STANLEY'S LUNCH BOX is a cute board book that combines a favorite character with a shopping trip to the market. Stanley heads to the market to buy the things he needs to make his lunch. He gets bread from Gabriel, cheese from Hattie, and other ingredients from others. He then makes a lunch for two to share with his brother, Herbert.

What I loved: This was a fun journey of shopping with the ultimate goal of making a meal to share, which contains a lot of characters children will recognize from other Stanley books. Having such continuity with characters is great for toddlers who are beginning to connect them and enjoy seeing familiar faces. The book also includes some manners words occasionally, like please and thank you.

Illustrations are full of bright colors that will appeal to young readers. The font is also clear and easy to read, appearing at the bottom of each page in a color bar, and the size of the book is great for little hands to hold and turn the board book pages.

What left me wanting more: As a small thing, although the book shows Stanley eating with Little Woo on the cover, Little Woo is not actually mentioned in the book, though he is drinking lemonade in an illustration. I had expected this book to follow the pattern of others in the series, with Stanley bringing a box to share with the young characters, such as Little Woo, Sophie, etc. This one actually brings in the older Stanley characters as they sell things at the market and then only brings up the lunch box at the very end.

Final verdict: STANLEY'S LUNCH BOX is a cute installment featuring familiar characters, bright colors, and new scenarios. Would recommend for fans of the series who want a new story.