Story Time Resources: Short Stories & Fairy Tales
Let story time resources help you at night. It’s bedtime for the kids. Teeth have been brushed, PJ’s are on, covers have been tucked.
They want you to tell them a story. Normally, reading a book together is a wonderful, peaceful time.
But tonight is different. Tonight, they don’t want a story they already know or have heard before. No – they want a NEW story. One they don’t have sitting on their bookshelf. And they won’t sleep until they have it.
Maybe your little one found out that it is ‘National Fairy Tale Day‘ at school, and demands that it be celebrated.
Or you’ve run out of good stories and haven’t made it to the library or book store yet.
Or, maybe you’re traveling with the kids and forgot to bring books along for bedtime reading.
What do you do? Try to tell a story you vaguely remember hearing once before? Try to get away with telling the plot of ‘Frozen’ or ‘Moana’, but change the names and hope they don’t notice?
Whatever the reason may be for your story- emergency, have no fear! We’ve got you covered! Below you will find links to great resources full of free short stories, fairy tales, and fables.
Several of these sites also include stories from other parts of the world. If your kids are learning about a new culture or country, this can be a great opportunity to integrate learning into story-time!
Enjoy!
*Please Note: Some of these sites include ‘classic’ fairy tales. These stories – especially those written by The Brother’s Grimm- may be different than you expect. They may be a little spooky, tragic, dark, or odd. (Example: The original Little Mermaid is very dark. After the Prince marries another woman, her sisters tell her to kill the Prince with a cursed knife because it is the only way to become a mermaid again and return home. She realizes she is incapable of murder, but she is too heartbroken and lonely to remain human. She jumps overboard and turns into sea-foam.)
Hans Christian Anderson adapted many fairy tales into the kid-friendly stories most of us are accustomed to. While the Brother’s Grimm stories are wonderful stories, they were written for adults and older children. If considering a Brother’s Grimm or other ‘classic fairy-tale’ story, we recommend reading it first for age appropriateness (and to avoid potentially inducing a nightmare or two.)
This first site includes audio as well, so you can just listen and enjoy too!
East of the Web – Classic Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen & Brother’s Grimm
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About the Author: Yvonne Wonder
