Flat Stanley
Flat Stanley is an American children's book series written by author Jeff Brown (January 1, 1926 – December 3, 2003). 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. Brown did not continue the series until more than 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!
Front cover of the first edition (1964) | |
| Author | Jeff Brown (1964–2003; 2006) |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Tomi Ungerer (1964) Tony Ross (1992) Steve Bjorkman (1998) Scott Nash (2003) Macky Pamintuan (2010) Jon Mitchell (2012) Rob Biddulph (2019) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's literature |
| Publisher | Harper & 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 |
By 2003, the Flat Stanley series had sold almost a million copies in the United States, and the stories had been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Hebrew.
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.
In 2009, a musical adaptation, also entitled Flat Stanley, opened at the Djanogly Theatre, Nottingham. It featured a script by Mike Kenny and songs by Julian Butler. The musical was well received and was revived in 2014 for a short tour.