Short Stories for Short Days: Story and Poetry Collections for Kids

As the days get colder I only want to do one thing: stay inside and read. December 21 is the winter solstice, aka the shortest day of the year, when the sun is supposed to set by 4:30 p.m.!

Short stories are perfect for days like the solstice, because they have lots of natural pauses where you can take winter naps! Find new authors to add to your snowy day reading pile by checking out these anthologies.

In her introduction to Woke, Mahogany L. Browne explains, “To be WOKE is to understand that equality and justice for some is not equality and justice for all.” Poems about everything from disability to Civil Rights to the importance of community are accompanied by bright, bold illustrations in this beautiful collection.

Thank goodness for restful sleep when you’re sick, spiders that eat up pesky bugs, sports that lift your mood, stories of grandparents who made the world a better place, and for so much more, all expressed as sweet poems in Thanku.

Sunny Days Inside and Other Stories has a familiar setting: a single apartment building, housing a crew of kids and their families during shelter-in-place. Readers will find familiar emotions reflected in these stories – frustration, hope and the relief of finding friends who understand what you’re going through.

Stories of children attending a powwow interweave in Ancestor Approved. Family feels especially important in this collection, as the powwow provides a space for families to come together across distances both geographic and emotional.

This Is Our Rainbow will warm your heart even on the coldest day. This collection celebrates the diversity of queer and trans identity with stories about first crushes, finding true friends, adopting new pets and even time traveling and sailing on pirate ships!

Celebrate Black Boy Joy with stories from all genres! Black boys fly airplanes and with jetpacks, play magical football, skateboard to help others, laugh, cry and shine in this wonderful anthology.