Fans pick 81 books like Flat Stanley

By Jeff Brown,

Here are 81 books that Flat Stanley fans have personally recommended if you like Flat Stanley. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory

Teresa Anne Power Author Of Yoga at the Zoo: Little Mouse Adventures

From my list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over....

Why am I passionate about this?

Years ago, as I began teaching kids yoga, I noticed a lack of quality yoga-inspired children’s books. So, I took matters into my own hands and published my first book, The ABCs of Yoga for Kids, filling a void and sparking a series published in five languages. This success led to my Little Mouse Adventures series, blending storytelling with yoga and life skills. I believe in subtly imparting positive messages through playful storytelling, weaving in lessons along the way. My hope is young readers not only enjoy my stories but develop a lasting love for yoga and valuable life skills, just like the impact stories had on my own children. 

Teresa's book list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over...

Teresa Anne Power Why did Teresa love this book?

Curious George meets a classic I Love Lucy episode in this adorable story!

Sugary chaos ensues when Curious George wanders off during a tour of the chocolate factory! When George accidentally sets the candy-making conveyor belt speed to HIGH, he finds himself in a hilarious race to keep pace with the rapid production, leading to deliciously amusing outcomes and a very full tummy!

Funny, silly, and full of heart, your kids will want you to read this book again and again

By H. A. Rey, Margret Rey,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Curious George finds his sweet tooth--and plenty of chocolate--on a visit to a candy store.

When George and the man with the yellow hat go shopping at a chocolate factory store, George becomes curious about how the chocolates are made. Though he starts off following the factory tour, soon he is wanders off to investigate on his own. And when George follows his curiosity there is always fun to be had!


Book cover of The Bike Lesson

Teresa Anne Power Author Of Yoga at the Zoo: Little Mouse Adventures

From my list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over....

Why am I passionate about this?

Years ago, as I began teaching kids yoga, I noticed a lack of quality yoga-inspired children’s books. So, I took matters into my own hands and published my first book, The ABCs of Yoga for Kids, filling a void and sparking a series published in five languages. This success led to my Little Mouse Adventures series, blending storytelling with yoga and life skills. I believe in subtly imparting positive messages through playful storytelling, weaving in lessons along the way. My hope is young readers not only enjoy my stories but develop a lasting love for yoga and valuable life skills, just like the impact stories had on my own children. 

Teresa's book list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over...

Teresa Anne Power Why did Teresa love this book?

Father does not always know best when it comes to the Berenstain Bears!

Little Bear is very excited to ride his new bike in this classic Berenstain Bears story, but first, Papa Bear wants to show him the ropes. Unfortunately for Little Bear (but fortunately for the reader), Papa Bear is more concerned with showing off, resulting in slapstick, disastrous results.

At the end of the story, Papa Bear tries to save face by claiming that he was showing Little Bear what not to do, a situation that will make you smile thinking about the stubborn members of your family!

By Stan Berenstain, Jan Berenstain,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Bike Lesson as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

The Bike Lesson is a perfect story for beginning readers, who will delight in spotting the dangers of the road before Father Bear does. And beginning bicylists will want to find out whether Small Bear will get a chance to read his new bike!

The Berenstain Bears are back with another hair-brained adventure, this time when Father Bear tries to teach Small Bear how to ride a bicycle. It looks like Father Bear might need to take note of the lessons himself!

Beginner Books have been designed to appeal directly to children through the use of humour, rhyme and bright…


Book cover of The Snow Queen: With Original Illustrations

Teresa Anne Power Author Of Yoga at the Zoo: Little Mouse Adventures

From my list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over....

Why am I passionate about this?

Years ago, as I began teaching kids yoga, I noticed a lack of quality yoga-inspired children’s books. So, I took matters into my own hands and published my first book, The ABCs of Yoga for Kids, filling a void and sparking a series published in five languages. This success led to my Little Mouse Adventures series, blending storytelling with yoga and life skills. I believe in subtly imparting positive messages through playful storytelling, weaving in lessons along the way. My hope is young readers not only enjoy my stories but develop a lasting love for yoga and valuable life skills, just like the impact stories had on my own children. 

Teresa's book list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over...

Teresa Anne Power Why did Teresa love this book?

This book is like stepping into a time machine with your little ones and emerging into a time long ago.

One of the things I love about this story is the timeless quality and rich layers of storytelling. Kids love it because of the characters, magical settings, and adventures, while adults will relate to the universal themes and find something new to relate to with every reading.

In a fast-paced world, sometimes it’s nice to escape into the classics. 

By Hans Christian Andersen, Vilhelm Pedersen (illustrator), H.B. Paull (translator)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Snow Queen as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"The Snow Queen" is one of Hans Christian Andersen’s longest and most popular tales. It’s about Gerda and her friend Kai growing up through many adventures. Exploring the struggle between good and evil, it’s a story of a magic mirror, trolls, sorceresses, and power.


Book cover of Little Bear

Teresa Anne Power Author Of Yoga at the Zoo: Little Mouse Adventures

From my list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over....

Why am I passionate about this?

Years ago, as I began teaching kids yoga, I noticed a lack of quality yoga-inspired children’s books. So, I took matters into my own hands and published my first book, The ABCs of Yoga for Kids, filling a void and sparking a series published in five languages. This success led to my Little Mouse Adventures series, blending storytelling with yoga and life skills. I believe in subtly imparting positive messages through playful storytelling, weaving in lessons along the way. My hope is young readers not only enjoy my stories but develop a lasting love for yoga and valuable life skills, just like the impact stories had on my own children. 

Teresa's book list on books for preschoolers that they'll want you to read over...and over...and over...

Teresa Anne Power Why did Teresa love this book?

Little Bear, Mother Bear, Father Bear, and Duck were such lovable characters that they formed some of the inspiration for the characters in my own book series, many years after reading them both as a child and later to my children!

Little Bear stories are gentle, calm, and cozy, emphasizing friendship and family. Reading these stories will feel like a warm hug, for your kids and for you! 

By Else Holmelund Minarik, Maurice Sendak (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Little Bear as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

From the illustrator of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE.
Little Bear loves to go on adventures and Mother Bear is always there when he needs her. In this book he goes to the moon, plays in the snow and there's even a surprise birthday party. Just what will he get up to next?
Full of warm and lovingly playful stories that are perfect for children learning to sound out words and sentences on their own.


Book cover of Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

Jason Haskins Author Of Of Snow Forts and Santa

From my list on middle grade YA books on the struggles of change.

Why am I passionate about this?

To this day, I love stories and books that bring a sense of nostalgia to my heart. As I read now, many of these bring me back to my youth and those early days when I really started to love reading. For the most part, books on this list are seen through the eyes of a middle-grade protagonist—stories of overcoming obstacles and finding family in unexpected places. And characters who overcome mistakes, ultimately lending a hand. I love kindness and empathy in these books, whether spread throughout the story or reaching those qualities by the end, more than anything.

Jason's book list on middle grade YA books on the struggles of change

Jason Haskins Why did Jason love this book?

I love this book because of its emphasis on the growing pains (and love) of family. I enjoy the aspect of this story providing laughs, tears, and anger, and being able to identify with the situations throughout. I love the characters finding their way in navigating on a micro level (family) and a macro one (the world). I love the bonds between siblings, where kindness shines through despite misgivings they may have.

By Judy Blume,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Millions of fans young and old have been entertained by the quick wit of Peter Hatcher, the hilarious antics of mischevious Fudge, and the unbreakable confidence of know-it-all Sheila Tubman in Judy Blume's five Fudge books. And now, Puffin Books honors forty years of the book that started it all, Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, with a special edition--featuring a new introduction from Judy--to celebrate this perennial favorite.


Book cover of The Sisters Brothers

James D. Best Author Of The Shopkeeper

From my list on westerns where friendships drive the story.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I wrote The Shopkeeper, I wanted to write a different type of western. I love buddy stories. I also love fish-out-of-water stories. The Steve Dancy Tales combines both. More accurately, the first couple of novels maintain the fish-of-of-water storyline, but eventually, our shopkeeper gets the hang of the Wild West. Steve and his two friends, however, remain united throughout all seven books. They fight common foes, move through the western states, marry, have children, grow older, but remain fast friends. In fact, I consider Steve Dancy, Joseph McAllen, and Jeff Sharp friends of mine. I have sure spent a lot of time with them.  

James' book list on westerns where friendships drive the story

James D. Best Why did James love this book?

In The Sisters Brothers, Patrick deWitt pulls off the difficult task of making hired killers captivating. The sibling antiheroes go on a journey across the western landscape while contemplating their inner selves. In many ways weird, The Sisters Brothers ties a sometimes sad story together in a neat package. The book is a fascinating take on the traditional western.  

By Patrick DeWitt,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Sisters Brothers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for the Booker Prize

Hermann Kermit Warm is going to die. Across 1000 miles of Oregon desert his assassins, the notorious Eli and Charlies Sisters, ride - fighting, shooting, and drinking their way to Sacramento. But their prey isn't an easy mark, the road is long and bloody, and somewhere along the path Eli begins to question what he does for a living - and whom he does it for.

The Sisters Brothers pays homage to the classic Western, transforming it into an unforgettable ribald tour de force. Filled with a remarkable cast of losers, cheaters, and ne'er-do-wells from…


Book cover of Anansi Boys

Prashanth Srivatsa Author Of The Spice Gate: A Fantasy

From my list on fantasy novels with quests and crafty gods.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am instantly drawn to stories with voyages, spices, and trade. But as much as these, I love meddlesome and crafty gods. I’m not a religious person, but I love to understand how people behave around religion, how it influences their choices, and how our world’s history can be chronologized as a series of fanatical events and conquests. Fantasy gives me the option to explore characters and worlds where gods are not only inherently intrusive but also cast a long shadow on people’s nature, giving birth to folklore, myths, and, of course, great stories to tell. They drive destinies, but more importantly, they drive the resistance against being puppeteered.

Prashanth's book list on fantasy novels with quests and crafty gods

Prashanth Srivatsa Why did Prashanth love this book?

A trickster god dies, leaving his two sons to squabble with each other and, in that process, identify. At once immersive, magical, and memorable, Gaiman took me through the problems and conflicts of his characters with a potpourri of gravitas, humour, and smartness that only he can conjure with such ease.

Despite the lack of profundity that he's known for amid the scribbled sorcery, I got a lukewarm feel at the end, an all's well that ends well moment that’s an underappreciated and recently overlooked ethic of good-ol’ fantasy.

By Neil Gaiman,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Anansi Boys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From bestselling storytelling legend Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Anansi Boys is a kaleidoscopic journey deep into myth that will thrill Game of Thrones devotees and Terry Pratchett fans alike. 'Exhilarating and terrifying' Independent.

Fat Charlie Nancy is not actually fat. He was fat once but he is definitely not fat now. No, right now Fat Charlie Nancy is angry, confused and more than a little scared - right now his life is spinning out of control, and it is all his dad's fault.

If his rotter of an estranged…


Book cover of Black Mouth

Tyler Jones Author Of Heavy Oceans

From my list on plots Mulder and Scully should have investigated.

Why am I passionate about this?

As horror writer, I’m often asked what scares me most, and almost every fear I have is, at its core, about the Unknown. Not just what we don’t know but the things we cannot know. In all my books, I’ve tried to lean into that personal fear as much as possible, and with Heavy Oceans, I was inspired by the cases Mulder and Scully investigated back when the idea of a government lying to and spying on its own citizens seemed almost quaint by comparison to the moments we’re living. And, as the show’s title credit often said, in glowing words that blazed over a darkened sky…"The Truth is Out There."

Tyler's book list on plots Mulder and Scully should have investigated

Tyler Jones Why did Tyler love this book?

This book damn near ticked every single box I have when it comes to what I love in a novel. 

A complex and conflicted addict as the main character? Check. Regrets? Check. Deep childhood friendships? Check. An evil magician and a creepy carnival? Check and check.

Black Mouth is dark and intense, and even though it plunges straight into the supernatural, it’s very much grounded in the real world. A world full of pain, heartache, loss, and broken people. 

It also features a character with a disability, and he’s drawn with such love and tenderness that I can’t help but think more novels would benefit from disability representation. The character of Dennis is often seen most clearly in the way others interact with him, revealing much about the kindness or cruelty of the other characters. 

A special book that I didn’t so much read as live inside. 

By Ronald Malfi,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Black Mouth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A group of friends return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they first stumbled on as teenagers in this mesmerising odyssey of terror.

An atmospheric, haunting page-turner from the bestselling author of Come with Me

For nearly two decades, Jamie Warren has been running from darkness. He's haunted by a traumatic childhood and the guilt at having disappeared from his disabled brother's life. But then a series of unusual events reunites him with his estranged brother and their childhood friends, and none of them can deny the sense of fate that has seemingly drawn them back together.

Nor can…


Book cover of Bone Gap

Jo Schaffer Layton Author Of Badlands

From my list on characters who go through hell, survive, and also find love.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love books that entertain and uplift when characters learn and overcome. As a teenager, things happened that threw me into a painful tailspin, ending in a wilderness program for troubled kids. It taught me that I can do hard things and face challenges in life. I’ve lost loved ones, have a special needs child, divorced, been broke, earned my black belt, returned to school as a single mom for a degree, and co-founded a nonprofit to support literacy for kids. None of that was easy, but it increased my compassion and hope. Stories can be powerful reminders of human resilience, and that battle scars make someone more beautiful than before.

Jo's book list on characters who go through hell, survive, and also find love

Jo Schaffer Layton Why did Jo love this book?

I got this book in a subscription book box and was immediately intrigued by the premise. The town of Bone Gap is full of “gaps,” openings to other realities that someone can slip into and disappear. This story is not your usual read. The writer creatively mixes mystery, magic, love, loss, regret, forgiveness, and overcoming. 

The story follows Finn, a teenage boy, who tries to discover why his brother’s girlfriend disappeared, and the girlfriend, who is made a prisoner because she’s beautiful. 

The book made me think about a lot of things: that there is a difference between looking at and seeing someone else; that past trauma may not show on your face, but it’s part of you; that things seem more beautiful when you leave them behind; and that everyone has their reasons to see things differently. This book is character-focused, weird, entertaining, and very cathartic. 

By Laura Ruby,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bone Gap as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

He'd been drawn here by the grass and the bees and the strange sensation that this was a magical place, that the bones of the world were a little looser here, double-jointed, twisting back on themselves, leaving spaces one could slip into and hide . . .

Everyone knows Bone Gap is full of gaps - gaps to trip you up, gaps to slide through so you can disappear forever. So when young, beautiful Roza goes missing, the people of Bone Gap aren't surprised. After all, it isn't the first time someone's slipped away and left Finn and Sean O'Sullivan…


Book cover of The Little Friend

Robert Gwaltney Author Of The Cicada Tree

From my list on the gothic American South.

Why am I passionate about this?

Raised alongside three feral younger brothers in the rash-inducing, subtropical climate of Cairo, Georgia, I am a lifelong resident of the South. A circumstance, no doubt, leaving an indelible mark on my voice as a writer. At this point in my writing career, I write what I know. As a reader, I enjoy exploring the rich stories woven by Southern authors, capturing other places, people, and experiences beyond my own frame of reference. Ultimately, as a Southerner, I endeavor to reconcile the South’s troubled past of racial and social oppression with the romanticized notion others have of this place I call home.

Robert's book list on the gothic American South

Robert Gwaltney Why did Robert love this book?

This 2002 novel follows young Harriet Cleve Dufresnes in 1970s Mississippi during the aftermath of the death of her nine-year-old brother, who was killed by hanging in the shadow of unexplained circumstances. I am particularly enamored by the novel’s focus on the customs and dynamics of Harriet’s extended Southern family.

Tartt best describes in her own words why I love this novel: It is “a frightening, scary book about children coming into contact with the world of adults frighteningly.”  

By Donna Tartt,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Little Friend as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Goldfinch comes an utterly riveting novel set in Mississippi of childhood, innocence, and evil. •  “Destined to become a special kind of classic.” —The New York Times Book Review

The setting is Alexandria, Mississippi, where one Mother’s Day a little boy named Robin Cleve Dufresnes was found hanging from a tree in his parents’ yard. Twelve years later Robin’s murder is still unsolved and his family remains devastated. So it is that Robin’s sister Harriet—unnervingly bright, insufferably determined, and unduly influenced by the fiction of Kipling and Robert Louis Stevenson--sets…


Book cover of Curious George Goes to a Chocolate Factory
Book cover of The Bike Lesson
Book cover of The Snow Queen: With Original Illustrations

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