MelissaHI

Recently, my friend's niece in Nebraska mailed a "Flat Stanley" to him (here in Hawaii) for a class project. Apparently Flat Stanley is a children's book, and the current rage in classrooms is to mail him to another destination. The recipient must then write a story about Flat Stanley's adventures in their city and mail him back. It's a great way to help people connect to each other and learn about new places.

My friend took Stanley all over Oahu and took pictures of him in different spots--with a couple of surfer girls on the north shore, up at Diamond Head, with a tourist in front of Iolani Palace, etc. Needless to say, his niece was thrilled when she got her Flat Stanley back with an entire vacation laid out.

Have any of you seen Flat Stanley? If so, what kind of adventure did he experience with you in your city? Just wondering if there's anything unique Stanley did that a Fodorite could try.

Meesthare

There was a Canadian equivalent called Flat Mark. About a year ago, the Prime Minister posed for a newspaper photo with him; a classroom had sent him off to Ottawa. The Prime Minister said that Flat Mark got more work done during his week in the nation's capital than many Members of Parliament.

luugis

I just returned from a conference in Atlantic City, and there was a group of women with a paper Flat Stanley, but I didn't know it was for a young child. They were taking photos and saying, 'see grandma loose money at the slot machine', 'see grandma get drunk at dinner in Trump TajMahal' , 'see grandma at the boring seminar'....very funny....

cd

Two years ago our grandson sent us Flat Stanley from school and explained the story. We lived in Indaina at the time, he lived in Ohio. I was an instructor at our Beauty School. I took Flat Stanley and a camera to school and took pictures of him with the students getting a perm,getting a shampoo, sitting in class, etc. The story I wrote was that he was looking for a bag of lollipops. He had his picture taken with all the manikins, in the computer keyboard, everywhere looking for lollipops. It was a lot of fun! My students loved it and my grandson loved getting it back.

hibiscushouse

My son's Flat Stanley is currently at his Uncle's condo in Delray Beach, Florida, visiting various East coast locale's on a Harley. 8-)

Patrick

A friend traveling to Europe with us took her niece's Flat Stanley. We posed on the Eiffel Tower, all over Amsterdam (we covered his eyes in the Red Light District), he rode a boat in the lake in Hyde Park in London. We laughed a lot about the things he did.
Maybe my favorite was the picture of him face down in a fresh cow pie in a field in Holland. He tripped over a wooden shoe and landed there.

Sunnyboy

My nephew's son (my great-nephew?) sent Flat Stanley to visit us in Texas. We took him to the Fort Worth Stock Yards where he had his picture taken with some real cowboys, while riding a longhorn steer and having a drink in a saloon. We had so much fun with him that we asked him to accompany us on a trip to Costa Rica the following week. Flat Stanley had his picture taken at the airline check-in counter (lucky he had his passport with him), having cocktails with the Flight Attendant (he was upgraded to first class), trecking through the rain forests, at the top of a volcano, sitting atop of a bag of coffee beans while visiting a coffee plantation, riding in in a dug out canoe through the Darien Jungle and while passing through the locks at the Panama Canal before he was sealed up in his envelope and went back home.

hibiscushouse

How cute and how fun! My husband said he saw that Clint Eastwood had Flat Stanley on stage with him at the recent Oscar's.

LoveItaly

Clint Eastwood did indeed have Flat Stanley with him as he walked up the red carpet at the Oscar's.

I think this is a great project.

But, how do you buy a Flat Stanley? That is the part I do not understand!

MelissaHI

hey, waitaminnit sunnyboy.....is Flat Stanley old enough to drink?


LoveItaly, I know you can buy the book on Amazon, but I'm unclear about the actual traveling Stanley...I get the impression schoolkids make them? Am I wrong?

babs001

Every Flat Stanley that I have seen has come from a kindergarden/elementary school student. I believe the teacher hands them out, students then color and cut them out, and send them on their adventures. This also helps them with reading, writing, and geography.

Fodorite018

This sure brings back memories! When my children were in preschool, their classes did the Flat Stanley's and the kids had a ball with it. Each child had Flat Stanley for a week and were encouraged to travel with him as much as possible. The kids really enjoyed hearing all the unique places he went.

Orcas

One of my classmates walked into my exercise class on Mercer Island this week and started taking photos of a cute little flat guy propped up next to the free weights and in the bucket of balls. I asked her who her friend was and she told us he was Flat Stanley. Her niece, who lives in Ohio, I think, had sent him to Seattle for a week's visit.

beentheretwice

Flat Stanley is created by the child and sent on his merry way. Sometimes they even have to make and pack a suitcase for him. Fun to see a kindergartener create a Master Card.

Flat Stanely is cool. He gets to go everywhere.

Sunnyboy

In response to MelisaHI - I didn't mean to mislead anybody but obviously Flat Stanley was drinking Shirley Temples, his great-uncle, however, took up the slack.

joesorce

My son sent a Flat Stanley to his favorite Nascar driver a couple of years ago. Flat Stanley was returned with tire marks on him and a note that said "Flat Stanley enjoyed the Daytona 500 but was run over near the pit. Fortunately, since he was already flat, he sustained no injuries".

PamSF

Flat Stanley came to our house from our nephew in Redmond,WA. While he was here we sent postcards back to WA from Alcatraz,Lombard Street, Chinatown and the Golden Gate Bridge. He also went to Berkeley and sent postcards of people in tie-dyed shirts and a real peace button.

Flat Stanley even made his way up to the Napa Valley. He sent a postcard of flowers in the valley rather than of his "relations" sipping good red wine

jerseygirl1

Yes, Flat Stanley can be made by the child (or anyone young-at heart!)or you can download a copy from the website FlatStanley.com.

There are great photos of different people with their Flat Stanley's on amazing adventures on this site.

Did this project with my class also. Fun!

Clint did have one at the Oscars...there is a photo on the site.

dwooddon

My surrogate grandson from northern Utah sent me his Flat Stanley a year or so ago and I took him for a day at Newport Beach and Balboa Island. The little devil even had his picture taken with one of the fabled bikini-clad California Girls

LoveItaly

Thanks all for the info. What a fun project!