Customer Reviews

The Flat Stanley Collection Box Set

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This review is to let potential buyers know the contents of this collection, since at the time of my writing the product information does not state which books, or even how many books, are included. Plus, the suggestion from Amazon that you "Buy this book with Flat Stanley 40th Anniversary Edition by Jeff Brown today!" could throw you off. There is no need to buy both, since the one is included in the other.

This collection includes four books, and you can buy it for the price of just two of the books purchased separately (which is why I gave it five stars). I ordered it from Amazon after looking up the title of the box on other book-selling websites to confirm it's contents. Here is what I received:

Flat Stanley (the 40th Anniversary Edition with the Flat Stanely Cut-Out inside)

Stanley in Space

Invisible Stanley

Stanley, Flat Again!

Plus, the Flat Stanley Collection box, which holds all four books neatly inside. Hope this helps out potential buyers!

Stanley is a boy who certainly handles the unexpected. In the first book of this four-book collection, FLAT STANLEY, Stanley is suddenly flattened when a bulletin board lands on him. His worried parents take him to the doctor who says everything is fine. Instead of Stanley being discouraged by his situation, he discovers some perks that come with being flat. He's able to fly like a kite, go to California in an envelope, and even help catch thieves. However, being flat does get old. Luckily, Stanley's brother, Arthur, is able to help him out.

Stanley's life continues to be exciting, even as a round person again. In STANLEY IN SPACE, the President of the United States contacts Stanley and asks for Stanley's family to go into outer space. The Lambchop family travels to the planet Tyrra and meets the Tyrrans, who are very small indeed. The Tyrrans are having problems, but Stanley and his family know just how to help this distant civilization.

In INVISIBLE STANLEY, eating fruit during a storm proves to be just the combination to turn Stanley invisible. He's been flat, he's been to outer space, but invisible? That creates all new kinds of problems. And advantages. Stanley is able to help a stranger ride a bike, help his brother perform magic tricks, and help the police once again. However, when Stanley is tired of not being seen, he is lucky to have his brother help him out again.

When Stanley gets flat once more in STANLEY FLAT AGAIN, Arthur is not able to unflatten him. Stanley has entirely new sets of adventures his second time around as a flat boy. His flat body makes for a perfect sail and helps Mr. Jones to win a boat race. But when a little girl is trapped in the rubble of a collapsed building, Stanley, with his flat and flexible body seems to be the only hope for her rescue. Will Stanley be able to get to the girl? Will he be able to get her out without causing the building to collapse further?

Join Stanley and his family in their amazing adventures. Laugh along with Stanley as he enjoys the advantages of his differences rather than allowing them to limit him. Cheer for his courage as he bravely helps others. Imagine all of the things you could do if you were flat. Or invisible. Or in outer space. There are so many possibilities...

Reviewed by: Dianna Geers

Flat Stanley stories are enjoyable at any age. I bought the collection with a purpose in mind. I wanted to introduce Flat Stanley to all of my married kids and grandkids. Then I gave each family an outline of Flat Stanley so they could color it and cover it with clear contact paper. Then each of the families will help Flat Stanley have adventures for the next 5 months. Then in June or July, we'll all get together and have a Flat Stanley Reunion and show pictures of his adventures with each of us. Just as a note, we the grandparents, let Flat Stanley go with us to San Diego for Christmas. While there, he got to have his picture taken with one of the big horses at Sea World, and a picture on a whale watching cruise. The photographer on the cruise saw me take Flat Stanley out of my bag and he said, "Flat Stanley!," and I said, "Oh, do you know him? Would you take our picture with my camera?" He said, "Yes, I know him and I'll do anything for Flat Stanley!" This book has made it possible, not only for reading fun, but for a lot of family fun and laughs. Many thanks to the author and to amazon.com for your speedy service of getting my purchase of this collection to me.

We purchased these to read with our 3rd, 1st and pre-K children. After reading the 1st book we made and colored our own Flat Stanleys and carried them around our town taking pictures. Then we made a journal of our adventures and mailed our Stanleys to friends. So far Stanley has been to Arizona, the Philippines and Spain! We have learned so much about geography, different cultures and important landmarks, features, etc. This has been a fun project and one I would encourage paretns to try.
There are a few 'words' in this book that we do not use in our family but reading them led to some good discussion. These are not 'bad' words just some name calling type words that you might hear differnt places that we do not encourage our children to use.

My 7 year old son cannot get enough of Flat Stanley. He thinks it is hysterical! Additionally, I have incorporated these books into my second grade curriculum using "The Flat Stanley Project" online. The storyline is simple (and sometimes dated) but the children seem to get a kick out of it nonetheless!

I love that it comes with four books at such a great price. We have read two of the books and found them entertaining. However, the recommended age on the product description is from 4-8, which was a big reason why I bought this set. My son is four and can sit through longer books (we love the Mercy Watson series) but these books are too long for a 4 year old and the pictures are in black and white and for most young children the pictures help keep their interest in the story. There are many pages with no pictures at all so you are reading a lot of text with no picture to help explain the storyline. This would be a great series for children reading on their own. Also, the box set did not include the story "Stanley and the Magic Lamp" but there was reference to a genie in a book included in the set so it was a bit confusing for my four year old to follow the story without this background information. I would recommend this set for older children but not for the majority of 4 year olds.

this is a great series and my grands must love it to death because I can't get it away from them.
Its also a great project for 3rd grade class. Send it to different states and the children will learn a bit about different cities in different states. We have a flat stanley visiting us from Kansas. We have been having great fun with him , taking him to different places and he will be going back to his class in Kansas in January of 2008.

My 6 year old son absolutely loves this series! He started reading chapter books in Kindergarten and we have tried a few different chapter series to see which one he would like to start reading. He really took to this one. He loves them!

My daughter learned of this at her school. She loves the idea and continues to make flat stanley, pets, house, furniture, etc. it is hours of creative fun for kids. All I did was provide the credit card my daughter paid me cash she saved for this. She waited for the package and amuses herself for hours with it. She just asks for feedback about her creativity associated with the toy.

Great set of books! I wish it could have included the rest of the Flat Stanley books as well (Stanley & The Magic Lamp and the Christmas one). But this was a great buy!