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Planet Stan
"Sometimes the only way to make any sense of my life is to put it all into charts and diagrams . . . "
Stan loves a calming, ordered environment. His dinosaur-loving younger brother Fred is the opposite: chaotic, messy, prone to leaving snails under Stan's bed and ladybirds in his lunchbox. Surely they must have something in common?
As Stanley struggles to cope with his high maintenance brother and his hair-brained schemes he charts all the ups and downs of his life in a series of hilarious infographics in this highly-illustrated and visually-appealing book.
Stan loves a calming, ordered environment. His dinosaur-loving younger brother Fred is the opposite: chaotic, messy, prone to leaving snails under Stan's bed and ladybirds in his lunchbox. Surely they must have something in common?
As Stanley struggles to cope with his high maintenance brother and his hair-brained schemes he charts all the ups and downs of his life in a series of hilarious infographics in this highly-illustrated and visually-appealing book.
- GenresMiddle Grade
240 pages, Paperback
Published April 5, 2018
1 person is currently reading
16 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
April 4, 2018
‘A highly entertaining ad-VENN-ture that’s loveably BAR-my with hilarity, humour and hap-PIE-ness in all the right places… surely making it a serious (or should I say, not-so-serious!!!) contender for the Lollies (Laugh Out Loud Book Awards) 2018.’
Welcome to Stan’s universe! As the first line suggests, Stan’s life is anything but usual. With a younger brother, Fred – who Mum describes as an ‘effervescent force’ – leaving snails under Stan’s bed and ladybirds in his lunchbox; squeezing toothpaste in his slippers; licking all the crisps; chucking Stan’s pants out the window and cutting holes in his favourite T-shirt AND that’s not all as the list could go on and on and on… you can see why Stan often finds himself in quite a predicament.
To help make some sort of sense of it, Stan uses a mix of charts, diagrams and infographics to explain everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Ranging from a ‘cross-section of [his] younger bruv’s brain’ to a Venn diagram of the ‘common (or should I say not-so-common) multiples’ between him and his out-of-this-world brother, and even his ‘My General State of Mind’ sliding scale on each page.
For as long as he can remember (and as long as he can remember asking Mum for one!), Stan has wanted a telescope because he loves everything space. Just as Stan is obsessed with space, Fred adores dinosaurs. In his case, one particular dinosaur exhibit at the museum named Rory who is not only part of Camford Museum’s history but is also part of the residents’ own history as he’s long been there since they were growing up. However unfortunately for Fred, he hears news that dearly-loved Rory’s skeleton is going to be removed from the museum sending him in to meltdown…
Whilst Stan tries his best to look after Fred and lift his spirits AND keep his group of equally disorderly friends on task with their entry for the science competition with first prize being THAT telescope, both his and Rory’s passions in life force the two of them to work together. But will Stan complete Operation SWAT (Stanley Wins a Telescope) in time? And does he end up feeling ‘Over the moon’ or in a ‘Black Hole of Doom’?
Sprinkled with fantastical space facts aplenty with Stan providing a social commentary far beyond his years and reminiscent of a young Sheldon Cooper, it’s a maths, science and infographic fan’s dream of a read. As it’s more than just a read. Elaine, with the help of illustrator Chris Judge’s larger-than-life infographics, really shows the power of how applying infographics in a inventive and innovative way can convey and tell a story just as well as and at times even more fitting than words could possibly hope to achieve. Further to this, Planet Stan could be used in school as a different and light-hearted way in to introducing data handling involving bar charts, pie charts and Venn diagrams to children.
This is a highly entertaining ad-VENN-ture that’s loveably BAR-my with hilarity, humour and hap-PIE-ness in all the right places… surely making it a serious (or should I say, not-so-serious!!!) contender for the Lollies (Laugh Out Loud Book Awards) 2018.
It also shows how sibling rivalry can turn in to the best kind of brotherly love; the importance, inspiration and sense of awe and wonder that museums can hold for children and adults; and finding out that we have far more in common with each other, even when it can sometimes first seem like we don’t have much at all. And also one of life’s most (ahem!) important lessons. If all else fails, make sure you have cake. Cake-on-a-stick!
Welcome to Stan’s universe! As the first line suggests, Stan’s life is anything but usual. With a younger brother, Fred – who Mum describes as an ‘effervescent force’ – leaving snails under Stan’s bed and ladybirds in his lunchbox; squeezing toothpaste in his slippers; licking all the crisps; chucking Stan’s pants out the window and cutting holes in his favourite T-shirt AND that’s not all as the list could go on and on and on… you can see why Stan often finds himself in quite a predicament.
To help make some sort of sense of it, Stan uses a mix of charts, diagrams and infographics to explain everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Ranging from a ‘cross-section of [his] younger bruv’s brain’ to a Venn diagram of the ‘common (or should I say not-so-common) multiples’ between him and his out-of-this-world brother, and even his ‘My General State of Mind’ sliding scale on each page.
For as long as he can remember (and as long as he can remember asking Mum for one!), Stan has wanted a telescope because he loves everything space. Just as Stan is obsessed with space, Fred adores dinosaurs. In his case, one particular dinosaur exhibit at the museum named Rory who is not only part of Camford Museum’s history but is also part of the residents’ own history as he’s long been there since they were growing up. However unfortunately for Fred, he hears news that dearly-loved Rory’s skeleton is going to be removed from the museum sending him in to meltdown…
Whilst Stan tries his best to look after Fred and lift his spirits AND keep his group of equally disorderly friends on task with their entry for the science competition with first prize being THAT telescope, both his and Rory’s passions in life force the two of them to work together. But will Stan complete Operation SWAT (Stanley Wins a Telescope) in time? And does he end up feeling ‘Over the moon’ or in a ‘Black Hole of Doom’?
Sprinkled with fantastical space facts aplenty with Stan providing a social commentary far beyond his years and reminiscent of a young Sheldon Cooper, it’s a maths, science and infographic fan’s dream of a read. As it’s more than just a read. Elaine, with the help of illustrator Chris Judge’s larger-than-life infographics, really shows the power of how applying infographics in a inventive and innovative way can convey and tell a story just as well as and at times even more fitting than words could possibly hope to achieve. Further to this, Planet Stan could be used in school as a different and light-hearted way in to introducing data handling involving bar charts, pie charts and Venn diagrams to children.
This is a highly entertaining ad-VENN-ture that’s loveably BAR-my with hilarity, humour and hap-PIE-ness in all the right places… surely making it a serious (or should I say, not-so-serious!!!) contender for the Lollies (Laugh Out Loud Book Awards) 2018.
It also shows how sibling rivalry can turn in to the best kind of brotherly love; the importance, inspiration and sense of awe and wonder that museums can hold for children and adults; and finding out that we have far more in common with each other, even when it can sometimes first seem like we don’t have much at all. And also one of life’s most (ahem!) important lessons. If all else fails, make sure you have cake. Cake-on-a-stick!
May 17, 2018
Planet Stan is essentially about a relationship between 11-year-old Stan and his 5-year-old "bruv" Fred, told from the older sibling's point of view. The opening line (which follows a couple of word clouds containing the words most relevant to Stan's and Fred's worlds) gives you an idea of their relationship - "Mum! Fred's been keeping snails under the bed again..." - as do other lines in the book - "[Fred's] seventy per cent annoying and thirty per cent fart."
And they are very well defined characters. Fred is messy and Stan isn't. Stan loves space and intersperses plenty of facts throughout the text which are cleverly interwoven into the story, e.g. "About one hundred tonnes of space dust falls to Earth everyday". Fred meanwhile loves Rory the dinosaur, a T-Rex skeleton at the local museum. Stan, as the lumbered older sibling, has to look out for Fred and has to know better when things go wrong. Older siblings will certainly relate.
The book also has similar girl characters with Jess and Flossie McGregor who go to the same school who are friends with the boys.
The story follows Stan in his quest to win his school a telescope at the local, multi-school science fair, whist Rory is distraught because the local museum are updating their exhibits and getting rid of sixty-five-million-year-old Rory. The book's climax is the science fair and a last protest to save Rory happening on the same day. And although things don't go to plan the conclusion is a very good and sentimental one.
Alongside the story is Stan's use of charts and analysis of the situations. For example nearly all the pages have a Stan general state of mind indicator which ranges from "Black hole of DOOM" to "Over the moon". No wonder his mates call him "Graph Vader" for banter.
A story that is funny and has an emotional end.
And they are very well defined characters. Fred is messy and Stan isn't. Stan loves space and intersperses plenty of facts throughout the text which are cleverly interwoven into the story, e.g. "About one hundred tonnes of space dust falls to Earth everyday". Fred meanwhile loves Rory the dinosaur, a T-Rex skeleton at the local museum. Stan, as the lumbered older sibling, has to look out for Fred and has to know better when things go wrong. Older siblings will certainly relate.
The book also has similar girl characters with Jess and Flossie McGregor who go to the same school who are friends with the boys.
The story follows Stan in his quest to win his school a telescope at the local, multi-school science fair, whist Rory is distraught because the local museum are updating their exhibits and getting rid of sixty-five-million-year-old Rory. The book's climax is the science fair and a last protest to save Rory happening on the same day. And although things don't go to plan the conclusion is a very good and sentimental one.
Alongside the story is Stan's use of charts and analysis of the situations. For example nearly all the pages have a Stan general state of mind indicator which ranges from "Black hole of DOOM" to "Over the moon". No wonder his mates call him "Graph Vader" for banter.
A story that is funny and has an emotional end.
December 27, 2019
The hilarious and heartfelt adventures of 11-year-old Stan and his 5-year-old brother Fred, told through various pie charts, bar graphs and other diagrams. Fred is devastated when he finds out that the T-Rex skeleton Rory is being removed from the local museum to make way for a new environmental awareness exhibit, and Stan is drafted in to help save Rory while also working on his science project about space, his particular passion. But as always Fred manages to embarrass Stan, get him into trouble and sneeze on his pudding. This is a proper laugh-out-loud story, wonderfully illustrated by Chris Judge, and perfect for fans of Tom Gates and the Wimpy kid.
December 15, 2018
Contrived and the character of the younger brother was annoying. Bad parenting grated. I was disappointed. My 9 year old found it entertaining but he wasn't gripped and he pointed out plot holes. Over all not that great.
April 10, 2019
SO FUNNY. Just SO FUNNY. And the infographics are absolute genius.
July 25, 2020
Really funny and I can definatley relate to it! I'd definatley suggest it to someone who has a younger sibling!
September 21, 2019
A really fun book, which has the added bonus of showing primary-aged children how data can be visualised.
My full review is here: http://vsviewfromthebookshelves.home....
My full review is here: http://vsviewfromthebookshelves.home....
April 4, 2018
This book had me giggling the whole way through! If you have a younger sibling then you’ll definitely be able to relate to Stan and his younger and slightly grose brother Fred (snails n all!)
Stan goes into great detail about his life with his younger brother and the obsession he has over the dinosaur at the local museum, Fred has a great imagination, that sometimes gets Stan into a little bother unless he’s quick on the uptake. Now I have a little sister so my life isn’t as grose as poor Stan’s but I’m half way there! I have the bogies, the wanting to ‘borrow’ my stuff and the tantrums….. thankfully I’ve missed out of the farts!
I did feel sorry for Stan in some parts….. it’s like he’s always expected to look after Fred even though his Mum and Dad know he’s a little monkey but brotherly love really shines through towards the end of the book (I’m not going to spoil it for you) but it’s a heartfelt story from front to back with a giggle on every page the illustrations really add to the story, from the fun chapter pictures to the fun MY GENERAL STATE OF MIND gauge.
A great fun read for all and I’m sure it will fly off our library shelf (we donate outlet review books to our community run library)
Stan goes into great detail about his life with his younger brother and the obsession he has over the dinosaur at the local museum, Fred has a great imagination, that sometimes gets Stan into a little bother unless he’s quick on the uptake. Now I have a little sister so my life isn’t as grose as poor Stan’s but I’m half way there! I have the bogies, the wanting to ‘borrow’ my stuff and the tantrums….. thankfully I’ve missed out of the farts!
I did feel sorry for Stan in some parts….. it’s like he’s always expected to look after Fred even though his Mum and Dad know he’s a little monkey but brotherly love really shines through towards the end of the book (I’m not going to spoil it for you) but it’s a heartfelt story from front to back with a giggle on every page the illustrations really add to the story, from the fun chapter pictures to the fun MY GENERAL STATE OF MIND gauge.
A great fun read for all and I’m sure it will fly off our library shelf (we donate outlet review books to our community run library)
April 5, 2018
My two children absolutely loved this book, my daughter because she is an older sibling and could relate to poor Stan and that chaos his younger brother brings into his life and my son loved the humour and the fabulous charts and diagrams that are packed into this book!
I loved Mum o'clock and wish that I could get some!! Really laugh out loud funny!
I loved Mum o'clock and wish that I could get some!! Really laugh out loud funny!
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews