Flat Stanley is a popular children’s book character created by author Jeff Brown in 1964. The character is a young boy named Stanley Lambchop who is flattened by a bulletin board that falls on him while he sleeps. Although Stanley is now only half an inch thick, he is otherwise unharmed and discovers that he can use his new flatness to his advantage, such as being able to slide under doors and fit into envelopes.
The Flat Stanley character has become well-known for its use in an educational project called the “Flat Stanley Project.” In this project, children create their own paper cutouts of Flat Stanley and mail them to friends or family members in other locations. The recipients then take Flat Stanley on adventures and document his travels with photos and stories, which they then send back to the original sender. The project is designed to promote literacy and geography skills in children.