Flat Stanley
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Flat Stanley is a children's book (ISBN 0060097914) by Jeff Brown (1926? - December 3, 2003).
Other books by Jeff Brown in this series:
- Stanley In Space
- Stanley and the Magic Lamp
- Invisible Stanley
- Stanley's Christmas Adventure
At the time of his death, Brown was working on another Flat Stanley book.
Plot
Stanley Lambchop is flattened by a falling bulletin board. But he's okay, and he makes the best of it, and soon he's sliding into rooms through the opening at the bottom of closed doors and being kind to his younger brother by playing as a kite for him. He even helps catch some art museum thieves by posing as a painting on the wall! But one special advantage is that Flat Stanley can now visit his friends by being mailed in an envelope.
The Flat Stanley Project
The project was brought to life by Dale Hubert, a third-grade London, Ontario Canada schoolteacher, in 1999. It currently consumes 4 hours of his time, daily. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document what Flat Stanley has done with them.
The Flat Stanley Project provides an opportunity for students to make connections with students of other member schools who've signed up with the project. Students begin by reading the book and becoming acquainted with the story. Then they make paper "Flat Stanleys" (or pictures of the Stanley Lambchop character) and keep a journal for a few days, documenting the places and activities in which Flat Stanley is involved. Then the Flat Stanley and the journal are mailed to other people who are asked to treat the figure as a visiting guest and add to his journal, and return them both after a period of time.
Students may find it fun to plot Flat Stanley's travels on maps and share the contents of the journal. Often, a Flat Stanley returns with a photo or postcard from his visit. Some teachers may prefer to use email only.
For variety's sake, not all Flat Stanleys are named Stanley. One of these, "Flat Mark", gained considerable media attention in Canada in late 2003 when he was the 'guest' of newly-sworn-in Prime Minister Paul Martin, and appeared in a photo with his cabinet at the swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall.
External reference
- Flat Stanley Project (http://www.flatstanleyproject.net/)
- Flat Stanley Project FAQs (http://flatstanley.enoreo.on.ca/faq.htm)
Flat Ashley is a counterpart to Flat Stanley, in use in Southeast Asia.