What's the story?
Flat as a pancake, smashed by a bulletin board, Stanley uses his new shape to gain attention, but he soon learns the downside of being different. Jeff Brown's sophisticated humor keeps adults entertained, while kids identify with Stanley's feelings and enjoy his adventures. The illustration style, though dated, is expressive and funny. Brown's understanding of childhood emotions is as highly tuned as his humorous, understated writing style: "Mr. Dart stood back a few feet and stared at him for a moment. 'Oh well,' he said, 'it may not be art, but I know what I like.'"

The lesson about the perils of going to extremes for attention is subtly conveyed, as Stanley is teased and rejected by his peers and Mom delivers a heavy-handed lecture about accepting other's differences, including racial and religious ones. Younger siblings will relate to Arthur's jealousy, too.

After a bulletin board fell on him and decreased his thickness to one-half an inch, Stanley's life changed in peculiar ways. His younger, well-rounded brother was jealous of flat Stanley, who could fit under closed doors, slip down sidewalk grates, be carried bundle-form, or flown as a kite,-- and who was finally proclaimed a ""flat here"" for being instrumental in uncovering a pair of thieves. The listening group will enjoy Stanley's bizarre perspective on the world.