Invisible Stanley

Stanley may have thought his adventures were over after his flatness, magical genie escapade, and time in space were all concluded, but not so. He has many more unusual experiences in store. In this story, he manages to make himself invisible. This occurs because of the odd combination of a lightning storm, eating raisins, and being hit in just the right two places, all at the same moment. By this time, the Lambchops are a bit experienced when it comes to their son's unusual life changing occurrences, so they don't waste time in fretting, but hustle him off to the doctor. Conveniently, he has heard of this problem before, as being the concurrence of an unusual set of circumstances such as Stanley accidentally engaged in the night of the show more storm. Inconveniently, there is no proven cure. Stanley has an indomitable spirit, though, and quickly focuses on the perks of being invisible. He helps a boy fly his kite, takes matters into his own hands when a young gentleman is too shy to propose to his girlfriend, and helps catch some criminals again, this time by easily hiding in their get-away van. Stanley even helps his brother, Arthur, address his customary jealousy by drawing some fame and attention his way. By the end, though, Stanley is eager to get back to normal. The Lambchops decide to recreate the conditions that made Stanley invisible in the first place, even though there is no guarantee it will work. But, of course, it does work, and Stanley can go back to his normal form ... until the next adventure.

This Stanley book is much like the original one - a fast read, that is interesting and engaging to my children, full of silly adventures that are connected to Stanley's condition, and a happy ending. I still find the stories to strain credibility and be too goofy for my liking, but my girls enjoy them. More disappointing, for me, is that the characters don't change. They have the same traits, the same flaws, and exhibit the exact same emotions as in previous stories. Arthur is still jealous, Stanley is still pleased with his new status before getting tired of it, he engages in very similar types of activities thanks to his new abilities, and so on. Each book resets like a Scooby Doo episode, for the characters to repeat the same formula again and again. Overall, while these are decent beginning reader stories that do entertain, there are better ones available for the same age group. show less

Stanley uses his powers for good - helping his little brother get a taste of fame and stopping a robbery. But he is relieved to be back to normal by the end of the book, thanks to the help of his whole family.

GENRE: This is a great example of an early chapter book and falls under the modern fantasy genre as well. Stanley is a regular child, until he transforms into an invisible boy, after a bizarre stormy night. The author creates a fantastic plot in a very modern and believable setting. Everyday issues for siblings, like Stanley and Arthur, are part of the story as well. Some of those issues reflected in the book are jealousy, rivalry, and loving unconditionally.

CHARACTER: Stanley is a great example of a dynamic character, because he changes from the beginning of the story to the end. He changes physically and emotionally as well. At first Stanley is excited to be invisible, because he is able to all sorts of things he was not able to do show more when he was visible. By the end, Stanley realizes that being "normal" is okay and he no longer finds it fun to be invisible, because friends forget about him.

ART/MEDIA: pencil sketches show less

This modern fantasy children's chapter book tells us about the crazy life of the Lambchops. One night, Stanley is awoken by the storm that is outside but he also realizes that he is very hungry. So he finds some fruit and eats it while looking out the window at the storm. The next morning Stanley's family is looking all over for him and he looks down at himself and he realizes the unthinkable: He is INVISIBLE. This story goes through all of the adventures that Stanley and his family face while Stanley is invisible. Stanley proposes to someone, catches burglars, does a magic trick, and so much more! However, being invisible isn't always fun, sometimes it is nice to be seen. So Stanley's brother Arthur decides to recreate the storm that show more Stanley saw that one night. Stanley eats the same fruit during this fake storm and it works! Stanley is visible once again! show less

One morning, after a terrible storm, Stanley Lambchop is nowhere to be found. His family can hear him, and there is a lump under his covers, but no one can find him! Just where is that boy?

Then they discover the truth — Stanley is invisible! At first, Stanley is very busy. There's so much for an invisible boy to do. But will he stay that way forever?

This book is about a boy who wakes up one morning and notices that he is as neat as a sweet hart, Stanley did not like the way he looked so he decided he did not want to look like that so he went to the store and bought a whole pack of invisible ink. And he used that to draw on himself so he would look not so neat. Stanley thought he would just look sloppyer but instead he looked invisible and he went down for breakfast and he started talking to tell his parents that he was invisible but his parents did not listen and they ran out because they thought he was a ghost.

My daughter read this book to me for her book report. I enjoyed this book.