Stanley’s Secret by John Sullivan

Abstract

Reviewed by: Stanley’s Secret by John Sullivan Sarah Sahn Sullivan, John Stanley’s Secret; illus. by Zach Manbeck. Wiseman/Simon, 2023 [48p] Trade ed. ISBN 9781534487833 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9781534487840 $10.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R 4-8 yrs Stanley is a quiet boy with a not-so-quiet dream: he wants to tap dance on a big stage. He’s too shy to tap dance in front of anyone except his pet mice, but he dances any time he gets some time alone. After school, he helps the janitor and then happily tap dances through the empty halls and classrooms, only for Principal Reynolds to see him and insist he sign up for the talent show. (“Talent should be shared,” she declares.) He’s cheered on by his friend Tom when he musters up the courage to dance for him, and Stanley’s first onstage performance is a happy accident—he goes to the auditorium to practice on the stage and doesn’t realize he’s arrived just in time for auditions until applause breaks out. Manbeck’s bright gouache and colored pencil illustrations are populated with a multicultural cast of children and teachers, but they center on brown-skinned Stanley, rendering his inner life with vibrant whimsy, whether he’s a tiny figure spotlit in front of an enormous blackboard while giving a book report or a tap-dancing dynamo trailing star as he leaps across the stage (and page). Stanley is a kindred spirit for shy, artistic kids everywhere, and his story of overcoming his stage fright to perform in the talent show hits just right, letting him come out of his shell to share his talent and speak up for himself without demanding he give up being a quiet boy who would rather play with his pets than go to a party. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois