Flat Stanley May Be Coming To Visit You

By Laurie Borst

Never heard of Flat Stanley? OK, if you do not have children or children in elementary school, perhaps you haven’t. Flat Stanley may be the most well-traveled fictional character of children’s literature.

The book Flat Stanley was written by Jeff Brown and first published in 1964. It tells the story of Stanley Lambchop who gets flattened by a bulletin board. He discovers that being flat has some benefits, like slipping under doors, being a kite for your little brother, or being mailed to far-off places.

Teachers quickly realized that Flat Stanley was more than a reading lesson. Letter writing, geography, natural science, and even math lessons grew out of the book.

“I used it in math lessons,” explained Meg Holmes, first grade teacher at Sandy Hook School. “With our money unit, we looked at the cost of stamps and paper. It also introduces shapes and the concepts of two-dimensional and three-dimensional.”

This year, Ms Holmes has added thank-you notes to the writing assignments.

Flat Stanley is in its fifth year at Sandy Hook School. Teachers Lynn Monahan and Kristen Mattera first introduced the idea to the school.

“Parents stop in and say, ‘I miss flat Stanley,’” continued Ms Holmes.

Flat Stanley lessons begin with reading the book. Then the students trace and color a paper “Flat” and cut it out. They write a letter to a friend or relative explaining why Flat Stanley is visiting. Originally, teachers hoped to get letters back that would lead to discussions of different geographical regions.

Some classes send out Flat Susie or Flat Jason. Often times, replies come back with, “I wish the real Flat Joshua could visit.”

The recipients of Flat Stanleys have gotten very creative. Many people treat the paper doll like any other visitor, taking them to local sites, taking photographs of the Flats at famous places or with family members.

Books on local flora and fauna have been sent back. One book received this year was on Florida’s Gulf Coast birds. Postcards with Flat scanned in have been received. Scrapbooks have been put together. One ingenious grandfather wrote and illustrated a story about Flat’s activities during the visit.

Flat Stanley has been hang gliding in South America, visited Harlem Globetrotters, gone to CNN headquarters, piloted a boat, and gone ice fishing, among many other adventures.

He has even visited the White House. Go to Whitehouse.gov/kids/flatstanley/04.html to see the photo of Flat’s visit. Put Flat Stanley in your search engine for a variety of sites with photos and descriptions of his adventures.