, crazy, and a wild stretch of the author’s imagination, but did you know that back in 1913-1914, it was legal to send children through the mail? There are cases of “real-life Flat Stanleys” in the United States Postal history.
In 1913, the U.S. Post Office introduced a Parcel Post service for Americans to send larger packages through the Post Office. Before this time, all you could send was a letter. This new service was beneficial for businesses and farmers, but a few people took advantage of it to ship their children! On January 26, 1913, the New York Times reported that a mail carrier in Batavia, Ohio, delivered a baby “mailed” by his parents to his grandmother, who lived about a mile away:
“Vernon O. Lytle, mail carrier on rural route No. 5, is the first man to accept and deliver under parcel post conditions a live baby. The baby, a boy weighing 10-3/4 pounds, just within the 11-pound weight limit, is the child of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Beagle of Glen Este. The boy was well-wrapped and ready for “mailing” when the carrier received him today. Mr. Lytle delivered the boy safely at the address on the card attached, that of the boy’s grandmother, Mrs. Louis Beagle, who lives about a mile distant. The postage was fifteen cents and the parcel was insured for $50.”
*From The New York Times. “Baby Boy by Parcel Post.” 26 January 1913
Learn more about this unbelievable but true story in Flat Stanley novel Study, “Could you Be a Real-Life Flat Stanley?”. It is included with the full Flat Stanley Novel Study, or available alone. It includes a reading informational article detailing the longer, complete version of this interesting factoid of our postal history, as well as a math and writing follow-up activity where the student will work to determine the cost to deliver themselves to a travel destination via mail, car, train, or plane! Crazy, fun, and educational all in one!
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Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown, is a fun book that is wonderful to use in the classroom.
This book can spark numerous activities across the curriculum. The book asks the reader to suspend reality and go along for the ride. Students really have a fun time reading Flat Stanley and participating in the extension activities.
Try a free sample of the novel study for Flat Stanley
See what people are saying about the Flat Stanley Novel Study by The Teaching Bank!
Completing the Flat Stanley project with your class can be a fun learning experience. Each student will create their own personalized flat character (usually named after themselves). They will ask a relative or friend that lives in a different place to take their character on an adventure and report back. Most helpers get into the fun and make it enjoyable for students to share their results. All three of my kids have sent their flat selves with Grandpa on golf vacations. Grandpa had so much fun with his Flat Grandkids and posed for numerous pictures. My kids were able to share their Flat adventures with their class.
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