40 Fantastic Stories For Kids To Read In 2019

 By Manasa

Child Development

Children love stories. It’s true!

And every child enjoys it for different reasons – be it travelling to

magical worlds, learning new concepts, going on adventures, etc.

With stories, the possibilities are truly limitless — your child can join
Tintin as he travels the world, solves mysteries and nabs crooks; your
child can study at Hogwarts and learn about life through the magical
world of Harry Potter; your child can go back in time and become an
active participant at Akbar’s court.

The list goes on!

RELATED: Storytelling – 17 Incredible Ways To Tell Great Stories To

Your Child

Perhaps the best way to help a child explore, express, understand

emotions, problems, problem-solving, habits, and much more is via
stories. Be it a quick bedtime tale or a grandma fable, each story helps
a child enter a completely different magical and imaginative world that
has no boundaries.

Let us now have a look at 40 such popular and amazing

stories for kids:

Select your child’s age group so we can customise the story list for you:

0-2 Yrs2-12 Yrs12+ YrsOh no! I’m not a Parent!

Short Stories For Kids

Most children end up finding one or two stories that they love, and end
up listening to/reading them over and over again. Short stories with
very few characters, a simple setting and theme are the easiest to
remember.

In fact, it also helps children enhance their literacy skills. Simple three
and four letter words are put together to form such stories. They can
be heard, comprehended and read by the child with ease. Here are
some short story examples –

1. Friends Forever – This story is about the friendship between a

frog and a mouse and shows how your actions against others can
backfire on yourself. This story will teach your child about the
African saying “Don’t dig too deep a pit for your enemy, you may
fall into it yourself”.
2. The Prince And The Snake – This story follows the journey of a
prince whose body has been invaded by a devilish snake and how
he manages to escape from the clutches of the snake.
3. Lion And The Mouse – This story explains the proverb “Small
acts of kindness will be rewarded greatly” and how anyone
regardless of their size and appearance, can make a major impact
in certain situations. This tale can teach your child to appreciate
others and create a helping tendency in their minds.
4. Hare And The Tortoise – Everyone is aware about this story
where the hare is defeated by the tortoise in a race proving the
proverb “Slow and steady wins the race”. But the story doesn’t
end there as they eventually have another race! And it consists of
a number of morals your child should learn about.

Moral Stories For Kids

Children enjoy reading about different characters and story plots. But
how often do they learn something from these tales?
What if your child could be taught good manners or habits through
these stories, that can be applied in their everyday lives? In fact, the
way a child behaves, talks and responds to a situation can be directly
influenced by simple, moral stories. Here are some of the most popular
and easy to comprehend moral stories –

1. The Golden Goose – This story is about a farmer who had a goose
that was laying one golden egg every day. As the story goes on, it
focuses on the themes of greed and how it can ruin anyone’s life.
2. The Ant And The Grasshopper – This story is based on the
concept of working hard in the present for a prosperous future
and it features a hardworking ant and a lazy grasshopper.
Through this tale, children will understand the need, importance
and benefits of hard work.
3. The Honest Woodcutter – This tale is based on the moral
“Honesty is the best policy” and involves a poor woodcutter who
loses his axe in a river. It shows children how they will get
appreciated and rewarded if they live with honesty.
4. The Greedy Crocodile – Based on the theme of greed, this story
describes an encounter involving a boy, a crocodile, and a rabbit.
This tale teaches children about the essence of the proverb – “a
bird in hand is worth two in a bush”
5. The Boy Who Cried Wolf – This story proves that nobody will
believe a liar, even when he speaks the truth. The main plot is
centered around how the habit of lying affects a shepherd boy.
6. The Ugly Duckling – This tale deals with the concept of
apperance, and emphazizes on the fact that beauty does not
mean superority. It portrays the struggles of an ugly duckling
and the challenges faced by it due to its appearance.

Vidya Ragu, a psychologist, learning & development expert, tells us

about the crucial role that stories play in the lives of our children –
and how you can become a great storyteller! Watch the video below for
details:
Inspirational Stories For Kids

Stories about great personalities, their struggles and achievements are

a wonderful source of encouragement for children. In fact, your child
will learn that no barrier is a dead-end and you can achieve any dream
the way Malala or Abdul Kalam did!

Reading these stories gives children a chance to learn new things and
build a strong character. Moreover, motivational stories can inspire
your child to pick up a book and feel excited about reading. Here are
some lovely motivational stories for kids –

1. Anne Frank – Venture into this sad yet inspiring diary of Anne
Frank, a jewish victim of the Holocaust in Germany, as she
explains her struggles during the Second World War. This will
show children how traumatising war can be and why they must
strive towards world peace.
2. Mahatma Gandhi – Take a look at the biography of the Father of
our Nation and revisit the struggles he had to endure to help
India become Independent. This biography will give children a
glimpse of historical events that eventually resulted in our
independence.
3. I Am Malala – This is an inspiring tale of Malala, a young woman
activist who fought for the right to education for women in
Pakistan. Becoming the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate,
speaks leaps and bounds of her contributions and achievements
and teaches children all over the world that anyone can make a
difference.
 Copyright – Arun Tiwari/Universities Press

4. Wings of Fire – Teach your child the motivational ideologies of

one of the greatest role models of our country with A.P.J. Abdul
Kalam’s “Wings of Fire”. This book will make children
understand about Insipration, Motivation, Partriotism,
Knowledge and much more.
5. Goodnight Stories For Rebel Girls – This awe-inspiring collection
of tales, chronicles the endearing journeys of some of the greatest
women personalities who played a part in empowering women all
over the globe.

Bedtime Stories For Kids

Bedtime stories are great to relax the child’s mind! They have simple
characters, plots and settings. And additionally, bedtime stories are
used to calm the child’s mind and help them sleep peacefully through
the night. Research has shown that they dream about the rich
characters and recall their actions.
For a parent, in today’s quick world, a nice bedtime story is an
excellent way of building a bond with their young ones. In fact, you can
push your child to predict the end, to suggest alternate endings, to
describe the character and summarize the tale at the end. This will
help their memory and creative thinking. Here are some popular
bedtime stories –

1. A City Rat And A Village Rat – This story draws a parallel

between the peaceful nature of living in villages versus the
stressful nature of city life with rats as central characters. By
observing the portrayals of two different lifestyles, children can
start to understand about the real world.
2. Princess And The Pea – This fairy tale by Hans Christian
Andersen, deals with a prince who is in search of a princess and
how he gets to meet her.
3. 5-Min Stories– This collection of stories features simple daily-
life scenarios and will capture your child’s attention in 300
seconds with its wit and storylines.

RELATED: 10 Innovative & Practical Tips To Teach Your Child To

Read

Here’s a famous story that Flintobox recreated with colourful

illustrations and animations! Your child is sure to love it

Adventure Stories For Kids

There is no better way to get your child to be more curious and

intellectually stimulated because adventure stories are generally filled
with a thrilling plot, maybe some strong characters and a diverse
setting. Moreover, the intricate plot, with twists and turns, act as a
stimulus.
It makes the child want to know more, predict the next move, pick up
clues, connect the dots and solve problems. Children need to have a
good and fully-functional coping system by the age of ten. They need to
be strong and independent enough to solve their own problems
without a lot of support from peers or parents.

Adventure stories with strong protagonists help children make mature

decisions and focus better. Here are some must-read adventure
stories:

Copyright – J.K.Rowling/Bloomsbury

1. The Harry Potter Series – This 7-part book series, by J.K.Rowling

chronicles the life of a young wizard, Harry Potter, and his
friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley. It predominantly
features Harry’s struggle against the main antagonist of the
series – Lord Voldemort.
2. The Famous Five– Check out this classic collection of novels
from Enid Blyton, featuring various adventure stories that the
lead characters Julian, Dick and Anne, George and their dog
Timmy face.
3. The Secret Seven– Enid Blyton brings us the entertaining tale of
a secret society of kids looking to solve crimes, led by Peter with
his sister Janet and their friends Jack, Colin, George, Pam and
Barbara along with their golden spaniel, Scamper.
 4. Tintin– Set in the 20th century, this collection follows the
journey of Tintin, a courageous young Belgian reporter and the
adventures that he embarks on with his dog Snowy.
5. Complete Adventures of Feluda– This Fiction series created by
Satyajit Ray, features Feluda, a detective from Bengal and the
mysteries that he solves. Check out this interesting collection
chronicling the journey of the Indian Sherlock Holmes.

PRO TIP: Activity boxes such as Flintobox also provide exciting

storybooks based on different themes and concepts. Every month, a
box packed with enriching activities and an adventurous story will be
packed and shipped to your doorstep! For more information on
Flintobox activities, click here >

Funny Stories For Kids

When children watch a funny movie clip or cartoon, they never tend to
recall the underlying story behind the clip. They take the amusing
anecdote for granted, laugh and move on. But in the case of a story, the
valuable lessons hidden inside these funny books are hard to miss.

They bring out values and morals in a fun, entertaining and

educational manner. Many parents believe that funny stories are filled
with silly pictures and characters, but this is far from the truth. A lot of
research goes into putting together a book for a child.

As an adult, we might not notice the learning element in these funny

stories, but children often connect well with the images, characters,
and anecdotes. Here are some funny stories –

1. Foolish Imitation– This tale involves the attempts of a foolish

crow to imitate every aspect of a hawk. The major theme of this
story is the importance of originality and explains to children
that it’s better to be yourself than to mimic others.
2. The Judge Monkey– The crux of this story features two cats
fighting over a loaf of bread. This story proves the fact that it is
better to share instead of possessive quarrelling.
3. Funny Bedtime story examples– Check out this interesting
collection of stories filled with humour to make sure that your
child feels happy and light hearted before bedtime.

Indian Folk Tales

India is a land of rich culture and diversity. And with this rich culture
comes some beautiful stories too. Some stories are based on real
characters, like kings or famous people.

While some other stories are inspired by different communities and

beliefs. Parents can choose from a range of amazing Indian folk tales
and get their kids excited about story-time.
1. Panchatantra – This is an ancient collection of stories (originally
in Sanskrit). The stories that form the Panchatantra always
consist of animal characters and every story comes with a moral.
Pancha means Five, and Tantra means principle, and true to its
name, there is a learning in every story.

2. Tenali Raman – Tenali Raman, was the legendary Telugu poet

and advisor of the King Krishnadevaraya. All the stories involve
the two characters, their adventures together and how cleverly
Tenali Raman solves the trickiest of issues. It is a fun and
educational read for every child and almost all stories come with
a moral too.
3. Akbar & Birbal – Birbal who was an advisor in the court of the
Emperor Akbar, was known for his intellect, wit and sense of
humour. In all the stories, Akbar places a problem in front of
Birbal, and Birbal cleverly finds a solution. He wins hearts and
admiration every day. Children can learn a lot about the Mughal
dynasty and Indian rulers too, through these stories.
Fairy Tale Stories

Filled with characters like dwarfs, fairies, gnomes, mermaids and

talking animals, fairy tales are some of the most popular stories among
kids. These stories help children enter a fantasy world with infinite
possibilities, multiple characters and almost always, a happy ending.

Fantasy and fictional stories help develop the creative side of a child’s
brain. Children dealing with issues, anxiety and learning disabilities,
find comfort in fairy tales. They use their imagination, picture multiple
characters and express their thoughts better.