The major theme of this story by Alma Luz Villanueva is climate change. Set over fifty years into the future, Earth has warmed so much that all birds and marine life are extinct and direct exposure to sunlight or seawater can be deadly. Although protective clothing must be worn when venturing outside during the day, an aging woman takes her grandchildren on monthly excursions to the beach. This time she has prepared a special treat. Spurred on by her own childhood memories, they are going to build their first sand castle. Other themes: memories, family, childhood wonder and imagination, hope. More…
Category Archives: Grade 5-6 Stories
The Emperor’s New Clothes
The main theme of this famous children’s story from Hans Christian Andersen is, of course, vanity. Other themes include deceit, gullibility, honesty (fear of speaking up) and pride. The Emperor who puts appearance before the well-being of his people, and his courtiers who sense that something is amiss but don’t have the courage to report it, carry two important messages. We shouldn’t judge people by the clothes they wear, what brand of phone they carry etc., and children should be encouraged to speak up if safe to do so when they see something that is wrong. More…
Tuesday of the Other June
Bullying exists all over the world, and can surface in almost any situation where people gather (school, the playground, work, sport etc.) This story from Norma Fox Mazer addresses the difficult question of whether the best approach for the victim is passive acceptance, assertiveness (standing up for oneself), or fighting back. Here, a mother’s advice is to turn the other cheek, smile at the world, and the world’ll surely smile back, while her daughter dreams of kicking, punching, and biting her (the bully) like a dog. Themes: mother-daughter relationships, bullying, fear, the courage to say “Enough!” More…
Lob’s Girl
The major themes of this story by Joan Aiken are love, loyalty, family values, death and the supernatural. The moment Lob saw five-year-old Sandy on the beach, it was love at first sight. Lob is a dog: a large, bouncy German Shepherd with “a yard of tongue” that he puts to good use smothering Sandy with affection. As with many girl/boy and dog stories, Lob must overcome several difficulties (in this case by walking the length of England twice!) before joining Sandy’s family. A touching aspect of the story is that Lob’s love is so strong that it transcends death. More…
Scout’s Honor
In this story from Edward Wortis (aka Avi), three bumbling friends demonstrate how not to go about passing a Boy Scout camping test. It is fortunate the story is set in the 1940s. If three nine year-olds were to set off as poorly prepared as they were these days, the ending probably wouldn’t be as happy. The major theme is that taking part in a challenge is more important that completing or winning it. Other themes: friendship, pride, poor planning and preparation, toughness (in this case being prepared to admit when something is too difficult), and scout’s honor (applied selectively!) More…
The Miracle of Purun Bhagat
This story from Rudyard Kipling’s Second Jungle Book is about a high-ranking, British educated, Indian government official who gives up everything he owns and begins a new life as a wandering holy-man. He experiences earthly peace in a mountainside shrine high above a small village, and reverence and permanent peace under a tree on the opposite side of the valley. The story shows how sometimes the Hindu concept of acceptance of one’s fate needs to be countered with an authoritative (Western-style) call to action. Themes: Western vs Hindu values, search for enlightenment, human-animal bonding, spiritualism, faith. More…
The Reluctant Dragon
In the popular legend of St. George and the Dragon, a courageous soldier rescues a princess chosen as tribute (and next meal) for a marauding dragon. This witty, light-hearted tale from Kenneth Grahame is a parody of this legend. However, there is no princess and the dragon in question is friendly, cultured and, as he admits himself, lazy. The major theme is that the best way to resolve a problem is to sit down and talk about it. Other themes: friendship, daring to be “different” (Boy and dragon); judging by appearances, bloodsports (the villagers); maintaining face/reputation, compassion (St. George). More…
Miss Awful
Arthur Cavanaugh’s Miss Awful is about how a sensitive third-grader (Roger) deals with a substitute school teacher who is the direct opposite of his regular one. While the regular teacher is flexible and empowers the children in her class, the substitute (who Roger nicknames Miss Awful) is an ‘old-style’ strict disciplinarian. The change affects Roger so much that he begins to show signs of depression. His fellow students are also unhappy, and the children decide to play a cruel joke on Miss Awful. As the joke plays out some of them, including Roger, realize they may have seriously misjudged her. More…
Ribbons
This excerpt from Laurence Yep’s book of the same name is about three kinds of ribbons: the satin ribbons on protagonist Stacy’s ballet shoes; the silk ribbons traditionally used in Chinese foot binding; and the invisible ribbon binding grandmother, mother and daughter at the end of the story. The central theme is understanding. Already unhappy about interrupted ballet lessons and resentful of her brother’s seemingly favorable treatment, Stacy reacts angrily to her grandmother’s inexplicable rage over her ballet ribbons. Things change when she learns the old woman’s painful secret. Other themes: family, cultural adjustment, courage, passion, sacrifice, connection. More…
Her Hands That Held the Stars
This story by Rebecca Birch for Cricket Magazine takes place in a future world where people live in tall towers and the air is so polluted that they cannot see stars through their windows. The only way to see them is to get above the “eversmog” by standing on top of one of the towers. This is so dangerous that it requires a special key. A disobedient but determined twelve-year-old “borrows” one of these keys. While gazing at the stars in awe, she learns that she has a special destiny. Themes: the wonder of nature, environmental degradation, courage, ambition, destiny. More…
Mother and Daughter
In this story from Gary Soto, the close relationship between a struggling single mother and her eighth-grade daughter is tested by a wardrobe malfunction at a school dance. Mrs. Moreno is a flamboyant, hard-working, devoted mother. Her daughter Yollie appears genuinely appreciative of her mother’s efforts and understanding of their financial position. After fleeing the fall dance to avoid embarrassment, Yollie directs her frustration and anger toward her mother. It is Mrs Moreno, not Yollie, who cries herself to sleep that night. The themes: motherly love and the hurt that can be caused by a single thoughtless action. More…
The Nightingale
In this story by Hans Christian Andersen, a nightingale living near the palace of the Chinese Emperor sings so beautifully that it becomes famous all over the world. The Emperor loves the nightingale’s song so much that he makes a home for it in the palace. One day the Japanese Emperor sends him a mechanical bird covered in jewels that can sing as well as the nightingale. He replaces the live bird with the mechanical one, and does not come to appreciate the love of the real nightingale until close to death. Themes: artificial vs. natural beauty, friendship, betrayal, loyalty. More…
The Nightingale and the Rose
The major themes of this Oscar Wilde story are sacrifice and the nature of love. Other themes include compassion, naivety, materialism, and intellectualism vs. aesthetic appreciation. A nightingale sacrifices its life in exchange for a red rose to help a love-smitten student. The story contrasts the selfless, unconditional love of the nightingale, the student’s naïve infatuation with a fickle girl, and her materialistic love of another. The student, who only knows things that are written down in books, not only laments that the nightingale’s song doesn’t do any practical good but, angry about being rejected, dismisses love as quite unpractical. More…
The Stone
This story from Lloyd Alexander is about Maibon, a poor farmer who is worried about growing old. His troubles begin when he rescues one of the “fair-folk” from under a log and demands one of their famous “un-aging stones” as a reward. As often happens to those who try magic to defy nature, things start to go wrong. Maibon tries several times to throw the stone away. When it keeps reappearing, he has no choice but to return it. Maibon’s life goes back to normal and he learns that aging gracefully with one’s family can be a good thing.
The Scholarship Jacket
This story by Marta Salinas is about prejudice, privilege and hope. Martha is 14 and about to enter High-School. Her parents are very poor, so she lives with her grandparents. Marta gets top grades, and wants nothing more than for this to be recognized by winning the Grade 8 Scholarship Jacket. She is devastated when she hears two teachers arguing about whether the jacket should go instead to a lesser student whose father is on the School Board. When Martha explains the problem to her grandfather, his answer proves that you don’t need a formal education to acquire great wisdom. More…
Eleven
This children’s story by Sandra Cisneros was initially rejected because the publisher thought the themes were too deep for children. It has since become one of the most widely taught stories in Elementary Schools. A misunderstanding at school over an ugly red sweater spoils a girl’s eleventh birthday. Her teacher is convinced the sweater is the girl’s and demands that she put in on. The girl does so but then breaks down in tears, embarrassing herself in front of the class. This is a “coming of age” story that deals with the difficult concepts of vanity and timidity. More…
What Do Fish Have to Do with Anything?
The major theme of this story from Edward Wortis (aka Avi) is closed-mindedness. A struggling single mother still treats her sixth-grader son, Willie, as a young child. She is so preoccupied with her troubles that she doesn’t realize he is now an adolescent. Through prejudice, she shuns a beggar on the street. When Willie asks how to cure the beggar’s unhappiness, her answer is money. The beggar’s answer is cryptic: “What a person needs is always more than they (other people) say.” By this, he means everyone’s situation is different; we need to “open our eyes” to understand their needs. More…
The Griffin and the Minor Canon
It is hard to believe this and our other featured Frank Stockton story (The Lady or the Tiger) were written over 130 years ago. Both have a crisp, modern feel and enough ghoulish humor to satisfy most young readers. This story, which takes the form of a fairytale, involves a friendship between a griffin and hard-working priest. The worried villagers suggest that their visitor dines on the children at an orphanage in the next town, but the griffin thinks the priest is the only one in the area worth eating. Themes: vanity, bravery, dedication, friendship, fear, sacrifice. More…
The Fun They Had
This story by Isaac Asimov is set in the year 2155. The theme is one that many of today’s children experienced for the first time during recent Covid-19 lock-downs: on-line learning from home. In the story, a boy shows a friend something strange he found hidden away in his family attic. Neither of them has seen one before… it is a book! First, they discuss how wasteful paper books were compared to electronic books of their day. The book is about school, and they go on to compare home schooling of the future with “going to school” in the past. More…
Grandad’s Gifts
This story from Paul Jennings disproves the English proverb Curiosity killed the cat. When protagonist Shane’s family move into his deceased grandfather’s house, his father points to a cupboard in his bedroom and says: We can’t open that. I promised my father. Grandad locked it up many years ago and it’s never been opened. I lived in this bedroom for nineteen years and kept my promise. As might be expected, Shane develops a burning desire to discover the cupboard’s secret. Rather than killing a cat, his curiosity gives a different animal a new life. Themes: curiosity, disobedience, kindness, the supernatural. More…
The Serial Garden
Joan Aiken’s Serial Garden is part of a collection of old-style children’s stories about the Armitage family, who seem to think it completely normal as impossible events take place around them. In the story, a picture on a cereal packet leads a young boy to a magical garden that has been inhabited for fifty years by a haughty princess pining for her lost lover. The boy almost manages to reunite the couple, but his mother accidentally dashes his plan at the last minute. Fortunately, the princess now has a dog to keep her company for the next fifty years! More…
Seibei and His Gourds (The Artist)
This story from Shiga Naoya uses situational irony to highlight the importance of encouraging people to pursue their artistic passions. Seibei has a fascination with decorative gourds. He spends all his free time buying natural pods and turning them into the polished decorative pieces. When this causes problems at school, Seibei’s teacher shames his parents into forbidding the hobby and destroying his gourd collection. Unbeknown to all, this may have cost Seibei a lucrative, satisfying career. The disheartened boy complies, but soon takes up another artistic interest. Themes: (Seibei) art, passion, talent, obedience, resilience; (his parents) narrow-mindedness. More…
Mowgli’s Brothers
The major themes of this children’s story from Rudyard Kipling’s Jungle Book are nature vs. nurture, identity, and respect for the law. When an abandoned “man cub” is adopted by a family of wolves, the wolf parents face two challenges: having the child accepted as a member of the Pack, and protecting him from a crazed tiger who does not follow the “Law of the Jungle”. Things go well until the awakening of the boy’s human reasoning capacity leads to an existential crisis and his eventual expulsion from the Pack. Other themes: abandonment and adoption, family, community, envy, survival. More…
Raymond’s Run
Raymond’s Run by Toni Cade Bambara is about a feisty school girl nick-named ‘Squeaky’ who helps take care of Raymond, her mentally challenged older brother. Squeaky is a very talented runner. She trains hard and desperately wants to win this years’ May Day race to show up an annoying and over-confidant new girl in town. During the race she sees Raymond running along the outside of the track keeping pace with her. She suddenly decides that winning races doesn’t matter as much as it used to. Themes: responsibility (care-giving), identity, independence, alienation, pride, rivalry, personal growth, respect. More…
The Fir Tree
This story by the Danish poet and writer Hans Christian Andersen is about a tree that grows up never being satisfied with its life. There is only one day in the tree’s life (a Christmas Eve) that it feels truly happy. After Christmas, people throw it into a dark attic. While waiting for what comes next, the tree realizes there were many other good things in its life that should have been enjoyed. It is excited when finally brought out into the sun, only to meet a sad end that will make you never want a real Christmas tree again. More…
President Cleveland, Where Are You?
This coming of age story by Robert Cormier is set in simpler times (the 1930s), where the highlight of the day for many young boys was collecting and swapping trading cards to complete a full set. There is intense rivalry between protagonist Jerry, his friend Roger, and their arch-rival Rollie. Initially it is over Cowboy cards but, when these are replaced by President cards, all the boys in their neighborhood are desperate to find the elusive President Cleveland card. Jerry is the first to find one, but doesn’t have it for long. Themes: family, friendship, choices, sacrifice. More…
Bigfoot Cinderrrrella
In a twist on the famous fairytale, this story from Tony Johnson is about big, hairy and very smelly Bigfoot girl. The Bigfoot prince is holding a fun-fest. A magic grizzly bear helps the girl get ready. He makes her fur especially dirty and smelly, and gives her special wooden shoes to wear. She wins the prince’s heart but (of course!) loses a shoe when she runs off early to be home in time. Fortunately, the story has a happy ending. She is the only girl in the forest with feet big enough to fit the shoe. More…
Greyling
This story from Jane Yolen is about a baby ‘selchie’ (human/seal shapeshifter) that is washed up on a beach and raised by a childless fisherman and his wife. Their lives change fifteen years later when a huge storm destroys their hut and threatens to drown the fisherman at sea. The main theme of the story is selfishness. By ‘imprisoning’ the boy on land in the name of love, the fisherman’s wife prevents him from fulfilling his destiny. Other themes: the power of nature, freedom, the supernatural. The story’s message: true love involves letting go and empowering children to be themselves. More…
Master Jacob
The story by Howard Pyle is similar to the “trickster” narratives found in many folktales. Three greedy community leaders (a priest, a provost, and the town mayor) decide to trick an unsuspecting farmer out of a fat pig (or is it a dog?) he is taking to market. Later, the sly farmer turns the tables with three tricks of his own. For his last trick, he tells them the truth! The tricksters woe their foolishness at the bottom of a deep pit, and the farmer ends up with a lot of their money. Themes: greed, cleverness, revenge, distrust. More…
LAFFF
The Asian-American protagonist in this story by Lensey Namioka desperately wants to impress her parents by winning the Best Story Award for her grade in her school’s annual writing competition. Meanwhile, a nerdy classmate and neighbor has developed a time machine in his garage. She is the only one who knows about it and, when she can’t come up with a story she is happy with, she decides to travel forward in time to copy the winning entry. Her major concern is coming face-to-face with herself! Themes include pressure to succeed, friendship, time travel, cheating. More…
Seventh Grade
Middle School marks the beginning of early adolescence. Hormones rage, bodies begin to change, and ‘new’ kinds of relationships form with members of the opposite sex. This story by Gary Soto is about Victor, a boy just starting Seventh Grade. He has promised himself that before the year is out he is going to hook up with Terresa, a girl he has known through their church for several years. The only subject they share at school is French, and Victor’s comical efforts to impress almost lead to disaster. The message: Don’t try to fake who you are. Just be yourself! (1,900 words) More…
Teacher Tamer
Edward Wortis (aka Avi)’s Teacher Tamer is a coming of age story about unfairness, revenge, peer pressure, compassion and courage. A burnt-out fifth grade teacher regularly punishes the most promising student in class for things he did not do. In a moment of anger, the boy plots revenge and boasts about it to classmates. Although the class bully questions his courage, others say that if he succeeds he will become the class hero. He feels pressured into going ahead. The plan ends in failure, but by the end of the story he is hailed by the nickname Teacher Tamer. More…
The Lady or the Tiger
The appeal of this classic children’s story by Frank Stockton lies in its so-called “unsolvable problem”. Readers must use context clues and their perceptions of human nature to decide the story’s outcome (i.e. what lies behind the arena’s right-hand door). Whichever door is chosen, the King wins and the princess loses. The young man’s fate depends on how well he understands the workings of the semi-barbaric princess’s mind. Was her secret signal influenced by selfless love for him, or jealousy of the lady? Themes: choices and consequences, fairness, power, class/forbidden love, jealousy/possible betrayal. More…
Licked
The major themes of this very funny story by Paul Jennings are practical jokes and consequences. Young Andrew learns that his father’s boss is coming to dinner. When he overhears his parents making a pact not to criticize his table manners during the meal, he decides to put them to the test. And just in case it looks like they will be able to keep their promise, he hides a ‘secret weapon’ under the table that is sure to make them angry. The secret weapon works, but Andrew hadn’t thought about what problems this might cause for his father’s job. More…
A Kidnapped Santa Clause
The major theme of this Christmas story by L. Frank Baum is the triumph of good over evil. Five daemons (creatures that thrive on naughtiness) are angry with Santa Clause because his gifts and messages of goodwill discourage children from visiting their caves. Upon realizing that Santa will never change, they kidnap him as he begins his Christmas deliveries. When Santa’s assistants notice this, they complete his rounds and return with an army of magical immortals to rescue him. Other themes: loyalty, duty and (as reflected in the names of the daemons) selfishness, envy, hatred, malice and redemption. More…
Dirk the Protector
This memoir by Gary Paulsen looks back to a time when, as a “street kid”, he not only had to fend for himself after school, but also had to be constantly on the lookout for a gang of bullies who liked to harass him. Relief from the bullies came in the form of a big, rangy, right on the edge of ugly dog he describes as as close to having a live nuclear weapon as you can get. When no longer needed, the dog moves on to its next protection job. Themes: self-sufficiency, courage, bullying, friendship, letting go. More…
Ghost of the Lagoon
Set on the beautiful Pacific island of Bora Bora, this exciting adventure tale from Armstrong Sperry involves a boy (Mako), his dog and a monster from the sea. When Mako learns that Tupa, the “ghost of the lagoon”, was responsible for the death of his father, he swears revenge. It is almost as if Tupa were listening. The monster attacks Mako’s canoe the very next evening. Themes include superstition, vengeance, self-reliance, courage and possibly greed… rather than satisfaction and pride, the main thing on Mako’s mind afterwards seems to be a large reward that was on offer for Tupa’s death! More…
Nadia the Willful
The central theme of this story from Sue Alexander is dealing with grief and loss. When a Bedouin boy is lost in the desert, his shattered father (a tribal sheik) decrees that none of his people speak the boy’s name. Nadia, his willful daughter, finds that the only way she can cope with her brother’s loss is to talk about their happy times together. When others follow her example, the sheik reacts angrily. However he, too, soon learns that rather than blocking out the memory, the best way process the death of a loved one is to celebrate their life. More…
The All-American Slurp
The major themes of this story by Lensey Namioka are: 1) the innate desire of most people (especially the young) to “fit in” with the community in which they find themselves; and 2) the need to understand and accept cultural differences when they appear. Said to be based on real experiences from the author’s early life in America, the story makes these points in a light-hearted way. Its main message is expressed cryptically in the very last line: All Americans slurp. This suggests that if we put aside cultural differences, we are all the same inside. More…
The Little Match Seller
Although quite short, this well-known story by Danish poet and writer Hans Christian Andersen is one of the saddest Festive Season stories ever told. A cruel father sends his little girl out into the snow to sell matches. She crouches between two buildings, afraid to go home because she hasn’t made any sales. As she imagines the people inside their warm houses getting ready for a big New Year’s dinner, a vision of her beloved grandmother appears to take her to a better place. Sadly, child labor and poor people freezing to death still occur in the world today. More…
The School Play
This Gary Soto story is about facing fear. The protagonist is scared of forgetting his only line in his sixth-grade play. In addition to worrying about being laughed at, another student has threatened to “bury his face in the ground” if he messes up. The play is about the infamous Donner Party. The fear theme is supported in its concluding words: You gotta suck it up (endure hardship) in bad times. Interestingly, although intended to suggest that the starving travelers should have been stronger in resisting cannibalism, this expression could also be used to justify eating dead bodies to survive? More…
The Third Wish
This story from Joan Aiken takes the form of a “three wishes” fairy-tale. The protagonist does something very unusual for someone given three wishes. He decides not to make the third wish. When asked why, he says: I’ve learned that even if your wishes are granted they don’t always better you. Themes: 1) change (it is wrong to force change on someone who is happy as they are); 2) family (for many people, family ties are just as important as a happy marriage); and 3) sacrifice (true love means being prepared to let someone go if it makes them happier). More…
Christmas Every Day
This children’s story by W. D. Howells is actually a ‘story within a story’. A demanding daughter insists that her busy father tell her a Christmas story. Perhaps with his daughter in mind, he makes up a tale about a little girl who makes a selfish Christmas wish. She wants it to be Christmas every day so she can get presents and eat Christmas treats all year long. The wish comes true but in so doing causes problems for almost everyone in the world. Although told in an amusing way, you could call this a Christmas horror fairy-tale. More…
Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push
There are two “dreams” in this inspirational story by W. D. Myers. The first is a father’s dream that his son follow in his footsteps and become a competitive basketball player; the second is the boy’s dream to be able to overcome his disability and return to the game. The “pushes” come when the boy is invited to join a wheelchair team, and the father overcomes his feelings of guilt and decides to help the team. Themes: guilt, courage, maintaining a positive attitude, family, father-son bonding, team spirit, how trying and doing one’s best is more important than winning. More…
Fish Cheeks
The thesis for this narrative essay by Amy Tan is expressed in the form of a prayer: For Christmas I prayed for this blond-haired boy, Robert, and a slim new American nose. The protagonist, a fourteen–year-old girl, is uncomfortable with her Chinese looks and what others might think of her family’s Chinese ways. She is especially concerned because her would-be boyfriend Robert and his church minister father have been invited for Christmas dinner. After watching on in embarrassment as they sit through the meal of traditional Chinese delicacies, she receives some wise life advice from her mother. More…
Zlateh the Goat
It is easy to see why this story from Isaac Singer is said to be derived from Jewish folklore. Zlateh, an anthropomorphic goat, is about to meet the fate of many farm animals. No longer producing enough milk to justify her keep, she faces a final trip to the town butcher. Fortunately, a freak snowstorm interrupts the journey and gives her a chance to redeem herself. Themes: (general) obedience, trust, resourcefulness, inter-dependence, survival and love; (religious) sacrifice, acceptance and faith: We must accept all that God gives us—heat, cold, hunger, satisfaction, light, and darkness. More…
The Goodness of Matt Kaizer
This story from Edward Wortis (aka Avi) is about “the baddest” member of a small group of troublesome sixth graders. Matt is constantly trying to prove how bad he is by taking on dares. His father, a church minister, does not seem greatly concerned by this in the belief that one day Matt will change. A dare that goes horribly wrong (or right depending how you look at it) proves his father correct. Themes: peer pressure, pride, good vs. evil, forgiveness. The story’s message: nobody is born bad; there is the potential for goodness in everyone. More…
The Philanthropist’s Christmas
In this Christmas story by J. W. Linn, a philanthropist (a rich person who gives a lot of money to help make life better for other people) learns an important lesson. Eighteen months ago, the philanthropist helped rescue a puppy stuck in a drain. He bought the puppy, and it is now his closest companion. Recently, the puppy has gone missing. During the philanthropist’s search for it, a young boy takes him to the apartment of a poor family. As he helps with their Christmas preparations, he experiences a special joy that changes the way he thinks about his work. More…
Smart Ice-cream
The overall theme of this entertaining fantasy by Paul Jennings can be summed up in the English proverb Pride comes before a fall. Ironically, the protagonist’s boast about how good he is at English doesn’t seem to extend to idioms. If it did, he would have known that the smart alec ice-cream left in the van was meant for him and not Dadian. The only more fitting ending would be if he had also woken up with pimples and a big nose! Themes: (from the protagonist) haughtiness, cruelty, lack of compassion; (from Mr Peppi) kindness, magic, trickery. More…
The Water of Life
The major themes of this fairy-tale by Howard Pyle are that money and status don’t necessarily reflect the inner man, and loyalty can sometimes bring great rewards. A princess vows to marry whoever brings her a cup of water from the “Fountain of Life”. A young king sends a servant on the long and dangerous journey to collect some, and falsely claims the prize. The doubtful princess sets him two more tasks, one of which requires cutting off the faithful servant’s hand. Thanks to the Water of Life, things end happily for the servant but not so for the king. More…