Flat Stanley

Flat Stanley (1964) Jeff Brown, Mamouth

ISBN: 0-7497-0137-4

Stanley is a boy who lives with his brother Arthur, and his parents, Mr. And Mrs Lambchop. The premise of the tale is as follows; a huge and heavy notice board falls on Stanley as he is lying in his bed. This squashes him flat, and he is about as deep as a piece of paper. He remains this way, and even the doctor says that all they can do is monitor him. He mother gets his clothes altered by a tailor.

Rather than let this get him down, Stanley has fun seeing what he can now he is flat. He can go through the gap at the bottom of doorways, and rescues his mother’s ring from down a drain. His brother becomes quite jealous of these new abilities. At one point, Arthur even tries to make himself flat by piling heavy books on top of his chest. He is stopped by his parents and sent to bed.  They explain to Stanley that his younger brother is jealous, and ask him to be nice to Arthur. Stanley does this by volunteering to let Arthur fly him like a kite, so that he will be more popular!

Stanley becomes a hero when he poses as a painting in the art gallery to foil the plans of a gang of sneak thieves. He ends up with his name and picture in the paper, and he is very happy. After a while people stop giving him positive attention, and they point, stare, and laugh at the ‘flat boy’. Stanley becomes very unhappy, and it is Arthur, desperate to make up for leaving Stanley trapped in the tree, who saves the day. He blows Stanley up with a bike pump, and all is well.

Stanley’ parents also post him via airmail to his pen friend’s house in the school holidays. The hundreds of Flat Stanley projects in schools take up this theme, as does the international Flat Stanley Project based online. Pupils read the story, and they all create their own Flat Stanley on paper. The children are all encouraged to post their Stanley to friends and relatives around the world. People take their photograph with Stanley and send a written account back to the child along with the photograph. The website has many of these stories and pictures from across the globe. I first heard of this book when a friend of mine received a Flat Stanley from her niece in America.

Throughout the book there is reference to good manners, tolerance and respect. “Mr. And Mrs Lambchop were both very much in favour of politeness and careful speech”. This is an important message for children, and I think that it was done in a very sensitive and clever way. Making good manners something that is important to characters that are so appealing to children can only help to get the message across.

The message on page 58 is obvious and even a little trite, but it is aimed at children;

“Shame on them,” Mrs Lambchop said. “It is wrong to dislike people for their shapes. Or their religion, for that matter, or the colour of their skin.”

This book was written in America during the sixties, and that was a vitally important message. People were fighting for equality, and against discrimination. It is a little sad to say that some sections of society are still in need of that very same message.

The book is only short, but very engaging. The story is completely improbable, but so charming that I really did not mind. The popularity of the book worldwide would indicate that many share my view. It is a useful little book that schools have used to promote reading, but also manners, tolerance, and world awareness. I wish I had read this book when my children were smaller, as I would have done our own Flat Stanley project. Keep your eyes pealed for Stanley as he goes on his travels. He’ll be easy to spot, he’s the flat boy!


Find the official project at http://flatterworld.com/?nav=home

Out of The Shadows

WALLACE, JASON OUT OF SHADOWSAndersen Press (Ages 14+)
ISBN: 9781849390484

This story is set in the 1980’s as Robert Mugabe came to power in Zimbabwe. The conflict between white settlers and native Africans are apparent, as is the fear and violence of the country at that time. The conflict between the Shona tribe and the Matabele tribe is another source of racial tension within the novel. Matabele are in the minority, and Mugabe is Shona. Therefore the Matabele are very badly treated. There is also conflict between the British settlers and the Afrikaners, as well as between the schoolboys themselves.

There is institutionalised violence at the school, and that spills over into the boy’s every day life.  One boy even voices the fact that is ‘normal’ to be beaten by your father or older brother. Mugabe’s soldiers are seen at various intervals patrolling the area and shooting people. The police are also violent. The boys grow up with this outlook, and they are not shocked by the most savage things, and expect that poor black people who are Matabele will be maimed, raped, and even killed. Only Robert Jacklin, from whose perspective the story is told, realises how indoctrinated it all is, and how wrong. This is because he spent his early childhood in Britain and was therefore not as susceptible as the other boys. All through the book we hear his conscience, but even he spends part of the time carried away with the violent and prejudicial status quo. This is mostly due to good old-fashioned peer pressure, and an increasing sense of isolation as his father becomes a workaholic and his mother dies of alcoholism.

The story is a fascinating glimpse into the politics and culture of the area in a time of real change and struggle. It is also an insight into traditional public schooling, those supposedly superior places. Every page contains violence or offensive remarks directed atone character or another. It is certainly not for the squeamish to read. However, some teenagers are able to cope with the subject matter, and it is important that these lessons are not lost and forgotten, and that we remember what actually happened. The book is very evocative and the characters are so well drawn that as a reader I feel some sympathy for even the worst offenders. The reasons for a character’s behaviour are explained, and whilst not an excuse, they are certainly food for thought. It gives teenagers a chance to understand that every situation is made up of shades of grey, that there is no black and white. That statement is all the more appropriate given the novel’s subject matter.

All in all it is a good book with good aspirations. It is fiercely honest and therefore not for everyone. 6/10

What I have learned;

·        To represent both sides of any issue so that it gives the reader food for thought.

·        Use real life events to inspire writing.

The Death Defying Pepper Roux

McCAUGHREAN GERALDINE THE DEATH DEFYING PEPPER ROUXOxford Children's Books (Ages 10+)
ISBN: 9780192756022

This is an adventure story as seen through the eyes of a fourteen-year-old boy. Although he has been brought up to believe in his impending death, Pepper does not want to die. He is very aware of danger, and ways in which to die, but apart from that, he is very innocent of how the world works. The reader sees the world through Peppers eyes, complete with his wonder and confusion as he muddles through a series of increasingly surreal situations.

Pepper runs away from home on his birthday, trying to outrun his death. He has been told that he will die before he is fourteen, and his family believe it utterly. The first line of the book reads,

“On the morning of his fourteenth birthday, Pepper had been awake for fully two minutes before realizing it was the day he must die”.

During his travels, Pepper assumes different roles, characters, and even names. He becomes everything from a newspaper journalist to a salami sausage slicer, and even joins the foreign legion. Each time he moves on as someone is following him, who later turns out to be his only friend, Duchess.

Characters in the book are cartoon like, and fit with the perceptions of a child. The unlikely becomes every day, and the story bounces along at a swift rate of knots. A fellow reader described the book to me by saying, “it’s a good story but its bonkers”. This I can agree with wholeheartedly. I enjoyed reading it as a one off, but found it more like reading Baron Munchausen than anything else. I can see how the speed, humour, and adventure would appeal to young readers, and especially boys who may wish they were on an adventure like that. I can also appreciate that more crafted or well-rounded characters would not suit the story, and would indicate a more adult viewpoint than Pepper. There is skill and thought in this novel, but it is not one that I would usually read.

Bonkers, a fast paced tale with cartoon like characters. 5/10

What I have learned;

·        To think about the characters perspective and how they see the world

·        Unusual and quirky things can add humour

The Prisoner of The Inquisition

BRESLIN, THERESA PRISONER OF THE INQUISITIONDoubleday (Ages 12+)
ISBN: 9781406310276

This is a dual narrative book that tells the story from two completely different perspectives. Firstly there is Zarita, a young woman from a privileged background, and secondly Saulo, from a desperately poor family. The perspectives only really come together at the end, during the dramatic conclusion. I won’t spoil it by giving details, but suffice to say that the two are forced to view things from the other’s perspective, and come to a mutual understanding.

The whole story is set against the backdrop of the Spanish inquisition, and it does not shy away from the grisly reality of that, although it is not overly graphic. Breslin is successful in getting across the fear and paranoia the inquisition brought about as well as a sense of helplessness. Along with the despair felt be those affected by the officers of the inquisition, is the despair of all those forced to watch the sentences being carried out. Citizens are prepared to do anything to get attention away from themselves, often informing on others. This book coveys all of this emotion and the reader becomes invested in the characters and the outcome.

There is a side plot about Christopher Columbus and his mission to prove that the world is round and not flat. He wants to prove that you can sail all around the world. He is labelled a blasphemer, and those with the knowledge he his after, commune in secret. The inquisition is a threat to these men. Saulo becomes good friends with Columbus, and learns a great deal from him. As Saulo learns about navigation and charts with Columbus, he grows and matures as a person.

Zarita also grows and matures as a person under the tutelage of her aunt, who has founded an order of nuns. This order is progressive for the times, and tolerant of others faiths. Nuns study educational texts from the east, and have learnt many things. The inquisition is appalled, and only the letter from Queen Isabella herself saves the nuns. 

I view the whole book as a metaphor for progress in the form of knowledge and tolerance. Columbus represents knowledge that the priests of the inquisition were inadvertently suppressing. Focusing on the narrow prescriptive world that they dictated would mean that many things would not be discovered, and knowledge would not be advanced. The priests feared that they would loose their place of power and control, and thus tried to stop this type of progress. Similarly, the nuns used their knowledge to aid others, and when forced to stop, those in desperate need were left without that help. Zarita causes hardship to Saulo, and the death of his father out of ignorance, and the way she has been taught to behave. She is later appalled by her own actions. Saulo is angry and desperate, and not looking beyond himself. When the two of them begin to talk and look at things through each others eyes, their relationship becomes positive, bringing friendship and even love.

In short, the inquisition represents narrow intolerant thinking, and this gets in the way of knowledge, trust, respect, tolerance, and genuine understanding. When the inquisition is winning, all these values suffer, halt, or disappear completely. When the characters are free to act outside of the inquisition’s influence, all these values abound, and progress is made. Negative outcomes are seen to arise from inquisition thinking, and positive outcomes from independent thought and action. At no point does Breslin indicate that being Catholic is bad, in fact the opposite is true. It is only the inquisition that engenders that negativity.

This book is very clever, and the setting of the story in such a troubled period in history gives the characters plenty of scope. Breslin has produced well-rounded characters that have human fears and foibles, making them all the more appealing. I wanted to find out what happened to these two young people, and I was swept away on the tide of their journey. I was hooked right from the prologue, a  short one page entry that has a woman being burnt at the stake. It is a very dramatic opening, and hooks the reader in. There is no way that I could put the book down and not find out what happened in the end.

Very enjoyable read, very clever book. 9/10 The one I would have picked as the winner (although I still haven’t read monsters of men, which did win)

What I have learned;

·        The importance of a good opening to hook the reader

·        That the setting can be used to develop character through the necessary things they go through.

·        Setting and backdrop should be directly relevant to the story, and not just there for effect.