Jeff Brown
Book 1 of Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures
ISBN
Publisher: Scholastic
Published: Apr 10, 2009
Grade 2–4—Capitalizing on the extremely popular (and more than 40-year-old) character created by Jeff Brown, Pennypacker's new travel-themed series features the same tongue-in-cheek humor and earnest, goody-two-shoes sensibility of the original. Here, the flattened-by-a-bulletin-board boy and the rest of the Lambchop family go on vacation to Mount Rushmore, where Stanley and his brother share an adventure with a young gold miner named Calamity Jasper. Stanley's unique abilities allow him to shine as a hero, causing some friction with Arthur, but in the end, they work together to save the day. Readers will find authenticity and humor in the siblings' rivalry, and Calamity Jasper, with her over-the-top Western dialogue, is a perfect slapstick foil to the boys. As an added bonus, interesting historical and geographical information is included in the story and related facts are appended. Though the modernized, cartoon pencil sketches are not as delightfully ridiculous as the artwork in the original series, they integrate well with the plot. Educational and fun, this action-filled tale makes a great choice for early-chapter-book collections; it will surely cause a resurgence of interest in the original series, as well as a desire to read the subsequent installations in the reboot.—_Nicole Waskie, Chenango Forks Elementary, Binghamton, NY_ Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
“Flat Stanley is back and better than ever. Pennypacker’s revival of this perennially popular character should engender great enthusiasm and may even create new fans for this old favorite.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )
Description:
From School Library Journal
Grade 2–4—Capitalizing on the extremely popular (and more than 40-year-old) character created by Jeff Brown, Pennypacker's new travel-themed series features the same tongue-in-cheek humor and earnest, goody-two-shoes sensibility of the original. Here, the flattened-by-a-bulletin-board boy and the rest of the Lambchop family go on vacation to Mount Rushmore, where Stanley and his brother share an adventure with a young gold miner named Calamity Jasper. Stanley's unique abilities allow him to shine as a hero, causing some friction with Arthur, but in the end, they work together to save the day. Readers will find authenticity and humor in the siblings' rivalry, and Calamity Jasper, with her over-the-top Western dialogue, is a perfect slapstick foil to the boys. As an added bonus, interesting historical and geographical information is included in the story and related facts are appended. Though the modernized, cartoon pencil sketches are not as delightfully ridiculous as the artwork in the original series, they integrate well with the plot. Educational and fun, this action-filled tale makes a great choice for early-chapter-book collections; it will surely cause a resurgence of interest in the original series, as well as a desire to read the subsequent installations in the reboot.—_Nicole Waskie, Chenango Forks Elementary, Binghamton, NY_
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
“Flat Stanley is back and better than ever. Pennypacker’s revival of this perennially popular character should engender great enthusiasm and may even create new fans for this old favorite.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review) )