Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley
Front cover of the first edition (1964)
AuthorJeff Brown (1964–2003; 2006)
IllustratorTomi Ungerer (1964)
Tony Ross (1992)
Steve Bjorkman (1998)
Scott Nash (2003)
Macky Pamintuan (2010)
Jon Mitchell (2012)
Rob Biddulph (2019)
LanguageEnglish
GenreChildren's literature
PublisherHarper & Row (1964–1985)
HarperCollins (1990–2003)
Scholastic (2006; 2009–present)
Methuen Publishing (UK, 1964–1998)/Egmont Group (UK, 1998–present)
Publication date
1964–2003; 2006; 2009–present
Publication placeUnited States

Flat Stanley is an American children's book series written by author Jeff Brown (January 1, 1926 – December 3, 2003).[1] The idea for the book began as a bedtime story for Brown’s sons, which Brown turned into the first Flat Stanley book. The first book featured illustrations by Tomi Ungerer and was published in 1964.[2] Brown did not continue the series until two decades later, when he published five more books: Stanley and the Magic Lamp, Stanley in Space, Stanley’s Christmas Adventure, Invisible Stanley, and Stanley, Flat Again![3]

By 2003, the Flat Stanley series had sold almost one million copies in the United States, and the stories had been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Hebrew.[2]

Since Brown's death in 2003, other children's book authors, including Sara Pennypacker and Josh Greenhut, have continued the series under a new name, Flat Stanley's Worldwide Adventures.[4]

In 2009, a musical adaptation, also entitled Flat Stanley, opened at the Djanogly Theatre, Nottingham.[5] It featured a script by Mike Kenny and songs by Julian Butler. The musical was well received[6] and was revived in 2014 for a short tour.[7]

  1. ^ Hoewisch, Allison (2001). "Creating Well-Rounded Curricula with 'Flat Stanley': A School-University Project". The Reading Teacher. 55 (2): 154–168. JSTOR 20205027.
  2. ^ a b Eccleshare, Julia (2004-01-01). "Obituary: Jeff Brown". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  3. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (2003-12-06). "Jeff Brown, 77, Children's Writer Who Created 'Flat Stanley' Series". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
  4. ^ "Behind The Boy". Flat Stanley- HarperCollins Publishers. 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2020.
  5. ^ "Lakeside presents Flat Stanley". Lakeside Arts. 2009. Retrieved 23 Mar 2022.
  6. ^ "Classic kids book becomes wonderfully wonky musical". The Guardian. 2014. Retrieved 23 Mar 2022.
  7. ^ "UKTW". UKTW Archive - Flat Stanley. 2022. Retrieved 23 Mar 2022.