Short Children’s Stories
A collection of free short stories
A collection of free short children’s stories written by a collective of very talented and generous volunteer writers. Whether it’s getting ready for bed or a quick afternoon read, we at Little Lives have hand selected some of the best short stories to make your little one eyes sparkle with creativity and imagination. You can rest assured that our stories will leave your child in a world of positive messages and fun adventures.
Our children’s story of the week
![Written by Nicole Schafler Daisy the naughty dog is becoming a nuisance for her family and they may have to give her to another family. Will Daisy be able to redeem herself by doing a good deed and helping her neighbour? [expand title="Read full story" trigpos="above"]“I am not sure we can keep her.” Mum moaned as Daisy leapt through a puddle of dog pee. Leo looked up after quickly writing down the answer from a never-ending booklet of homework assignments, “Mum, don’t you remember how horrible the conditions were in the animal rescue? We can’t take Daisy back!” he whined. He didn’t want Daisy to go back to the shelter. Daisy had just moved into their home a month ago and besides the mess she made, she was a lovely dog. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Daisy was growling at their neighbour, Mr Jones, who was sat down reading the newspaper. The devil dog grabbed the newspaper out of his hand and joyfully ran around the garden. Leo’s mum sighed and carried on mopping the dog pee. Leo sprinted after his puppy who was prancing around the garden as her brown silky ears flapped in the wind. He was exhausted by the end of the newspaper fiasco but tried not to show it. At the end of the day, he went up to her bedroom and slipped under the covers. Daisy was at the foot of his bed. “Leo, after what happened today, I think we will have to take Daisy to the animal shelter tomorrow” Leo’s mum announced. Leo opened his mouth to interrupt but she added, “We will talk about it tomorrow after a good night sleep.” Leo sat in bed scratching Daisy’s ear and whispering comforting things to her. He told stories and played imaginary games with his stuffed toys. By midnight, he still couldn’t sleep. He felt his heart pound in his chest as he thought of Daisy locked up in the horrible cages of the animal shelter. It was not fair. If only he had been a good dog trainer and if only Daisy could behave. Leo felt as if he would never sleep again. He must have slept though because in the morning, he was flopped on top of the bed as Daisy barked in his ear to wake him. Leo tried to quiet her down but it did not work. He tried closing the blinds but as he did, he saw smoke bellowing out of windows and a fire spread across Mr Jones’ house! He shouted to his mum to call 999! Daisy bounded out of the house and through Mr Jones’ open window. She barked so loudly that Mr Jones jumped out the sofa and yelled, “Holy smokes!” He saw the fire and quickly grabbed Daisy and they both ran out of the house where they were greeted by Leo and his mum. “Your dog just saved my life!” he yelled gratefully signalling at Daisy, “She is a hero!” “Mum, does that mean we can keep her?” Leo asked hopefully. His mum sighed. After a few moments of consideration, she finally agreed. “By the way, if your dog needs training, I will be happy to help.” Mr Jones offered. “Yes please! Come on in, it must be freezing cold in your pyjamas.” Leo’s mum replied. They went into Leo’s home (which was not on fire). Daisy began helping herself to snowflakes that was slowly drifting to the ground. Leo went to the kitchen to prepare an English breakfast. His mum went back outside to thank the firemen for their help. Mr Jones thanked God for Leo, Daisy and mum’s love and kindness and went off to stroke Daisy. A year later, Daisy knew how to behave and there were hardly any issues with her behaviour. Leo’s mum went to the animal shelter a year later to buy another dog. Little did she know that she would fall in love with them all. She couldn’t choose. In the end, she came home with five dogs! Daisy acted like a mother to all five. Two dachshunds, one poodle, one golden retriever and one basset hound. Leo and Mr Jones trained them all. As a result, within a few months they behaved themselves. Leo had many opportunities in his life, like being an actor or going to a concert where his favourite singer performed but he didn’t take those opportunities. Instead, he went to university so he could become a vet. Many years later on the day he died; many people remembered him for his love for dogs. He changed hundreds of people’s mind about disliking dogs or treating them with cruelty. He was also known for stopping dogs from being aggressive. Many movies were made about him and during his life he had made many documentaries. It seemed he really was a superstar![/expand]](https://www.littlelives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Bad-dog-Daisy-400x225.jpg "Bad Dog Daisy")
Bad Dog Daisy
Daisy the naughty dog is becoming a nuisance for her family and they may have to give her to another family. Will Daisy be able to redeem herself by doing a good deed and helping her neighbour?
[expand title=”Read full story” trigpos=”above”]
“I am not sure we can keep her.” Mum moaned as Daisy leapt through a puddle of dog pee.
Leo looked up after quickly writing down the answer from a never-ending booklet of homework assignments, “Mum, don’t you remember how horrible the conditions were in the animal rescue? We can’t take Daisy back!” he whined. He didn’t want Daisy to go back to the shelter. Daisy had just moved into their home a month ago and besides the mess she made, she was a lovely dog.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Daisy was growling at their neighbour, Mr Jones, who was sat down reading the newspaper. The devil dog grabbed the newspaper out of his hand and joyfully ran around the garden. Leo’s mum sighed and carried on mopping the dog pee. Leo sprinted after his puppy who was prancing around the garden as her brown silky ears flapped in the wind. He was exhausted by the end of the newspaper fiasco but tried not to show it.
At the end of the day, he went up to her bedroom and slipped under the covers. Daisy was at the foot of his bed.
“Leo, after what happened today, I think we will have to take Daisy to the animal shelter tomorrow” Leo’s mum announced. Leo opened his mouth to interrupt but she added, “We will talk about it tomorrow after a good night sleep.”
Leo sat in bed scratching Daisy’s ear and whispering comforting things to her. He told stories and played imaginary games with his stuffed toys. By midnight, he still couldn’t sleep. He felt his heart pound in his chest as he thought of Daisy locked up in the horrible cages of the animal shelter. It was not fair. If only he had been a good dog trainer and if only Daisy could behave. Leo felt as if he would never sleep again. He must have slept though because in the morning, he was flopped on top of the bed as Daisy barked in his ear to wake him.
Leo tried to quiet her down but it did not work. He tried closing the blinds but as he did, he saw smoke bellowing out of windows and a fire spread across Mr Jones’ house!
He shouted to his mum to call 999! Daisy bounded out of the house and through Mr Jones’ open window. She barked so loudly that Mr Jones jumped out the sofa and yelled, “Holy smokes!” He saw the fire and quickly grabbed Daisy and they both ran out of the house where they were greeted by Leo and his mum.
“Your dog just saved my life!” he yelled gratefully signalling at Daisy, “She is a hero!”
“Mum, does that mean we can keep her?” Leo asked hopefully. His mum sighed. After a few moments of consideration, she finally agreed.
“By the way, if your dog needs training, I will be happy to help.” Mr Jones offered.
“Yes please! Come on in, it must be freezing cold in your pyjamas.” Leo’s mum replied.
They went into Leo’s home (which was not on fire). Daisy began helping herself to snowflakes that was slowly drifting to the ground. Leo went to the kitchen to prepare an English breakfast. His mum went back outside to thank the firemen for their help. Mr Jones thanked God for Leo, Daisy and mum’s love and kindness and went off to stroke Daisy.
A year later, Daisy knew how to behave and there were hardly any issues with her behaviour. Leo’s mum went to the animal shelter a year later to buy another dog. Little did she know that she would fall in love with them all. She couldn’t choose. In the end, she came home with five dogs!
Daisy acted like a mother to all five. Two dachshunds, one poodle, one golden retriever and one basset hound. Leo and Mr Jones trained them all. As a result, within a few months they behaved themselves. Leo had many opportunities in his life, like being an actor or going to a concert where his favourite singer performed but he didn’t take those opportunities. Instead, he went to university so he could become a vet.
Many years later on the day he died; many people remembered him for his love for dogs. He changed hundreds of people’s mind about disliking dogs or treating them with cruelty. He was also known for stopping dogs from being aggressive. Many movies were made about him and during his life he had made many documentaries. It seemed he really was a superstar!
[/expand]
Why reading our short children’s stories could be beneficial for your child
Reading daily to young children, starting in infancy, can help with language acquisition, communication skills, social skills, and literacy skills. This is because reading to your children in the earliest months stimulates the part of the brain that allows them to understand the meaning of language and helps build key language, literacy and social skills. It can also help develop their creativity and imagination skills.
Browse our collection of short childrens stories
![Written by Harry Cripp Making new friends at a new school can be a challenge but William rises to the challenge and befriends the school’s librarian who the other children find scary, just because she is a little different to them. [expand title="Read full story" trigpos="above"]“William is a schoolboy who has just started at his new school. He is excited to meet lots of new friends, but he is also nervous. Mostly, he is worried about all the new names he will have to learn, as well as if his teachers will be nice. On his first day, he is paired up with Lucy, who takes him to her favourite hang-out spot at breaktime. That turns out to be the library, which is long and narrow with hundreds of books stacked in shelves high up, almost to the ceiling. The library is quiet, even at breaktime, and Lucy tells him after break that everyone is scared of the silent librarian. “Legend has it that she has never spoken a single word to anyone in her entire life. Some people say that she does not even know how!” Haunted by the thought of never having spoken to someone before, William went home and told his mum all about his first day. “Well I’m sure she can speak darling,” said William’s mum, reassuring him, “she was probably just tired today.” “But mum, Lucy said she’d never spoken ever before!” William’s mum chuckled at this. “I’m sure she has, Lucy must just be exaggerating.” The rest of the car ride home was in silence, as William sat in frustration at his mum’s refusal to believe him. The next day, William thought about asking Miss Straw herself, but when he went into the library at breaktime, he got his first real look at her. She was old, with skin as white as chalk and lips as red as blood. Her fingers were long and thin like knitting needles and her glasses balanced on the end of her long pointy nose. William was terrified, not so much because of what she looked like but instead the piercing look of anger she gave him, when he walked in unexpectedly before registration. He wondered instead if his teacher, Mrs Tully, would be able to answer his questions. At lunchtime, William went over to Mrs Tully and decided to ask her about the silent librarian. Mrs Tully was kind, with thick black hair and glossy brown eyes, and she always had a smile on her face. “What can I help you with William?” she asked. “I was just wondering,” William began nervously, realising that it might well be none of his business, “Miss Straw never talks. Is it because she’s angry?” Mrs Tully chuckled, “no William, of course she’s not angry. How could she be angry at you, yesterday was only your first day!” A wave of relief washed over William at this news, but it did not satisfy his wonderings. “If she’s not angry, then why doesn’t she ever talk?” Kindly and without a hint of judgement, Mrs Tully smiled down at William. “Miss Straw has a rare illness where she really struggles to talk. It can hurt her if she talks too much, and so she just prefers to stay quiet.” Another wave of relief washed over William but then he felt a twinge of sadness. “So people assume she’s mean and nasty just because she never talks to them, when really she’s just unwell. She must feel lonely, do you think she would mind if I talked to her?” “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind one bit, in fact I think she might really enjoy that.” With that, William’s mind racing with possibilities of what to talk to her about, he decided he should write her a story and read it to her. He spent all his time, through his maths and science lessons, writing a story for Miss Straw, so that come breaktime, he would be able to read it to her. When he was allowed out for breaktime, he rushed over to the library as quickly as he could, cheekily ignoring a few shouts from teachers for him to stop running. The library was mostly empty when he arrived, except for Miss Straw of course. She jumped when he came in because he was running so fast. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, I just wanted to get here quickly so I could read you this. ”William pulled his story out of his bag and placed it on the desk in front of her. “Would you mind if I read to you?” he asked, checking he was not interrupting her work. She looked at him, puzzled for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders and leaning back on her chair, smiling at him as she did. He began to read and as he did, her smile grew wider and wider until they were both having a lot of fun. Once he had finished, she pulled a piece of paper out of her drawer and scribbled on it: Thank you William, I enjoyed that, will you write me another?[/expand]](https://www.littlelives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/The-Mystery-of-The-Silent-Librarian-400x225.jpg "The Mystery of The Silent Librarian")
The Mystery of The Silent Librarian
Making new friends at a new school can be a challenge but William rises to the challenge and befriends the school’s librarian who the other children find scary, just because she is a little different to them.
[expand title=”Read full story” trigpos=”above”]
“William is a schoolboy who has just started at his new school. He is excited to meet
lots of new friends, but he is also nervous. Mostly, he is worried about all the new
names he will have to learn, as well as if his teachers will be nice.
On his first day, he is paired up with Lucy, who takes him to her favourite hang-out
spot at breaktime. That turns out to be the library, which is long and narrow with
hundreds of books stacked in shelves high up, almost to the ceiling.
The library is quiet, even at breaktime, and Lucy tells him after break that everyone
is scared of the silent librarian. “Legend has it that she has never spoken a single
word to anyone in her entire life. Some people say that she does not even know
how!”
Haunted by the thought of never having spoken to someone before, William went
home and told his mum all about his first day. “Well I’m sure she can speak darling,”
said William’s mum, reassuring him, “she was probably just tired today.”
“But mum, Lucy said she’d never spoken ever before!” William’s mum chuckled at
this.
“I’m sure she has, Lucy must just be exaggerating.” The rest of the car ride home
was in silence, as William sat in frustration at his mum’s refusal to believe him.
The next day, William thought about asking Miss Straw herself, but when he went
into the library at breaktime, he got his first real look at her. She was old, with skin
as white as chalk and lips as red as blood. Her fingers were long and thin like
knitting needles and her glasses balanced on the end of her long pointy nose.
William was terrified, not so much because of what she looked like but instead the
piercing look of anger she gave him, when he walked in unexpectedly before
registration. He wondered instead if his teacher, Mrs Tully, would be able to answer
his questions.
At lunchtime, William went over to Mrs Tully and decided to ask her about the
silent librarian. Mrs Tully was kind, with thick black hair and glossy brown eyes, and
she always had a smile on her face. “What can I help you with William?” she asked.
“I was just wondering,” William began nervously, realising that it might well be none
of his business, “Miss Straw never talks. Is it because she’s angry?”
Mrs Tully chuckled, “no William, of course she’s not angry. How could she be angry
at you, yesterday was only your first day!” A wave of relief washed over William at
this news, but it did not satisfy his wonderings.
“If she’s not angry, then why doesn’t she ever talk?” Kindly and without a hint of
judgement, Mrs Tully smiled down at William.
“Miss Straw has a rare illness where she really struggles to talk. It can hurt her if
she talks too much, and so she just prefers to stay quiet.” Another wave of relief
washed over William but then he felt a twinge of sadness.
“So people assume she’s mean and nasty just because she never talks to them, when
really she’s just unwell. She must feel lonely, do you think she would mind if I talked
to her?”
“I’m sure she wouldn’t mind one bit, in fact I think she might really enjoy that.” With
that, William’s mind racing with possibilities of what to talk to her about, he decided
he should write her a story and read it to her.
He spent all his time, through his maths and science lessons, writing a story for
Miss Straw, so that come breaktime, he would be able to read it to her.
When he was allowed out for breaktime, he rushed over to the library as quickly as
he could, cheekily ignoring a few shouts from teachers for him to stop running.
The library was mostly empty when he arrived, except for Miss Straw of course. She
jumped when he came in because he was running so fast. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean
to startle you, I just wanted to get here quickly so I could read you this. ”William
pulled his story out of his bag and placed it on the desk in front of her. “Would you
mind if I read to you?” he asked, checking he was not interrupting her work.
She looked at him, puzzled for a moment, before shrugging her shoulders and
leaning back on her chair, smiling at him as she did. He began to read and as he did,
her smile grew wider and wider until they were both having a lot of fun.
Once he had finished, she pulled a piece of paper out of her drawer and scribbled
on it: Thank you William, I enjoyed that, will you write me another?
[/expand]
Bad Dog Daisy
Daisy the naughty dog is becoming a nuisance for her family and they may have to give her to another family. Will Daisy be able to redeem herself by doing a good deed and helping her neighbour?
[expand title=”Read full story” trigpos=”above”]
“I am not sure we can keep her.” Mum moaned as Daisy leapt through a puddle of dog pee.
Leo looked up after quickly writing down the answer from a never-ending booklet of homework assignments, “Mum, don’t you remember how horrible the conditions were in the animal rescue? We can’t take Daisy back!” he whined. He didn’t want Daisy to go back to the shelter. Daisy had just moved into their home a month ago and besides the mess she made, she was a lovely dog.
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
Daisy was growling at their neighbour, Mr Jones, who was sat down reading the newspaper. The devil dog grabbed the newspaper out of his hand and joyfully ran around the garden. Leo’s mum sighed and carried on mopping the dog pee. Leo sprinted after his puppy who was prancing around the garden as her brown silky ears flapped in the wind. He was exhausted by the end of the newspaper fiasco but tried not to show it.
At the end of the day, he went up to her bedroom and slipped under the covers. Daisy was at the foot of his bed.
“Leo, after what happened today, I think we will have to take Daisy to the animal shelter tomorrow” Leo’s mum announced. Leo opened his mouth to interrupt but she added, “We will talk about it tomorrow after a good night sleep.”
Leo sat in bed scratching Daisy’s ear and whispering comforting things to her. He told stories and played imaginary games with his stuffed toys. By midnight, he still couldn’t sleep. He felt his heart pound in his chest as he thought of Daisy locked up in the horrible cages of the animal shelter. It was not fair. If only he had been a good dog trainer and if only Daisy could behave. Leo felt as if he would never sleep again. He must have slept though because in the morning, he was flopped on top of the bed as Daisy barked in his ear to wake him.
Leo tried to quiet her down but it did not work. He tried closing the blinds but as he did, he saw smoke bellowing out of windows and a fire spread across Mr Jones’ house!
He shouted to his mum to call 999! Daisy bounded out of the house and through Mr Jones’ open window. She barked so loudly that Mr Jones jumped out the sofa and yelled, “Holy smokes!” He saw the fire and quickly grabbed Daisy and they both ran out of the house where they were greeted by Leo and his mum.
“Your dog just saved my life!” he yelled gratefully signalling at Daisy, “She is a hero!”
“Mum, does that mean we can keep her?” Leo asked hopefully. His mum sighed. After a few moments of consideration, she finally agreed.
“By the way, if your dog needs training, I will be happy to help.” Mr Jones offered.
“Yes please! Come on in, it must be freezing cold in your pyjamas.” Leo’s mum replied.
They went into Leo’s home (which was not on fire). Daisy began helping herself to snowflakes that was slowly drifting to the ground. Leo went to the kitchen to prepare an English breakfast. His mum went back outside to thank the firemen for their help. Mr Jones thanked God for Leo, Daisy and mum’s love and kindness and went off to stroke Daisy.
A year later, Daisy knew how to behave and there were hardly any issues with her behaviour. Leo’s mum went to the animal shelter a year later to buy another dog. Little did she know that she would fall in love with them all. She couldn’t choose. In the end, she came home with five dogs!
Daisy acted like a mother to all five. Two dachshunds, one poodle, one golden retriever and one basset hound. Leo and Mr Jones trained them all. As a result, within a few months they behaved themselves. Leo had many opportunities in his life, like being an actor or going to a concert where his favourite singer performed but he didn’t take those opportunities. Instead, he went to university so he could become a vet.
Many years later on the day he died; many people remembered him for his love for dogs. He changed hundreds of people’s mind about disliking dogs or treating them with cruelty. He was also known for stopping dogs from being aggressive. Many movies were made about him and during his life he had made many documentaries. It seemed he really was a superstar!
[/expand]
![Written by Greg Densham James learns on a trip to a local museum that by using his creativity, he has the special ability that allows him to overcome his feelings of powerlessness in new and uncomfortable situations. [expand title="Read full story" trigpos="above"]A fly was sat on a painting, and James didn’t know why. His parents had taken him to the museum, which wasn’t his idea of the most exciting day in the world. He would rather have been sat at home playing games, on some wild and exciting adventure. Not to say that art disinterested him, he loved looking at all the concept work for his favourite films and video games. He always loved picking out the details, each time, there was always something new he somehow missed before. They weren’t just simple images, each one told hundreds of stories in a single glance, each story one small part of a bigger picture.The art in the museum was different, most of the pieces were rather boring; a painting of a town, a few trees, or just ordinary, uninteresting people. There were a few cool pieces though, a ship sailing in a storm, or a vast landscape of mountains and forests seemingly stretching on beyond the back of the canvas, as if you could reach your hand through the picture and it would keep on going. But it didn’t.They had stopped in front of a portrait of a rather ugly man with a fly on his shoulder. The man was chopping down trees and behind him was a wasteland of tree stumps. Out of everything he had seen this was James’ least favourite. Without knowing why he couldn’t take his eyes off the fly, it bothered him and he could focus on nothing else. He rubbed his hands together, as often he did when he was uncomfortable, absent-mindedly.The room soon fell away and he was left alone with the ugly painting. He could see nothing else, and then the fly began to move. Quickly it multiplied and soon the lone fly was a swarm and James was left in a barren forest of flies.The swarm of flies was too much to bear, they were now a thick haze he couldn’t see the air in front of him. With his mouth covered, so as not to breath in any flies, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tried to focus, on anything, anywhere but here. He remembered one painting of a lush jungle with waterfalls and immediately he heard the crash of falling water.James looked about and saw himself in the painted jungle. The swarm of flies surrounded him still, though less thickly. They began to shift and swirl around, as they did they darted this way and that, cutting through the trees. James heard the jungle creak around him and soon trees were toppling about him. He ran.He ran so fast he and so scared he didn’t see the lake in front of him and he flung himself out far, far into the water. He spluttered and coughed and his panic grew, he couldn’t swim. He began to drown and he sank beneath the surface. Then suddenly he hit something hard. He looked again, he was aboard a large sailing ship alone. The ship was familiar, he had seen it in another painting.Out of the water came the swarm again. It landed on the deck in the shape of a man. It reached out a hand and pointed an accusing finger before starting to tear up the ship.James hated to see such destruction and an idea hit him, if he can travel between the paintings, then perhaps he could use this ability, he didn’t need to feel powerless. He picked up a sword and and swung it at the swarm which simply avoided the attack as the swords cut through the air between the swarm. James took a few more empty swings, this wasn’t going to work.Picturing the museum he looked for help. He reached out and pulled out from a painting of a bowl of fruit a banana and pointed it at the swarm. ‘You’ve bugged me enough.’ he said and fired the banana which vaporised the swarm instantly.He took a deep breath, calming himself and felt a hand, he opened his eyes and looked up. It was his just his mum.‘I’m sorry.’ she said ‘I thought this would be a nice distraction from everything. I shouldn’t have assumed.’‘It’s alright.’ Said James. ‘It’s not so bad.’ He smiled at the painting of the ship.‘Things have been tough for the both of us. I just wanted to get away from it all, I didn’t think what you wanted. Perhaps we should go back home?’ ‘I would prefer that, but I want you to be happy too.’‘Thank you sweetie.’ She said and gave him a hug.‘Love you.’ James hugged back. He wasn’t going to let the fly on the painting bother him anymore. As they left he thought about how with a little creativity, he never has to feel powerless, and they can both make the changes necessary to make things better.[/expand]](https://www.littlelives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Fly-on-a-painting-400x225.jpg "A Fly on A Painting")
A Fly on A Painting
James learns on a trip to a local museum that by using his creativity, he has the special ability that allows him to overcome his feelings of powerlessness in new and uncomfortable situations.
[expand title=”Read full story” trigpos=”above”]
A fly was sat on a painting, and James didn’t know why. His parents had taken him to the museum, which wasn’t his idea of the most exciting day in the world. He would rather have been sat at home playing games, on some wild and exciting adventure. Not to say that art disinterested him, he loved looking at all the concept work for his favourite films and video games. He always loved picking out the details, each time, there was always something new he somehow missed before. They weren’t just simple images, each one told hundreds of stories in a single glance, each story one small part of a bigger picture.
The art in the museum was different, most of the pieces were rather boring; a painting of a town, a few trees, or just ordinary, uninteresting people. There were a few cool pieces though, a ship sailing in a storm, or a vast landscape of mountains and forests seemingly stretching on beyond the back of the canvas, as if you could reach your hand through the picture and it would keep on going. But it didn’t.
They had stopped in front of a portrait of a rather ugly man with a fly on his shoulder. The man was chopping down trees and behind him was a wasteland of tree stumps. Out of everything he had seen this was James’ least favourite. Without knowing why he couldn’t take his eyes off the fly, it bothered him and he could focus on nothing else. He rubbed his hands together, as often he did when he was uncomfortable, absent-mindedly.
The room soon fell away and he was left alone with the ugly painting. He could see nothing else, and then the fly began to move. Quickly it multiplied and soon the lone fly was a swarm and James was left in a barren forest of flies.
The swarm of flies was too much to bear, they were now a thick haze he couldn’t see the air in front of him. With his mouth covered, so as not to breath in any flies, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He tried to focus, on anything, anywhere but here. He remembered one painting of a lush jungle with waterfalls and immediately he heard the crash of falling water.
James looked about and saw himself in the painted jungle. The swarm of flies surrounded him still, though less thickly. They began to shift and swirl around, as they did they darted this way and that, cutting through the trees. James heard the jungle creak around him and soon trees were toppling about him. He ran.
He ran so fast he and so scared he didn’t see the lake in front of him and he flung himself out far, far into the water. He spluttered and coughed and his panic grew, he couldn’t swim. He began to drown and he sank beneath the surface. Then suddenly he hit something hard. He looked again, he was aboard a large sailing ship alone. The ship was familiar, he had seen it in another painting.
Out of the water came the swarm again. It landed on the deck in the shape of a man. It reached out a hand and pointed an accusing finger before starting to tear up the ship.
James hated to see such destruction and an idea hit him, if he can travel between the paintings, then perhaps he could use this ability, he didn’t need to feel powerless. He picked up a sword and and swung it at the swarm which simply avoided the attack as the swords cut through the air between the swarm. James took a few more empty swings, this wasn’t going to work.
Picturing the museum he looked for help. He reached out and pulled out from a painting of a bowl of fruit a banana and pointed it at the swarm. ‘You’ve bugged me enough.’ he said and fired the banana which vaporised the swarm instantly.
He took a deep breath, calming himself and felt a hand, he opened his eyes and
looked up. It was his just his mum.
‘I’m sorry.’ she said ‘I thought this would be a nice distraction from everything. I shouldn’t have assumed.’
‘It’s alright.’ Said James. ‘It’s not so bad.’ He smiled at the painting of the ship.
‘Things have been tough for the both of us. I just wanted to get away from it all, I didn’t think what you wanted. Perhaps we should go back home?’
‘I would prefer that, but I want you to be happy too.’
‘Thank you sweetie.’ She said and gave him a hug.
‘Love you.’ James hugged back. He wasn’t going to let the fly on the painting bother
him anymore. As they left he thought about how with a little creativity, he never has to feel powerless, and they can both make the changes necessary to make things better.
[/expand]
![Written by Nicole Schafler Three sisters find a strange monster like creature living on his own in the woods. Will the three sisters and the creature become unlikely friends or will he be forced to live alone again? [expand title="Read full story" trigpos="above"]I walked along the forest path with my step sisters, Charlotte and Julia. Charlotte was non-stop boasting about how she got full marks on her arithmetic test and Julia was explaining how to catch a fairy. I didn’t even half listen. Instead, I thought of how my friends would spend their Saturday afternoon. Probably listening to the latest hip hop song or shopping at Primark. We walked for half an hour before sitting down by a sandpit. We had our picnic; ham sandwiches, fruits, vegetables and chocolate cake. Once we finished, I helped Julia and Charlotte make a sandcastle. We dug and built for roughly half an hour. “AAAAAGGGGHHHH! WHAT IS THAT THING?! CARLA HELP ME!” Charlotte shrieked. As quick as a flash, I leapt into action. An eyeball was surfacing above the sand and began crawling itself away from us. I grabbed its tail. But it got away. So, I dug as fast as possible. After five minutes, it was completely out of sight. All three of us were disappointed. We wanted to know what it was. Charlotte believed it was a monster that wanted to stop her from being good at arithmetic, Julia thought it was a very hairy fairy and I really don’t know what to think. I know that it isn’t a monster or fairy of any sorts so, I decided to do some research. I found all sorts of pictures of mysterious animals but not one image looked like what me and my sisters had seen. So, the next day, we went to the same spot and back to the sandpit. After ten minutes, I found an eyeball sticking out of the sand. It swivelled around and then, went back down. Me and Charlotte dug as fast as possible; sand was flying in all directions. Until finally, we caught it. In fact, Julia leapt up and caught it. I had no clue what it was. It had brown short hair and small stubby claws on the end of each paw. It was quite small; it fit perfectly in Julia’s lap. He had a tentacle like a snail and its eye was perched on top of the tentacle. I put my phone out of my pocket ready to take a photo but that exact second, I dropped my phone with shock. “Would you not?! I don’t want to be in a photo. And you little kid, put me down!” the creature yelled angrily shaking its paw at us. Carefully, Julia placed him on the sand. “You can speak?” I asked but then I realized how stupid the question was. I felt my face turn red. He ignored the question. “What do you want from me? A million pounds? A Lamborghini? A billion cookies? Fame and fortune? A mansion? Oh sorry, I’m afraid I don’t have the time to give you that,” he retorted mockingly. Charlotte grabbed him by the ear and gave him a death glare. “Shush! No, why would we want that? All we want is to be your friend,” Charlotte snarled. It rolled its eyes and attempted to wriggle out of her grip. “Charlotte, nicely. That is not fair on him,” I scolded Charlotte and she let go. “What your name?” Julia asked clapping her tiny hands together. “Tiffo Mac Liffo,” he replied. He said as if it was the most beautiful name in the world. I couldn’t help but to laugh. Tiffo Mac Liffo did not seem very happy. He folded his bony arms and shook his head. He tutted, really extremely loudly. He remined me of my least favourite teacher. She never seemed pleased with anybody. It was either they had spelling errors, too many sentences did not make sense, their metal bottle had fallen on the floor with a crash, their hair was messy, kids rocking in chairs and even the most stupid of things; you would get in trouble for even the slightest cough, yawn or even talking about your work. No matter how hard you tried, the teacher would never stop tutting, folding her arms and shaking her head. And Tiffo Mac Liffo was acting just like her. “If my name sounds so hysterical tell me yours,” he commanded. “This is Charlotte, this is Julia and my name is…” I paused for dramatic affect. My favourite teacher said I was really good at making suspense, “Carla.” “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” he laughed and laughed and laughed. This time it was my turn to fold my arms, tut and shake my head at him. We grinned at each other and picked him up to take him home. Within months, it was clear that we were pure soulmates. I did not care no longer about how my friends spent their weekends because my times with Tiffo Mac Liffo were the best times in the world. [/expand]](https://www.littlelives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-unknown-creature-400x225.jpg "The Unknown Creature")
The Unknown Creature
Three sisters find a strange monster like creature living on his own in the woods. Will the three sisters and the creature become unlikely friends or will he be forced to live alone again?
[expand title=”Read full story” trigpos=”above”]
I walked along the forest path with my step sisters, Charlotte and Julia. Charlotte was non-stop boasting about how she got full marks on her arithmetic test and Julia was explaining how to catch a fairy. I didn’t even half listen. Instead, I thought of how my friends would spend their Saturday afternoon. Probably listening to the latest hip hop song or shopping at Primark.
We walked for half an hour before sitting down by a sandpit. We had our picnic; ham sandwiches, fruits, vegetables and chocolate cake. Once we finished, I helped Julia and Charlotte make a sandcastle. We dug and built for roughly half an hour.
“AAAAAGGGGHHHH! WHAT IS THAT THING?! CARLA HELP ME!” Charlotte shrieked. As quick as a flash, I leapt into action. An eyeball was surfacing above the sand and began crawling itself away from us. I grabbed its tail. But it got away. So, I dug as fast as possible. After five minutes, it was completely out of sight. All three of us were disappointed. We wanted to know what it was. Charlotte believed it was a monster that wanted to stop her from being good at arithmetic, Julia thought it was a very hairy fairy and I really don’t know what to think.
I know that it isn’t a monster or fairy of any sorts so, I decided to do some research. I found all sorts of pictures of mysterious animals but not one image looked like what me and my sisters had seen. So, the next day, we went to the same spot and back to the sandpit. After ten minutes, I found an eyeball sticking out of the sand. It swivelled around and then, went back down. Me and Charlotte dug as fast as possible; sand was flying in all directions. Until finally, we caught it. In fact, Julia leapt up and caught it.
I had no clue what it was. It had brown short hair and small stubby claws on the end of each paw. It was quite small; it fit perfectly in Julia’s lap. He had a tentacle like a snail and its eye was perched on top of the tentacle. I put my phone out of my pocket ready to take a photo but that exact second, I dropped my phone with shock.
“Would you not?! I don’t want to be in a photo. And you little kid, put me down!” the creature yelled angrily shaking its paw at us. Carefully, Julia placed him on the sand.
“You can speak?” I asked but then I realized how stupid the question was. I felt my face turn red. He ignored the question.
“What do you want from me? A million pounds? A Lamborghini? A billion cookies? Fame and fortune? A mansion? Oh sorry, I’m afraid I don’t have the time to give you that,” he retorted mockingly. Charlotte grabbed him by the ear and gave him a death glare.
“Shush! No, why would we want that? All we want is to be your friend,” Charlotte snarled.
It rolled its eyes and attempted to wriggle out of her grip.
“Charlotte, nicely. That is not fair on him,” I scolded Charlotte and she let go.
“What your name?” Julia asked clapping her tiny hands together.
“Tiffo Mac Liffo,” he replied. He said as if it was the most beautiful name in the world. I couldn’t help but to laugh. Tiffo Mac Liffo did not seem very happy. He folded his bony arms and shook his head. He tutted, really extremely loudly. He remined me of my least favourite teacher.
She never seemed pleased with anybody. It was either they had spelling errors, too many sentences did not make sense, their metal bottle had fallen on the floor with a crash, their hair was messy, kids rocking in chairs and even the most stupid of things; you would get in trouble for even the slightest cough, yawn or even talking about your work. No matter how hard you tried, the teacher would never stop tutting, folding her arms and shaking her head. And Tiffo Mac Liffo was acting just like her.
“If my name sounds so hysterical tell me yours,” he commanded.
“This is Charlotte, this is Julia and my name is…” I paused for dramatic affect. My favourite teacher said I was really good at making suspense, “Carla.”
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” he laughed and laughed and laughed. This time it was my turn to fold my arms, tut and shake my head at him.
We grinned at each other and picked him up to take him home. Within months, it was clear that we were pure soulmates. I did not care no longer about how my friends spent their weekends because my times with Tiffo Mac Liffo were the best times in the world.
[/expand]
![Written by Nicole Schafler Kate moves to a new house with her family and meets another lonely child, Bella, in the park. They strike up a friendship and work together to do something great for their community. [expand title="Read full story" trigpos="above"]It was an unfortunate day for Kate. Her grandma had died in her sleep that evening. The problem was that her grandma was the one paying for the mortgage in Kate’s home. Her mum was disabled so nobody wanted to hire her and her dad couldn’t be bothered with work, he preferred to sit and watch Netflix at home. As a result, the three of them had to move home. Kate, her mum and dad moved to their new house. It was small and cramped but it provided shelter. To Kate, that was all that mattered. On the other hand though the garden was huge. The grass was a pretty shade of green. The flowers were almost every bright colour you could think of and near the end of the garden was a large oak tree. The sun beamed and the birds chirped merrily. Kate felt calm. She looked up at the tree and as quick as a flash, she scrambled up it. Up in the tree, she could see her whole new block. There was a nearby park which didn’t have many people were in. Only a girl with brown curly hair who sat on a bench. She wore dark clothes; it was almost as if she didn’t want to be seen. She was crying. Kate knew the feeling. She had no choice. Her heart made her. Before she knew it she had climbed down from the tree, crossed the road into the park and was now approaching the girl. “Hi! My name is Kate. I hope I am not disturbing you,” Kate chirped. The girl stopped crying and looked up. “My name is Bella. I’m sorry, am I in your way?” she replied. Bella was anxiously biting her lip. “No. I came to ask…are you ok?” Kate answered sweetly. Bella had never been treated this way. She was touched. Never in her life had someone been so kind or asked how she was. She felt that to make Kate like her, she would have to offer something nobody could resist. “Would you like an ice cream?” she asked. How could she refuse? Kate accepted the offer and off they went to get an ice cream. They told each other about their family problems and both agreed that adults are strange creatures. Together, they had talked about the dirtiness of the park. They decided every day they would help clean up the mess. Every day from then on, they spent hours hanging out with each other. Kate studied hard at home so she could apply for a place at Bella’s school. The world for the two of them was now a better place. The park had more visitors than ever because of how clean it was after a few weeks; the bullies thanked Bella for cleaning the park and even stopped bullying her. The kids around the neighbourhood all wanted to be friends with Bella and Kate. Kate and Bella had never been in this situation before. Kate was happy with her life; she had started a new chapter. A new life. This was all because of one friendship. [/expand]](https://www.littlelives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/You-never-alone-400x225.jpg "You Are Never Alone")
You Are Never Alone
Kate moves to a new house with her family and meets another lonely child, Bella, in the park. They strike up a friendship and work together to do something great for their community.
[expand title=”Read full story” trigpos=”above”]
It was an unfortunate day for Kate. Her grandma had died in her sleep that evening. The problem was that her grandma was the one paying for the mortgage in Kate’s home. Her mum was disabled so nobody wanted to hire her and her dad couldn’t be bothered with work, he preferred to sit and watch Netflix at home. As a result, the three of them had to move home.
Kate, her mum and dad moved to their new house. It was small and cramped but it provided shelter. To Kate, that was all that mattered. On the other hand though the garden was huge. The grass was a pretty shade of green. The flowers were almost every bright colour you could think of and near the end of the garden was a large oak tree. The sun beamed and the birds chirped merrily. Kate felt calm. She looked up at the tree and as quick as a flash, she scrambled up it.
Up in the tree, she could see her whole new block. There was a nearby park which didn’t have many people were in. Only a girl with brown curly hair who sat on a bench. She wore dark clothes; it was almost as if she didn’t want to be seen. She was crying.
Kate knew the feeling. She had no choice. Her heart made her. Before she knew it she had climbed down from the tree, crossed the road into the park and was now approaching the girl.
“Hi! My name is Kate. I hope I am not disturbing you,” Kate chirped.
The girl stopped crying and looked up.
“My name is Bella. I’m sorry, am I in your way?” she replied. Bella was anxiously biting her lip.
“No. I came to ask…are you ok?” Kate answered sweetly.
Bella had never been treated this way. She was touched. Never in her life had someone been so kind or asked how she was. She felt that to make Kate like her, she would have to offer something nobody could resist.
“Would you like an ice cream?” she asked.
How could she refuse? Kate accepted the offer and off they went to get an ice cream.
They told each other about their family problems and both agreed that adults are strange creatures. Together, they had talked about the dirtiness of the park. They decided every day they would help clean up the mess.
Every day from then on, they spent hours hanging out with each other. Kate studied hard at home so she could apply for a place at Bella’s school. The world for the two of them was now a better place.
The park had more visitors than ever because of how clean it was after a few weeks; the bullies thanked Bella for cleaning the park and even stopped bullying her. The kids around the neighbourhood all wanted to be friends with Bella and Kate.
Kate and Bella had never been in this situation before.
Kate was happy with her life; she had started a new chapter. A new life. This was all because of one friendship.
[/expand]
![Written by Liv Wake Alex is planning what to wear for a wedding, they don’t want to wear a dress and they are worried about it because they haven’t told their parents that they are non-binary. Alex is scared about how they will react to their news![expand title="Read full story" trigpos="above"]Alex’s bedroom was too hot with both them and Benny in it, with only a small window to let some cold air in, and no fans or air conditioning. That hadn’t stopped Benny from stealing their warmest hoodie though, insisting that it wasn’t that hot (it was). Sat cross-legged on the bed, Benny had made sure to bring along lots of snacks for the sleepover, and a pillow Alex knew he was going to slap them with later on. They were having a sleepover because of their shopping trip tomorrow.“Are you excited to buy clothes for the wedding?” Benny asked.Alex shook their head. “I’m going to have to wear a pink sparkly dress,” they said with a grimace. “It’s very girly, and I’m not really a girl.”“Would you rather wear a suit like me?” Benny asked. He flipped his dreadlocks back like he was in a shampoo advert, posing dramatically. “You’d almost be as handsome as me.”Alex was too anxious to laugh. “It’s better than a dress... but I don’t feel like a boy, either.” They fidgeted with their fingers. “I think I’m something in between.”“Somewhere in between... you’re non-binary!” Benny said ecstatically. “If you tell them you’re non binary, you won’t have to wear a dress to the wedding. Well, you can if you want,” he corrected himself, “but you could also wear a suit, or a shirt and trousers, or anything in between. Doesn’t that sound way better?”“It does. But I don’t know how to tell my parents.” Alex crossed their arms. “What if they don’t understand? What if they think I’m a freak for not choosing one side or the other? What if they don’t want me as a child...” Alex started to sob. Benny gave them a big hug to comfort them, pulling a pack of tissues out of his pocket. He started to talk into their ear.“I’ve heard your Mum say she’ll love you no matter what. She loved you when you failed the maths test because you didn’t study and then lied about it — if she still loves you after that, she’ll love you through anything!Benny’s smile was as bright as ever, and Alex couldn’t help but feel better.“I suppose you’re right,” Alex said eventually. They stopped crying, but Benny still kept hugging them. “I just need to tell them... before they force me into a dress.”????????????????????????????“And... done!”Benny tied the knot on the last of the balloons — yellow, white, purple and black, the colours of the non-binary flag. Benny would never pass up the idea of having a party, and a coming out party was no exception. Alex stuck the last balloon onto the wall with blu tack, stealing a chocolate finger from the snack plate as they did so. They finished preparing just in time, Alex’s parents coming into the kitchen a second later.“What’s this about?” Alex’s mum asked, surprised but not angry. She wiped her eyes, still sleepy.“I need to tell you something important.” Alex took a deep breath to calm themselves down. “I don’t want to wear a dress to the wedding next month.”“Why not?” Alex’s dad asked curiously. “I thought you wanted to go to the wedding.” “I do want to go to the wedding! But I don’t want to wear a dress.” Alex steadied themselves. “I’m non binary. I don’t want to have to wear girl’s clothes, because I’m not a girl.”Alex stared fixedly at the chocolate fingers as they spoke, scared to look at their parents. But a moment later, they felt both of them giving them a tight hug. “You’re... ok with that?” Alex asked uncertainly.“Of course we are!” Alex’s dad replied enthusiastically. He gave Alex a kiss on the top of their head. Usually that would embarrass Alex, but right now they were so grateful their dad was happy that they didn’t care.Alex’s mum bent down to their eye level, even though Alex was almost as tall as her. “When you were born, the doctor asked if we wanted a boy or a girl. We said we didn’t care; we only wanted you to be happy.”“That’s true! I remember it,” Alex’s dad said enthusiastically. “It turns out we didn’t even have to make a choice!”“Whether you’re our son, our daughter, or just our child, we’ll always love you.”Alex almost cried with relief, the three of them hugging tightly.Suddenly, Alex felt a balloon hit them in the head. They looked up to see Benny with three in each hand.“That was beautiful. Now who wants to play keepie-uppie?”“You’re on!”[/expand]](https://www.littlelives.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Something-In-Between-400x225.jpg "Something In Between")
Something In Between
Alex is planning what to wear for a wedding, they don’t want to wear a dress and they are worried about it because they haven’t told their parents that they are non-binary. Alex is scared about how they will react to their news!
[expand title=”Read full story” trigpos=”above”]
Alex’s bedroom was too hot with both them and Benny in it, with only a small window to let some cold air in, and no fans or air conditioning. That hadn’t stopped Benny from stealing their warmest hoodie though, insisting that it wasn’t that hot (it was). Sat cross-legged on the bed, Benny had made sure to bring along lots of snacks for the sleepover, and a pillow Alex knew he was going to slap them with later on. They were having a sleepover because of their shopping trip tomorrow.
“Are you excited to buy clothes for the wedding?” Benny asked.
Alex shook their head. “I’m going to have to wear a pink sparkly dress,” they said with a grimace. “It’s very girly, and I’m not really a girl.”
“Would you rather wear a suit like me?” Benny asked. He flipped his dreadlocks back like he was in a shampoo advert, posing dramatically. “You’d almost be as handsome as me.”
Alex was too anxious to laugh. “It’s better than a dress… but I don’t feel like a boy, either.” They fidgeted with their fingers. “I think I’m something in between.”
“Somewhere in between… you’re non-binary!” Benny said ecstatically. “If you tell them you’re non binary, you won’t have to wear a dress to the wedding. Well, you can if you want,” he corrected himself, “but you could also wear a suit, or a shirt and trousers, or anything in between. Doesn’t that sound way better?”
“It does. But I don’t know how to tell my parents.” Alex crossed their arms. “What if they don’t understand? What if they think I’m a freak for not choosing one side or the other? What if they don’t want me as a child…” Alex started to sob. Benny gave them a big hug to comfort them, pulling a pack of tissues out of his pocket. He started to talk into their ear.
“I’ve heard your Mum say she’ll love you no matter what. She loved you when you failed the maths test because you didn’t study and then lied about it — if she still loves you after that, she’ll love you through anything!
Benny’s smile was as bright as ever, and Alex couldn’t help but feel better.
“I suppose you’re right,” Alex said eventually. They stopped crying, but Benny still kept hugging them. “I just need to tell them… before they force me into a dress.”
????????????????????????????
“And… done!”
Benny tied the knot on the last of the balloons — yellow, white, purple and black, the colours of the non-binary flag. Benny would never pass up the idea of having a party, and a coming out party was no exception. Alex stuck the last balloon onto the wall with blu tack, stealing a chocolate finger from the snack plate as they did so. They finished preparing just in time, Alex’s parents coming into the kitchen a second later.
“What’s this about?” Alex’s mum asked, surprised but not angry. She wiped her eyes, still sleepy.
“I need to tell you something important.” Alex took a deep breath to calm themselves down. “I don’t want to wear a dress to the wedding next month.”
“Why not?” Alex’s dad asked curiously. “I thought you wanted to go to the wedding.” “I do want to go to the wedding! But I don’t want to wear a dress.” Alex steadied themselves. “I’m non binary. I don’t want to have to wear girl’s clothes, because I’m not a girl.”
Alex stared fixedly at the chocolate fingers as they spoke, scared to look at their parents. But a moment later, they felt both of them giving them a tight hug. “You’re… ok with that?” Alex asked uncertainly.
“Of course we are!” Alex’s dad replied enthusiastically. He gave Alex a kiss on the top of their head. Usually that would embarrass Alex, but right now they were so grateful their dad was happy that they didn’t care.
Alex’s mum bent down to their eye level, even though Alex was almost as tall as her. “When you were born, the doctor asked if we wanted a boy or a girl. We said we didn’t care; we only wanted you to be happy.”
“That’s true! I remember it,” Alex’s dad said enthusiastically. “It turns out we didn’t even have to make a choice!”
“Whether you’re our son, our daughter, or just our child, we’ll always love you.”
Alex almost cried with relief, the three of them hugging tightly.
Suddenly, Alex felt a balloon hit them in the head. They looked up to see Benny with three in each hand.
“That was beautiful. Now who wants to play keepie-uppie?”
“You’re on!”
[/expand]
How to make reading our short stories fun for your kids
Getting your child to read doesn’t have to be a daily battle, it should a time for relaxing and opening theirimagination. Here are some of the ways we recommend to make story time more exciting.
1. Read aloud
Reading aloud allows for your child to feel more engaged within the storyline. Try adding different voices for certain characters or even allow your child to create their own voices.
2. Choosing the right book
Making reading enjoyable for your child starts with finding a book that they will enjoy reading. This could be through finding out if they enjoy fantasy or adventure books. Also consider your child’s interests, are they interested in dinosaurs, animals or even cooking?
3. Create a reading space
Help your child build their own reading space. This could be the corner of their bedroom, or simply their bed. Bring blankets and pillows and even construct a fort to which whenever they feel an urge to read, they can do so in comfort.
For more tips and information about reading, visit our post.