It's Only Stanley
By Jan Carr,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Dog turns house into moon rocket in fun, wacky story.
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What's the Story?
The Wimbledon family is settling into sleep when they hear a spooky sound. After Dad checks on the dog, he reports, "It's only Stanley. He's howling at the moon." But as the night wears on, the family's sleep is disturbed by a succession of more loud noises. Each time, it's only Stanley, who's diligently concentrating on a series of odd, un-doglike tasks: clanking on the furnace, cooking a bubbling concoction on the stove, reconfiguring the TV antennae. One by one, the members of the Wimbledon family end up huddled in bed together while Stanley turns their house into ... a rocket ship! They all land on the moon, where Stanley connects with a cute moon poodle, the object of his affectionate howling.
Is It Any Good?
IT'S ONLY STANLEY is a laugh-out-loud, highly imaginative, and tightly written story, told in rhyme with repeated refrains and lots of satisfying action sounds ("KAPOW!"). The illustrations of the cozily domestic but baffled family huddled against the disturbing night noises contrast humorously with the dark, elaborately detailed pictures of Stanley conducting his mysterious experiment. Is the dog diligent, demonic, or demented?
Although author-illustrator Jon Agee takes the story to the humorously absurd, everyone who's lived with the odd behavior of a pet can relate. Re-readings will increase the giddy pleasure, as kids find clues in the art and text (Look! There's a fuzzy image of the poodle in the TV screen!) and call out the funny ending.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about pets. Does your family have a pet? Does it sometimes have odd behaviors or do things you don't understand?
Families also can talk about spooky sounds at night. What do you imagine the sounds to be? What are they really?
When did you know what Stanley was up to? How did the author/illustrator give us clues? In the art? In the text?
Book Details
- Author: Jon Agee
- Illustrator: Jon Agee
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Adventures, Cats, Dogs, and Mice, Great Boy Role Models, Space and Aliens
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Dial Books
- Publication date: March 17, 2015
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 5 - 8
- Number of pages: 32
- Available on: Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: March 7, 2019
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