Stanky and Cece are real! They’re not just characters in a book.
Co-creator Chad Hanstedt owns Stanky, a formerly run-down jeep, which he “crafted” with various parts from several models of jeeps. Cece was brought home as a foster by his daughter Olivia, and well, it was a failed experiment.
Over time, Chad began thinking of stories to tell about this odd couple, drawing on his favorite childhood TV show – The Andy Griffith Show. The purpose – to teach kids about responsibility and taking the right action when they’ve made a mistake.
Originally, Stanky was painted black and had a regular bumper, but to match the story, Chad, crafted a smiling bumper and popped on a
So he began weaving together a series of adventures about the two of them, with the help of his co-creator Kathy Sparrow, bestselling author, educator, mom, and grandma to 5 littles – ages 18 months to 14! They added to their team with illustrators James Koenig and Jacob Gray.
And if you’re driving around the Gilbert, Arizona, area, you might just get to see Stanky & Cece out and about.