Stanley's+Party

Book Review by Jessica Dreher

Stanley’s Party Written by Linda Bailey Illustrated by Bill Slavin Publisher: Kids Can Press Ltd. Price: $16.95 ISBN: 1-55337-382-0

S**ummary:** In this book, the main character is a dog, named Stanley. Stanley is never allowed to sit on the couch so one night, when Stanley’s people go out, he decides to sit on the couch since he knows they never come back until midnight. Stanley’s finds out he loves sitting on the couch! The next night Stanley decided to listen to some music while he is sitting on the couch and the night after that he decides to eat some food on the couch. After a couple of weeks Stanley still thinks something is missing so he decides to invite a few friends from the dog park over that night. Stanley’s dog friends told their dog friends and that night there were hundreds of dogs having a party at Stanley’s house. That one night was the only night that Stanley’s people came home early. They got very angry with Stanley and made him help them clean up the house for 2 days. From now on whenever Stanley’s people went out, they took Stanley with them and Stanley didn’t mind at all since he was never alone again! Stanley was proud though that his dog party became famous among dogs all over the world.


 * Review:** I think that this was a very good book. The pictures in this book are very fun and interesting to look at. It tells the story of a dog, which is something many children can connect with. I like how the author connected what Stanley wanted to do based off what he saw his people doing, I think it was a good connection. I like how the story ended with Stanley’s people taking him with them whenever they went out from now on because it was a happy ending, but I also like how the author mentioned that Stanley’s dog party became famous all over the world. I think this was a funny way to end the book. The last line of the book was telling the reader to go home and ask their dog if they know about Stanley’s party. I think was a really cool idea because many kids will probably actually do that and then hours later they will still be thinking of the book.


 * Analysis of Literary Elements:** The message in //Stanley’s Party// is a very good one. This book is teaching children “Don’t do something you’re not supposed to do because eventually you will get caught,” but it gives this message in a fun way. For weeks and weeks Stanley thinks he is getting away with sitting on the couch but eventually he gets caught, which is a good thing for children to learn. We also get the aspect of the story of friendship where Stanley doesn’t want to have all of this fun on the couch alone. We see Stanley invites his friends over to be with him and in the end he’s happiest of all because his people always let Stanley tag along now whenever they go out, “After that, whenever Stanley’s people went out, they took Stanley with them. Stanley didn’t mind. HE WENT OUT A LOT!” I think this was a great way to end the book because although Stanley got caught doing what he wasn’t supposed to, it shows that there is forgiveness and Stanley will never be lonely again.


 * Author Biography:** Linda Bailey isn’t only popular for her award-winning book “Stanley’s Party” but also for many other books including //If Kids Ruled the World// and //If You Happen To Have a Dinosaur//. Bailey grew up in Winnipeg and currently lives in Vancouver. She earned a B.A. and an M.Ed. at the University of British Columbia. She used to be a college professor, editor, and travel agent before becoming a writer.