Stanley, a diligent and ever-helpful hamster, first appeared in British author William Bee’s Stanley the Builder and Stanley’s Garage, hardcover picture books released in the U.S. by Peachtree in September 2014. Not one to slack off, Stanley went on to prove his prowess in a variety of additional occupations, including farmer, mailman, and chef, and he has clearly won over young readers. Peachtree has 100,000 copies in print of its five Stanley picture books, and this month introduces Bee’s good-natured rodent to a younger audience with a pair of concept board books, Stanley’s Colors and Stanley’s Shapes.

Bee had several sources of inspiration for Stanley and his exploits. “I have always liked Dick Bruna’s Miffy books – especially their design and illustration,” he said. “And I have always wanted to create a character for that preschool age group, but I dislike the usual subjects for these stories. The idea of giving Stanley a different job or business in each book came by happy accident, but it means I can write about him being a farmer or running a café, but never have to write about the same subject twice. I also like that Stanley is rather entrepreneurial – a small business hamster. Most writers and illustrators are small business people, but hardly ever say so or feature this in their work. I think this is something to celebrate!”

Multiple factors contributed to Bee’s decision to depict Stanley as a hamster, including the fact that human adults “come with all sorts of ‘baggage,’ ” and human children can’t drive vehicles – which is one of Stanley’s key preoccupations. “For children, a hamster is attractive even if it’s an adult hamster – so Stanley working and driving is perfectly acceptable,” he observed. “It gives me more scope with the stories. And the hamster is also a practical creature for drawing. A hamster is the same size as many other rodents – unlike, say, a guinea pig – which means I can have a varied cast of similarly sized characters.”

As with his picture book series, bringing Stanley to life in board-book format, Bee emphasized, is a cooperative venture. “The books are not just mine,” he said. “Although the initial Stanley series was my idea, it became a team effort once it was underway. The editorial and design team at Penguin Random House U.K. and I all share ideas and discuss them. We chose a concept for each board book, which always seemed to work fine – until the last spread. We wanted to show all the items mentioned in the book on those last pages, but we had to really think about how everything could fit. I discovered that the picture books are, in fact, easier to work out than the board books.”

Stanley Charms American Readers

Kathy Landwehr, Peachtree v-p and associate publisher, took an immediate shining to Stanley when she was received Bee’s first picture book from Penguin Random House U.K. for consideration. “I instantly fell in love with Stanley, and became a hamster stalker to a degree,” she recalled. “I sent YouTube videos of cute hamsters to my contacts at the U.K. publisher, to show them just how much I loved Stanley – it was the beginning of a beautiful relationship!”

The appeal of Bee’s series springs from the stories’ simplicity yet attention to detail, as well as their compelling friendship message, according to Landwehr. “The books are extraordinarily well done, which is so hard to accomplish with simple,” she said. “In each story, the author really focuses on the process of whatever job Stanley is doing as he goes through his day. And there’s also a strong sense of community in the books – Stanley and his little rodent friends help each other out in their small town. And after each busy day he goes home, has dinner, and climbs into bed. It’s all very familiar, and relatable, to kids.”

Peachtree’s Stanley picture books have performed well in bookstores and public libraries, and have had strong sales through catalogues specializing in early childhood titles for consumers and educators. “We often hear from book buyers about how much they love Stanley, and our large Stanley cut-out that we bring to trade shows is always a hit among fans,” Landwehr added.

Stanley hones his shop-keeping skills in his sixth picture-book adventure, Stanley’s Store, which Peachtree will publish next March, with two more hardcovers to follow in 2018 and 2019. The energetic hamster also explores concepts in two additional board books, Stanley’s Numbers and Stanley’s Opposites, scheduled for fall 2017.

And what’s next up for Stanley? “We’re talking about what other directions Stanley might take, and there are certainly lots of possibilities,” said Landwehr. “He’s definitely the hardest working hamster in show business!”

Bee also envisions an adventure-filled future for Stanley and his pals. “I really want to do Stanley’s Car Factory – but that might have to be a bigger book,” he said. “What is nice about having a little cast of characters is that you can do all sorts of things with them. We could do a road safety book, or maybe a book about the weather or a book about Shakespeare... who knows?”

Stanley’s Colors by William Bee. Peachtree, $6.95 Sept. ISBN 978-1-56145-948-3

Stanley’s Shapes by William Bee. Peachtree, $6.95 Sept. ISBN 978-1-56145-949-0