The US Capital Commotion
Page 3
“Bravo!” yelled the president of the United States.
“Be careful!” cried Stanley’s mother.
High over his friends from all over the world, Stanley waved his body proudly.
“Now me!” called Arthur.
That spring, Arthur and Stanley were playing in their room at home when their mother burst in. “Look!” she cried, waving an enormous envelope.
“What is it?” asked Stanley.
“Open it!” said his mother.
The envelope was made of thick, creamy paper, and Stanley slipped his finger under the flap and slit it open.
He pulled out a grand square of paper and read:
In the corner of the invitation was a note jotted in blue pen. Stanley peeked inside the envelope and spotted something else inside. He pulled out a piece of card that was shaped just like a very small version of himself.
“What’s that?” said Arthur.
“RSVP via Flat Stanley,” Stanley read.
“You’re starting a trend,” Arthur said. He sounded impressed.
Stanley smiled to himself and walked over to his bulletin board. He looked for a free spot among all of the things tacked up there. His eyes passed over a newspaper headline from when he saved Mount Rushmore, pinned next to a postcard from Calamity Jane. There was a snapshot of him and Amisi in front of Egyptian pyramids and a picture of Oda Nobu in a karate class in Japan. Underneath one corner of an Australian boomerang, there was a picture he took at the Beijing Zoo of a ferocious-looking panda bear. There was a newspaper headline from his plunge over Niagara Falls next to a flat fish head skull from Africa. He’d had a lot of adventures, and he hoped to have many more. Near the center of the board, with its red, white, and blue ribbon hanging from a pushpin, was his National Medal of Achievement.
Stanley tacked the wedding invitation right next to the bronze medal. He read again the note jotted in the corner:
Stanley,
Thank you for bringing us together.
About the Author
JEFF BROWN created the beloved character of Flat Stanley as a bedtime story for his sons. He has written other outrageous books about the Lambchop family, including FLAT STANLEY, STANLEY AND THE MAGIC LAMP, INVISIBLE STANLEY, STANLEY’S CHRISTMAS ADVENTURE, STANLEY IN SPACE, and STANLEY, FLAT AGAIN! You can learn more about Jeff Brown and Flat Stanley at www.flatstanleybooks.com.
JOSH GREENHUT once mailed Flat Stanley, in costume, to a Halloween party 300 miles away. He is now married to the woman who was host of the party, and they live in Toronto with their two children.
MACKY PAMINTUAN is an accomplished illustrator. He lives in the Philippines with his wife, Aymone, their baby girl, Alison, and their pet Westie, Winter.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins authors and artists.
What You Need to Know Before Your Own Adventure in the Capital!
Washington, DC, the District of Columbia,
was named after the great discoverer
Christopher Columbus.
The official flag of Washington, DC,
has three red stars and two red stripes on
a white background, which is based on the
shield from George Washington’s
family coat of arms.
Although DC residents pay taxes to the
federal government, they do not have a
voting representative in Congress. That’s
why, if you drive through DC, you may see
license plates that say “No Taxation without
Representation!”
The National Air and Space Museum in
Washington, DC, is the most popular museum
in the world! More than 9 million people visit
every year.
Abraham Lincoln was 6 feet, 4 inches tall,
but the statue of him inside the Lincoln
Memorial stands at nearly 19 feet.
The official motto of DC is Justitia Omnibus,
which is Latin for “justice to all.”
The White House was originally called the
“Executive Mansion” or the “President’s
Palace.” A Baltimore reporter once called
it the “white house” in a newspaper article
and the name caught on. Theodore Roosevelt
made this the official name in 1901.
President Theodore Roosevelt kept animals
in the White House for his family. They had
dogs, cats, snakes, and raccoons, and a
macaw named Eli Yale, and even a pony who
once rode in the elevator!
The National Press Club, located in DC,
is the only building in the US to have
its own ZIP code!
Back Ad
Read the stories that started it all!
Do you know how Stanley Lambchop got to be the Flat One? Have you been following him since the very beginning? If not, here are the stories you’ll want to read!
And we hope you’ll enjoy Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures!
#1 The Mount Rushmore Calamity
#2 The Great Egyptian Grave Robbery
#3 The Japanese Ninja Surprise
#4 The Intrepid Canadian Expedition
#5 The Amazing Mexican Secret
#6 The African Safari Discovery
#7 The Flying Chinese Wonders
#8 The Australian Boomerang Bonanza
#9 The US Capital Commotion
In his worldwide adventures, Flat Stanley:
Stops Mount Rushmore from collapsing!
The whole Lambchop family is off to see Mount Rushmore. But when Flat Stanley and his brother, Arthur, team up with a scrappy cowgirl named Calamity Jasper, their vacation turns into the Wild West experience of a lifetime. Pretty soon, they find themselves in a real tight spot—even for a flat boy like Stanley.
Rescues the priceless Egyptian Giant Scrolls of Papyrus!
When you’re flat like Stanley, traveling is always easy! So when Stanley receives a letter from an archaeologist, he travels by airmail to Egypt to help find an ancient treasure deep in the heart of a great pyramid. But what if even the flattest boy on earth can’t wriggle out of this dark tomb—and the terrible mess he finds himself in?
Battles with deadly ninjas in Japan!
Stanley and his brother, Arthur, are such huge fans of the movie star ninja Oda Nobu that they decide to send him something even better than fan mail—Stanley himself! Soon enough, Flat Stanley is in Japan, seeing the country with his idol. But when trouble surprises them, it will take a real hero to save the day.
Floats above ski trails in Canada—as a human snowboard!
Stanley and his family are in Canada for some skiing and winter fun. But when Stanley and his friend Nick go snowboarding—with Stanley as the snowboard—they take a midair tumble … and find themselves floating in an amazing Canadian cross-country journey that might just be Stanley’s wildest adventure yet!
Helps a famous matador in a Mexican bullfight!
When Stanley’s mother needs the secret ingredient for a special recipe, Stanley mails himself to Mexico to track down its mysterious maker. But when a band of spies threatens to steal the secret, Stanley’s simple trip becomes a race against an opponent that even a flat boy like himself can’t slip past!
Canoes down an African river!
When a flat skull is discovered in Africa, Stanley Lambchop decides to travel there with his brother, Arthur, and their father, George. Maybe studying the skull will give them clues to Stanley’s flatness. But once in Africa, the Lambchops are in for more adventure than they bargained for. From lions to zebras to elephants, it’s the safari of a lifetime!
Cartwheels over the Terracotta Army!
Ouch! Stanley accidentally caused twin acrobats Yin and Yang to take a tumble right before their Chinese New Year show. Yang’s foot is broken—but luckily, Flat Stanley is flexible enough to take his place.
To make up for his mistake, Stanley travels to China to help out—but can he learn all their amazing tricks in time?
And he even explores the Great Barrier Reef!
Stanley and his brother, Arthur, have just won a trip to Australia! They fly down under on a private jet and go diving in the Great Barrier Reef. But when Arthur launches him into the air for a game of boomerang, Stanley is accidentally sent spinning into an amazing adventure deep in the heart of the Australian outback!
Flat Stanley has worldwide adventures—and you should, too!
When you’re flat like Stanley Lambchop, you can pretty much travel anywhere. But that doesn’t mean he’s been everywhere! Whether you’re going on vacation or to the grocery store, take Stanley along with you on your adventure. Snap a photo with him and log onto www.flatstanleybooks.com. Upload your photos to the Family Adventures Gallery! And while you’re there, check out all the games, global facts, and more activities for kids, parents, and classrooms!
Traval to www.flatstanleybooks.com for games, global facts, and activites for kinds, parants, and classrooms!
Credits
Cover art by Macky Pamintuan
Cover design by Alison Klapthor
Copyright
FLAT STANLEY’S WORLDWIDE ADVENTURES: The US Capital Commotion
Text copyright © 2012 by the Trust u/w/o Richard C. Brown a/k/a Jeff Brown f/b/o Duncan Brown.
Illustrations by Macky Pamintuan, copyright © 2012 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Greenhut, Josh.
The US capital commotion / created by Jeff Brown ; written by Josh Greenhut ; pictures by Macky Pamintuan.—1st ed.
p. cm.—(Flat Stanley’s worldwide adventures; #9)
ISBN 978-0-06-157436-8 (trade bdg.)—ISBN 978-0-06-143019-0 (pbk.)
EPub Edition © DECEMBER 2011 ISBN: 9780062099136
[1. Heroes—Fiction. 2. Washington (D.C.)—Fiction.] I. Brown, Jeff, 1926-2003. II. Pamintuan, Macky, ill. III. Title. IV. Title: U.S. capital commotion.
PZ7.G84568Us 2012 2011022927
[Fic]—dc23 CIPAC
AC
12 13 14 15 16 LP/BR 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Edition
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