Short stories are such a great way to get children of all ages reading.
For kids, reading a whole story in one sitting is incredibly rewarding and the variety in short story collections is a good antidote to short attention spans too.
For adults, short stories are perfect for bedtime reading, especially when you can’t face the demands for “Just one more chapter!”. Plenty of anthologies offer stories that you can read in five or ten minutes, ideal for an evening wind-down.
Whilst short stories traditionally came from fairy tales, myths or folklore, and had a strong moral at their core, nowadays there is no reason to be put off if Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen or the Greek myths are not for you.
There are short stories written by some of the most popular children's authors (David Walliams, Terry Pratchett or Jacqueline Wilson to name but a few), as well as anthologies with stories by lots of different writers, on subjects ranging from the hilarious to the horrifying.
Adventure, animals, pirates, princesses, football, you'll find a collection on pretty much anything. Short stories can also be a way to tackle more challenging topics when it comes to older readers, from politics to puberty.
In short, there is something for everyone and you can always make time for one more story!
