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Story Books for Kids: Moral Stories, Fairy Tales, Mythology and Classics

Ask any parent what a child remembers years later, and the answer is rarely a worksheet. It is the story about the clever minister, the lion who spared the mouse, or the little monkey god who tried to swallow the sun. A good story book for kids does three jobs at the same time. It builds language, it teaches right from wrong without a lecture, and it gives parent and child a quiet few minutes together at the end of a busy day. This is one of our richest children's shelves, with fairy tales, Indian mythology, folk tales, abridged classics, picture stories and more than fifty titles in Hindi.

Because the range is wide, the best way to use this shelf is to begin with the age and interest of your own child, not with a list of famous titles. A child who loves animals will sit through a fable far longer than a story chosen because it is good for them.

Moral Stories for Kids

Moral stories for kids remain the most searched type of children's book in India, and it is easy to see why. They are short, they have a clear ending, and they give you something simple to talk about afterwards. Titles such as Moral Tales From Panchtantra and The Lion and the Mouse are good places to begin. Read the story first, then resist the urge to explain the lesson straight away. Ask your child what they would have done in the mouse's place. That small question teaches far more than a sentence that begins with "the moral of the story is". You can read some of these tales free on our blog in moral stories for kids and Panchatantra stories.

Bedtime Stories and Fairy Tales

The last ten minutes before sleep are a gift. A child who hears a story every night tends to settle more easily and to look forward to books. The My First 5 Minutes Fairy Tales range was made for exactly this, with retellings such as Pinocchio, The Shoemaker and the Elves and Beauty and the Beast that can be finished before anyone gets sleepy. If you want a larger collection to keep beside the bed, 101 Folktales For Children gives you months of variety, including tales from many cultures. For a taste, try our free bedtime stories for kids tonight.

Indian Mythology for Children

Many families want their children to grow up knowing Rama, Krishna, Ganesha and Hanuman. Mythology books for kids make this easy, since the stories are already full of adventure, magic and brave deeds. You will find the Illustrated Ramayana For Children by Shubha Vilas, along with Ganesha: The Elephant Headed God and Gautam Buddha from the Illustrated Stories From Indian History And Mythology range. Festivals are the natural moment to bring these out. Read about Rama before Diwali and Krishna before Janmashtami, and the celebration suddenly means more to a child. Our blog has free retellings of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Krishna stories and Hanuman stories.

Hindi Story Books for Kids

If you speak Hindi at home but your child studies in English, story time is the most natural way to keep the language alive. Hindi story books for kids on this shelf include Krishna and Hanuman illustrated story books in Hindi, as well as Akbar Aur Birbal Ki Rochak Kathayen and the Meri Pratham Parikatha fairy tale range. Even if your child can only read a little Hindi, you can read aloud and let them follow the pictures. Hearing a language used for fun is often more powerful than any grammar lesson.

Choosing the Right Story Book by Age

Ages 2 to 4: big pictures, rhyme and repetition. Sandra Boynton's Barnyard Dance is the sort of book toddlers ask for again and again, because they can join in.
Ages 4 to 6: short picture stories with one clear idea. Try gentle books such as The Worrysaurus, which also help children talk about feelings.
Ages 6 to 8: short chapters and fairy tale collections your child can begin reading alone, with your help on the harder words.
Ages 8 to 12: longer adventures and funny series. Jeff Kinney and Tom Gates books win over many reluctant readers, and abridged classics make a good bridge to the real thing.

Illustrated Classics for Young Readers

Abridged classics have a useful place on a child's shelf. A shortened retelling of Macbeth, or an easy version of a story by Charles Dickens, Mark Twain or Arthur Conan Doyle, gives a child the plot and the characters without the difficult language. When they meet the full book in later years, it will feel like an old friend rather than a threat. Some parents worry that this is cheating. It is not. It is how many lifelong readers first met these authors.

How to Get a Reluctant Child to Read Stories

Let them choose. A child who picks a silly book will read it. A child handed an improving book may not.
Read aloud well past the age they can read alone. Listening builds vocabulary, and children understand much harder stories than they can read by themselves.
Do not quiz them. Talk about the story as you would with a friend. Which character was funniest? What would you do?
Accept repeats. Asking for the same book twenty times is how young children learn words and patterns.
Be seen reading. Children copy what we do far more than what we say.

Our article on how to develop a reading habit in your child goes into these ideas in more detail.

Stories From Around the World

Indian children enjoy their own tales, but they also love finding out how other people live and think. African Stories for Kids and Greek Mythology for Kids open that window nicely. Comparing a clever hare in one culture with a clever minister in another is a lovely conversation to have at the dinner table, and it quietly teaches children that wisdom belongs to everybody.

Keep Exploring

When your child has had enough of stories for a while, try non-fiction for kids and the children's encyclopedias, which feed a different kind of curiosity. Younger children may enjoy picture books and early learning books, while older readers are ready for young adult fiction. Our guide to the best books for kids by age can also help you decide. Whatever you pick, ten minutes tonight is a very good start.

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