Both versions are wonderful, in every sense. Then Rob Biddulph recreated him for a new generation in 2017. The original illustrations were by Tomi Ungerer. One of the reasons Stanley has stayed with me so vividly is the wit with which he’s brought to life visually. And no adventure is more magical than Stanley being popped in an envelope and posted on holiday! However, for me, nothing captures this sense of wonder better than Stanley’s adventures. had the opportunity to read the book Flat Stanely by Jeff Brown to them. And the carrots that start stalking Aaron Reynold’s Jaspar Rabbit have it in spades. Find the perfect flat stanley stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360. You can find it in the whale that springs out of Billy’s bucket by Kes Gray. It’s there in Willy Wonka’s lickable wallpaper. It hasn’t been hardened by habit – it’s still full of wonder and slightly bewildering. Falling noticeboards can squash you two centimetres flat – and giant water lilies are still island steppingstones.Īlmost all my favourite children’s books have some of this ‘everyday magic’. I loved it immediately. For those that don’t know the story, a falling noticeboard flattens Stanley setting him off on a series of adventures. He slides under doors, gets flown as a kite, and eventually helps arrest some art thieves disguised as a painting.Īs a seven-year-old, the world isn’t quite solid yet. When some sneaky thieves come to town, plotting to steal a famous painting, can Stanley. Murky green water seeped out of my shoes.Īt about the same age, I read Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. One Flat Stanley adventure, illustrated into picture book format. I learned the hard way: I was fished out of an ornamental lake in a National Trust garden, covered in reeds. When I was seven, I discovered that giant water lilies aren’t tiny islands that you can run and jump across.

Flat stanley picture book