Stanley the Farmer

by William Bee

Overview

It's another busy day for Stanley and friends on the farm!

From plowing the field, to planting and watering the seeds, to harvesting the wheat—all on his trusty red tractor, big green combine, blue baler, and trailer—Stanley the hamster has a lot to do on his farm. Luckily, his friends Shamus and Little Woo lend a helping hand.

Accessible text and brightly colored illustrations helpfully convey growing and harvesting for toddlers who love equipment, tools, and vehicles. After a hard day at work, Stanley winds down his day with a familiar supper and bath routine that makes this series a great pick for bedtime reading!

William Bee's beloved Stanley series is a trusted model for basic preschool concepts like colors and shapes, kindness and teamwork, jobs and daily routines. Toddlers will love hanging out with this adorable cast of friendly neighborhood critters in any of the available series titles. Help your little one collect them all!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561458592
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	02/13/2024
Series:	Stanley Picture Books
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	540,184
Product dimensions:	8.02(w) x 8.01(h) x 0.15(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

William Bee is an artist and commercial designer who has worked for renowned fashion houses, including Issay Miyake and Paul Smith. As well as writing children's picture books and board books, he races a vintage sports car, is an international skier, and when at home tends his lawns and meadow. He lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

"Steady and bright, this will appeal to toddlers looking for comfort." —Kirkus Reviews

"This first taste of farming will be loved by parents and children alike and is a great addition to any early years collection." —School Library Journal

"Young children will enjoy the simple story as well as the bold, black lines and flat colors of the digital illustrations." —Booklist

From the Publisher

02/01/2015
PreS-K—Growing wheat is not easy work. In fact, it is so difficult that Stanley the hamster needs the help of his mole friends, Shamus and Little Woo. Together they pull the plow, spread manure, drive the tractor, pour seeds into a hopper, water twice a day, scare away birds, and drive a combine. The result is a productive day, some beautiful wheat, and an exhausted Stanley. Teamwork has paid off again. Bee's latest Stanley book introduces some rudimentary farming concepts and vocabulary. The simple story is brightly illustrated with bold, digitally rendered images. Emphasized with thick black lines, the characters are easy to follow through the narration and the pictures. VERDICT This first taste of farming will be loved by parents and children alike and is a great addition to any early years collection.—Megan Egbert, Meridian Library District, ID

School Library Journal

2014-12-06
A cartoonlike hamster named Stanley and two other small mammals demonstrate the steps used to plant, maintain and harvest wheat at a typical commercial farm.Clear, bright graphics depict a red tractor emerging from a barn, along with the words "Where is Stanley? He is going to be very busy today on his farm." Observant readers who have noticed Stanley's pink nose on the cover and title page will also be able to spot said nose poking out of the barn door. So far, so good. The next page shows Stanley on the tractor, atop a simple, effective depiction of soil. The ensuing text teaches agricultural vocabulary and techniques to the toddler set, though without a whole lot of flair. "Stanley pulls the green plow with his red tractor." Later: "He uses his big green combine. The grain goes into the sacks, and the straw comes out of the back." Friends Shamus—a mole, perhaps?—and Little Woo, a smaller version of Shamus, help with such activities as spreading manure ("smelly work!"), watering and baling. Patterns of sticklike wheat turning from green to yellow are attractive inclusions. The book ends with the same confusing implication as the beginning: that everything inside the pages represents one day, instead of one growing season, in Stanley's life. A reference to twice-daily watering is not enough to counteract this. Steady and bright, this will appeal to toddlers looking for comfort, not thrills. (Picture book. 2-4)

Kirkus Reviews