Stanley’s Secret, a charming read-aloud that talks to kids

A ball is just a ball unless it’s an oval, and then sometimes it could be more oblong in nature. However, kids in elementary school will still play with a ball. The lesson that’s illustrated in Stanley’s Secret is similar to the ‘ball’ that kids will play with. Most kids have a thing, a thing that they do well or love to do, but they might keep it a secret from others. Stanley’s Secret isn’t a bad secret, it’s just a thing that he’s traditionally done by himself at home, in front of his two pet mice.

During the school day, Stanley is a relatively shy kid who keeps to himself. He’s more insular, loves to read, and sits on the bench, tapping his feet while the other kids are playing during recess. However, once he gets home he practices his dream of tap dancing in front of an audience, in this case, it’s Squeaker and Nibbles, his pet mice. The only other time he taps is when he helps the janitor after school. He taps around with a broom until someone passes the room, and he abruptly stops his performance.

One day he’s summoned to the principal’s office. He thinks he’s in trouble, but instead, she asks him to register for the upcoming talent show. She had seen him tap dancing after school and encouraged, nay, required him to audition for it. Stanley is initially scared, but after confiding in a friend on the playground he just might have enough courage to share his talent with the world.

Stanley’s Secret is one of those illustrated books that is designed to be read, shared, and talked about. Kids want to talk about themselves. Ask an early elementary-aged kid to share something about something that they’re good at and you’ll receive a limitless amount of answers, with about half of them being true. It gets a little more challenging if you ask them to share a talent that others might not know about them.

Stanley realizes that talent, his talent should be shared and not kept bottled up. He goes on tap dance for more people and even does it when people ask him to. He doesn’t take on any new hobbies or anything that’s out of character, but he speaks up in class a little more. It’s the big changes of subtle confidence boosts that any elementary-aged kid can use. Stanley’s Secret is the stuff of read-aloud fun for those early elementary kids. The illustrations are big, soft, and punctuated with just the right of details so that kids will be able to see the burgeoning confidence in a kid who is just like them.

Stanley’s Secret is by John Sullivan with illustrations by Zach Manbeck and is A Paula Wiseman Book, an imprint of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers.

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