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Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Stanley, by William Lee (Giveaway x 2)

Our family just recently made an acquaintance with Stanley, who we believe to be a hamster (but can't completely confirm that), created by William Bee. Whether Stanley is a hamster or a guinea pig makes not a lot of difference to us; he is cute and approachable no matter what.

William Bee is the author and illustrator of this brilliant 4-book series which can best be compared to that of Lucy Cousins' Maisy Mouse books. Coincidentally, both Bee and Cousins were born and live in England. They share a a simple manner of telling stories to younger children. Bee's Stanley, much like Maisy Mouse, also appears with simple, bold lines and solid colors. The text is minimal and yet features events or locations which would be familiar to young readers. Calm and relaxing, these stories are perfect for cuddle time and have been enjoyed by all four of my kids! (Bookworm1, my oldest at age 9, is a particular fan of hamsters and has been campaigning for one for some time. He loves these books just as well as the younger kids as a result!)

As mentioned, there are currently four books in this series and they are as follows:


In Stanley's Garage we find Stanely operating a car garage. He helps to put gas into his friend's vehicle, and fixes a variety of problems with many other friends' cars before sending them on their merry way. The conclusion of this book matches the end of all of the rest of the books in the series:

"Time for supper!
Time for a bath!
And time for bed!
Goodnight, Stanley."

Here is an image of one of the page spread from Stanley's Garage to give you an idea of how much text is on each page spread and what the illustrations look like. As you can see, Bee makes good use of simple, bold lines. The minimal text make these books perfect for burgeoning readers and you can expect all Stanley titles to keep to this basic format.


Stanley's Diner was released just a month or so ago and in this title Stanley is found operating a diner. (The titles are supremely suggestive.)


Stanley does a fine job meeting his friends' breakfast needs. He stays busy in the kitchen cooking eggs and tomatoes and mushrooms. He's in possession of a huge toaster and can serve up toast and coffee as requested. It's a busy day and at the end of it he is mighty tired. He heads up for that bath before bed and so ends another day with Stanley.


Stanley the Farmer shows off yet another side of this industrious hamster. This time Stanley is up early plowing fields, planting wheat and spreading manure. His friends come and help him with some of the tasks which is a huge help during this busy, busy day! Stanley is quite pleased because his wheat field look very beautiful. He can go to bed a happy, contented hamster.


Stanley the Builder should be a hit with all children who love watching big machinery. Stanley's friend Myrtle has just bought some land and has asked Stanley to help her build a new house. He bulldozes the property and then begins digging out the foundations with his yellow digger. A variety of equipment is used making it a fun (but busy!) day. Time for that bath and bed once more.

Our kids are just delighted with Stanley and therefore so am I. Our attraction to him probably stems from a love of Maisy Mouse and has appeal in the fact that he is a hamster.

I'm particularly delighted to say that I checked in with Peachtree Publishers and they have offered to give away TWO sets of the above FOUR books to two of my readers here at Reading to Know! Would you like to be included in this drawing? Simply leave your name and a valid e-mail address in the comment section below. This contest is open to U.S. Residents only and will be open through Wednesday, November 11th.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNERS, as selected by random.org, ARE #s 15 (Shonya) and 3 (Jessica)! CONGRATS!

Many thanks to Peachtree Publishers who sent the above titles my direction in order to facilitate this review and giveaway. I received no additional compensation and all opinions are 100% my very own.




20 comments:

Kristin said...

Awww....those look so sweet.
Seemommysew AT gmailDOTcom

bekahcubed said...

This cracked me up: "He's in possession of a huge toaster". We had a huge toaster when I was a kid - and a few of us loved playing "diner" when mom put us in charge of lunch (serving grilled cheese sandwiches, fried eggs on toast, and a variety of leftovers :-P)

b3master@menterz.com

Jessica Gipson said...

We would love this---
Taylor Closet
taylorclosetgsu@yahoo.com

traveler said...

What a lovely and adorable giveaway. Perfect for the 2 little ones who would enjoy this greatly. Thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

petite said...

Thanks for this great feature which would be greatly enjoyed by sweethearts. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

Mark Baker said...

I think my nephew would love these!
carstairs38 at gmail dot come

Unknown said...

What beautiful books. I think he's a guinea pig what had great talent! Turtlebabe1 AT Yahoo Dot com

Alison said...

C would love these books! Our library has Stanley the Farmer so we'll be checking them out.

Bluerose said...

These look adorable! We have a pet hamster that my boys love to watch (in his cage...because mommy is still terrified of getting bit and we have cats that would eat him if he got away). :P My Bumblebee would love these, though, so I'll have to keep them in mind for Christmas.

bluerosesheart at yahoo dot com

Smart Helm said...

Cute books! Although we would make Stanley a guinea pig because that is what we have at our house. These are perfect because Squeaker belongs to my little nephew :) msmarthelm at yahoo.com

FancyHorse said...

I bet my grandchildren would love the Stanley books, and I would love reading them to them!

Annette Whipple said...

CUTE! I have a nephew who would adore these! derekannette@gmail dot com

Barbara H. said...

They look bright and cute! I'd love to read them to my grandson.

barbarah06 (at) gmail (dot) com

Amy @ Hope Is the Word said...

My boys would LOVE these!

hopeistheword (at) gmail (dot) com

Shonya said...

How fun! Thanks for sharing! :)
arklein 29 at gmail dot com

Heather VanTimmeren said...

These are really cute! I have lots of friends having babies, so I'd love to pass them along if I won them. histtheo1 at yahoo dot com

Connie said...

What a treat to be able to share these with my grandson at snuggle time. Thanks for the opportunity!


hrmcla@aol.com

Word Lily said...

I'd love to win! WordLily AT gmail DOT com

Sarah said...

I have seen a few of these in our local library. My nephew would love them!
texasrainbow2006@yahoo.com

apple blossom said...

oh, these look like books I'd love to read to nieces and nephews and add to my classroom library. thanks

ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

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