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Flat Stanley #4
Invisible Stanley
Book
87 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
122 people are currently reading
949 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Brown
315 books123 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Jeff Brown had worked in Hollywood and as an editor and writer in New York before creating Flat Stanley, a hero for the youngest readers whose adventures, with illustrations by Tomi Ungerer, were first published in 1964. Flat Stanley became the star of a series of perpetually popular books. The last, "Stanley, Flat Again!," was published the year he died. All together, Stanley's tales have sold nearly a million copies in the United States alone. The character's life extended further, as schoolchildren mailed cut-outs of him to their friends. In translation, he traveled to France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Israel, among other places.
Jeff Brown was born Richard Chester Brown. Originally a child actor, he became Jeff Brown because Actors Equity already had a Richard Brown as a member. A graduate of the Professional Children's School, he provided a child's voice in a radio drama and appeared onstage.
In Hollywood he worked for the producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and was a story consultant at Paramount. Preferring to write himself, he sold fiction and articles to national magazines while working at The New Yorker, Life, The Saturday Evening Post, Esquire and finally at Warner Books, where he was a senior editor until 1980. The idea for Stanley came to him one night at bedtime when his sons J. C. and Tony were young and stalling for time. One asked what would happen if the big bulletin board on the wall were to fall on J. C., and Mr. Brown said he would most likely wake up flat. That led to speculation about what such a life might be like. After writing "Flat Stanley, " Mr. Brown went on to "Stanley and the Magic Lamp," "Stanley in Space," "Stanley's Christmas Adventure," "Invisible Stanley" and finally "Stanley, Flat Again!"
The Flat Stanley Project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has gone with them. The 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. 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, then return them both after a period of time. In 2005, more than 6,500 classes from 48 countries took part in the Flat Stanley Project.
Jeff Brown had worked in Hollywood and as an editor and writer in New York before creating Flat Stanley, a hero for the youngest readers whose adventures, with illustrations by Tomi Ungerer, were first published in 1964. Flat Stanley became the star of a series of perpetually popular books. The last, "Stanley, Flat Again!," was published the year he died. All together, Stanley's tales have sold nearly a million copies in the United States alone. The character's life extended further, as schoolchildren mailed cut-outs of him to their friends. In translation, he traveled to France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and Israel, among other places.
Jeff Brown was born Richard Chester Brown. Originally a child actor, he became Jeff Brown because Actors Equity already had a Richard Brown as a member. A graduate of the Professional Children's School, he provided a child's voice in a radio drama and appeared onstage.
In Hollywood he worked for the producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and was a story consultant at Paramount. Preferring to write himself, he sold fiction and articles to national magazines while working at The New Yorker, Life, The Saturday Evening Post, Esquire and finally at Warner Books, where he was a senior editor until 1980. The idea for Stanley came to him one night at bedtime when his sons J. C. and Tony were young and stalling for time. One asked what would happen if the big bulletin board on the wall were to fall on J. C., and Mr. Brown said he would most likely wake up flat. That led to speculation about what such a life might be like. After writing "Flat Stanley, " Mr. Brown went on to "Stanley and the Magic Lamp," "Stanley in Space," "Stanley's Christmas Adventure," "Invisible Stanley" and finally "Stanley, Flat Again!"
The Flat Stanley Project was started in 1995 by Dale Hubert, a third grade schoolteacher in London, Ontario, Canada. It is meant to facilitate letter-writing by schoolchildren to each other as they document where Flat Stanley has gone with them. The 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. 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, then return them both after a period of time. In 2005, more than 6,500 classes from 48 countries took part in the Flat Stanley Project.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews
January 13, 2023
تقریبا رویای همه ی کودکان است نامرئی شدن در این جهان...
January 13, 2014
Stanley Lambchop encounters a rather peculiar phenomenon one evening. Whilst eating fruit by the window during a lightning storm, he becomes invisible! Mr and Mrs Lambchop take Stanley to Doctor Dan, who mentions other cases, where people have turned invisible whilst eating fruit during a storm. But there are no known cures! Stanley will just have to live with being invisible until something changes. Stanley soon discovers that being invisible can have its benefits.
From helping a beginner young cyclist to win a race, a young man to propose to his sweetheart and foiling a bank robbery, Stanley is happy to lend a hand where he can. Soon his brother Arthur starts to feel left out and jealous of all the attention the invisible Stanley is receiving. Stanley saves the day again when he appears on a talk show with Arthur and becomes a part of Arthur’s magic show. Despite all the great things that Stanley does he still feels sad at the thought of never being visible again. This time it’s Stanley family who come to the rescue. Arthur comes up with the idea to recreate a storm. By Stanley wearing the very same pyjamas and eating the exact fruit from the original storm, Stanley’s family help him to become visible again!
I enjoyed reading this book. The idea of invisibility and all the great things that can be done is perhaps a universal childhood fantasy. I particularly enjoyed the themes of sharing problems, being honest and understanding that there are ups and downs to being different. The story had lots of humour and the cartoon type illustrations also did a great job in helping to complement the various adventures that Stanley encountered.
This is a great book to encourage independent reading. It would be ideal for an early chapter reader and therefore could be placed on a year 2 class bookshelf all the way up to year 6.
From helping a beginner young cyclist to win a race, a young man to propose to his sweetheart and foiling a bank robbery, Stanley is happy to lend a hand where he can. Soon his brother Arthur starts to feel left out and jealous of all the attention the invisible Stanley is receiving. Stanley saves the day again when he appears on a talk show with Arthur and becomes a part of Arthur’s magic show. Despite all the great things that Stanley does he still feels sad at the thought of never being visible again. This time it’s Stanley family who come to the rescue. Arthur comes up with the idea to recreate a storm. By Stanley wearing the very same pyjamas and eating the exact fruit from the original storm, Stanley’s family help him to become visible again!
I enjoyed reading this book. The idea of invisibility and all the great things that can be done is perhaps a universal childhood fantasy. I particularly enjoyed the themes of sharing problems, being honest and understanding that there are ups and downs to being different. The story had lots of humour and the cartoon type illustrations also did a great job in helping to complement the various adventures that Stanley encountered.
This is a great book to encourage independent reading. It would be ideal for an early chapter reader and therefore could be placed on a year 2 class bookshelf all the way up to year 6.
January 7, 2022
3 stars & 3/10 hearts. While not a bad sequel to
Flat Stanley,
it wasn’t as great. It definitely felt like a remake of Book 1, just tweaked a little. I skipped books 2-3 and still understood everything perfectly. The characters were the same as before, just as enjoyable. Stanley had some fun new adventures. There was more good humour. The magic session was only a sleight-of-hand/trickery thing so with a few words edited it was fine. Overall, it was a fun read.
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “A bank got robbed,” the first policeman told the driver. “By two women. You ice cream fellows seen any suspicious-looking females?”
“My!” The tall [robber] shook his head. “More and more these days, women filling roles once played by men. Bless ’em, I say!”
Beside him, the stout [robber] said hastily, “But bank robbing, Howard, that’s WRONG.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “A bank got robbed,” the first policeman told the driver. “By two women. You ice cream fellows seen any suspicious-looking females?”
“My!” The tall [robber] shook his head. “More and more these days, women filling roles once played by men. Bless ’em, I say!”
Beside him, the stout [robber] said hastily, “But bank robbing, Howard, that’s WRONG.”
July 24, 2023
We listened to the audiobook version in the car today.
Another few surprised laughs came out of me in the listen. Not quite as dated as the original, but it is still not a solid recommendation from me. I know kids love it. I liked the bit with Arthur's magic show fueled by his brother's invisibility. Although I'm left stumped why this poor kid has to solve/stop all the crime in his town--first foiling the museum sneak thieves and now the lady bank robbers. I wonder if the author just needed more plot devices to make the story long enough for publication.
Anywho the road trip is over so I probably won't be listening to any of his other adventures. And that's okay. Either way was fine.
Another few surprised laughs came out of me in the listen. Not quite as dated as the original, but it is still not a solid recommendation from me. I know kids love it. I liked the bit with Arthur's magic show fueled by his brother's invisibility. Although I'm left stumped why this poor kid has to solve/stop all the crime in his town--first foiling the museum sneak thieves and now the lady bank robbers. I wonder if the author just needed more plot devices to make the story long enough for publication.
Anywho the road trip is over so I probably won't be listening to any of his other adventures. And that's okay. Either way was fine.
October 25, 2024
I love Flat Stanley when he was invisible. I like that this book was a lot different than the other Flat Stanley books.
March 2, 2021
We are reading a whole book a night, lots of fun
February 27, 2012
I think it was amazing because in the middle of the night, Stanley turned invisible. There was bad weather that night and Stanley was eating fruit next to the window. At the end of the story, Arthur, Stanley’s brother, had an idea. He gave Stanley fruit and turned on the sink and shower. Mrs. Lambchop got out skillet and a wooden spoon for thunder, Mr. Lambchop got out a flashlight for lightning, and Arthur made a whooshing sound for wind. Nothing happened at first, but then Mr. Lambchop said that he saw Stanley's hand touch Stanley's cheek. Arthur said that he could see Stanley's pajamas. Stanley looked down and exclaimed that he could see his feet! That is why it is so amazing.
November 15, 2017
Just another adventure. Still cute.
September 6, 2017
Another familiar Lambchop adventure, fascinating for young readers
Who doesn't want to be invisible? My son loved the idea. We read a few of Stanley's other adventures a while ago, and he loved the sound of this one. It is also a new version illustrated with fresh and modern-looking drawings by Rob Biddulph, which brings the slightly old-fashioned story and Lambchop family a new relevance.
In a plot reminiscent of the original, Stanley accidentally (and somewhat unrealistically!) is transformed physically, to a state of invisibility... As before, he has adventures where this is at first fun, foiling robbers and showing brotherly solidarity with a slightly jealous Arthur, and the two must come together to help him return to normal.
The language includes some American terms or words that aren't in common usage in the 21st century, but my son didn't seem to lose any sense of what was going on.
The story mirrors quite closely the first Stanley story, though this does work. Our favourite section was the one in which Arthur and Stanley 'appear' on TV, with Stanley using his invisibility to wow the audience with his brother's magic tricks.
7 short chapters, read over a few bedtimes. Comforting structure and familiar characters, really liked the fresh look of the book.
One for ages 4 or 5 and above.
Who doesn't want to be invisible? My son loved the idea. We read a few of Stanley's other adventures a while ago, and he loved the sound of this one. It is also a new version illustrated with fresh and modern-looking drawings by Rob Biddulph, which brings the slightly old-fashioned story and Lambchop family a new relevance.
In a plot reminiscent of the original, Stanley accidentally (and somewhat unrealistically!) is transformed physically, to a state of invisibility... As before, he has adventures where this is at first fun, foiling robbers and showing brotherly solidarity with a slightly jealous Arthur, and the two must come together to help him return to normal.
The language includes some American terms or words that aren't in common usage in the 21st century, but my son didn't seem to lose any sense of what was going on.
The story mirrors quite closely the first Stanley story, though this does work. Our favourite section was the one in which Arthur and Stanley 'appear' on TV, with Stanley using his invisibility to wow the audience with his brother's magic tricks.
7 short chapters, read over a few bedtimes. Comforting structure and familiar characters, really liked the fresh look of the book.
One for ages 4 or 5 and above.
May 11, 2023
My 6-year-old continues to enjoy reading the adventures of Stanley Lambchop and she was very excited to hear the story of Stanley becoming invisible. This book is written in a similar style as the others in the series. There is a quick introduction to Stanley's latest transformation, followed by several vignettes of Stanley in his new condition. While he is invisible, Stanley helps out at a bike race, a proposal, and more. He enjoys being invisible for a while, but as the novelty wears off, he wishes to be "normal" again. Stanley's younger brother, Arthur, comes to the rescue again with a plan to reverse the invisibility and help his brother out. Not the most well-written kids book, but entertaining nonetheless.
March 29, 2021
Stanley is Invisible! No one can see him. So like the original adventure, Flat Stanley sets out to use his uniqueness to better the world and have some adventures. Stanley first plays matchmaker to a couple, then he invisibly appears on a television program, and again fights crime!
So fun! I've been wanting to read these myself, but will definitely plan to read them to my son when he is a bit older! Stanley is a classic!
So fun! I've been wanting to read these myself, but will definitely plan to read them to my son when he is a bit older! Stanley is a classic!
December 20, 2021
Had to read this book with my really low-level kids. I haven't read any of the other books, nor have I actually even heard of this series.
Took me about 15 minutes to read it, it's about a kid who accidentally becomes invisible. That's all. My reaction to it was purely business-like, I honestly couldn't dream up any kind of real opinion or thoughts about this book as an adult.
The students seemed to more or less enjoy and understand it. They liked discussing what they would do if they were invisible. That's really all I can give you. Better than reading one of the Jack Stalwart chapter books in terms of illustrations and story. It at least has a lesson about jealousy, I guess.
Took me about 15 minutes to read it, it's about a kid who accidentally becomes invisible. That's all. My reaction to it was purely business-like, I honestly couldn't dream up any kind of real opinion or thoughts about this book as an adult.
The students seemed to more or less enjoy and understand it. They liked discussing what they would do if they were invisible. That's really all I can give you. Better than reading one of the Jack Stalwart chapter books in terms of illustrations and story. It at least has a lesson about jealousy, I guess.
July 31, 2018
Stanley finds himself in quite the pickle, when he wakes up invisible one morning. Much like being flat, being invisible has its perks at first, but that fun soon fades. The Lambchop family helps Stanley deal with his current situation, and try to find a way to make him visible again. A cute and fun story.
February 11, 2025
Read this with my kids. Simple chapter books that can easily be finished in a day for both adult and kid readers. Lots of pictures to help with visualizing the story. Contains ways of handling with sibling jealousy, making an unfortunate circumstance into something good or helpful for others, and problem-solving.
September 17, 2017
Summary: The morning after a bad storm Stanley wakes up invisible. He doesn't know how it happened. He had to tie a string with a ballon on it around him so that people would know where he was. He helped several people while being invisible, for example proposing for someone, helping catch robbers, etc. Finally, he is tired of it. His brother comes up with an idea to make him visible again and it works!!
Evaluation: I like this book a lot. I know kids like it too because Stanley is invisible so they are entertained.
Teaching Idea: I would use this as a class novel or even a read aloud. I would read a few chapters everyday, or let them read them. After we were done reading, I would have them write a different ending to the story.
Evaluation: I like this book a lot. I know kids like it too because Stanley is invisible so they are entertained.
Teaching Idea: I would use this as a class novel or even a read aloud. I would read a few chapters everyday, or let them read them. After we were done reading, I would have them write a different ending to the story.
April 12, 2021
I remember this book! I’m so glad I stumbled upon it! This was my all time favorite book! It really got me into reading! I remember just re-reading it over and over again! I haven’t read it in years, still good memories.
September 22, 2017
These books are so dorky and contrived with frightfully ridiculous, stilted dialogue. But I kind of like all that about them.
December 16, 2017
خیلی خنده دار بود
January 10, 2018
The beginning and ending of this book made no sense whatsoever.
August 27, 2019
He's flat but it's still a good book
January 10, 2020
It teaches people how it feels to wish on being invisible and being missed
July 2, 2021
July 2:
Flat Stanley’s mother dress a picture on a balloon exactly like flat Stanley’s face and wherever he goes he takes it. And I do not know where he is.
Flat Stanley’s mother dress a picture on a balloon exactly like flat Stanley’s face and wherever he goes he takes it. And I do not know where he is.
November 10, 2021
great book
March 16, 2022
"4.5 stars."
* 7 read this independently.
* 7 read this independently.
April 10, 2022
I NEVER NEW RAISINS DO THAT😯🤔🤨😮AND WHEN HE WAS INVISIBLE I LAUGHED OUT LOUD SO HARD I SNEEZED🤣😂AND THEN I FELL OF MY BED!AND I WAS LIKE🤦♀️🤦♂️OWWW😫😒
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August 2, 2022Lexile®: 520L, 6199W, 100%, 6y5m
December 19, 2022
Not the strongest of the Stanley series. Requires an unreasonable suspension of disbelief.
March 6, 2023
It was very exciting. It was exciting because it was about a normal boy who turned invisible. I wanna say a big word about it. It was mysterious.
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October 16, 2023One day he wakes up and sees he's invisible. He uses this to help with a bak robbery. Retell the story and what superpowers would they have and why.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 89 reviews