Congratulations to Short Kid Stories author Sharon Krager who published her first book in March. The book is entitled Ethan Scott’s Little Red Box and is available on Amazon:

Sharon is a great contributor of stories to Short Kid Stories, you can find them all HERE . I wish her every success with her new book.

Dear Readers and Contributors,

It’s been a big year for Short Kid Stories. 2014 finally saw the launch of the site after a longer-than-expected period of development! Eventually we did get launched and as of now we have the work of 60 authors featured on the site.

Traffic

Traffic has been growing well, we are now approaching 20,000 page views a month. What I find wonderful is the locations around the world that are reading stories on the site:

Any country coloured in blue is one where readers have accessed the site in the last 3 months. The darker the colour, the heavier the traffic. As you can see there are a lot of readers coming from the US, Ireland and India, with Canada and the UK not far behind. Most countries in the world, apart from Greenland, a number of African countries and a small handful more have discovered the world of Short Kid Stories. However, therein lies a challenge for 2015 – to paint the whole world blue!

Most Read

Here are the top 25 most read stories this year on Short Kid Stories:

1. CinderellaCinderella gets to go to the ball thanks to her kind fairy godmother.
2. Aesops FablesAll of Aesop's fables, beautifully illustrated by Milo Winter. Dip in and out, each one only takes a minute or two.
3. Little Red HenThis story about a hardworking little hen whose friends won't help her teaches us a valuable and timeless lesson. Includes audio narration.
4. Hansel and GretelHansel and Gretel find a house made of cake and sweets and start to eat it, but don't realise that a wicked witch lives there.
5. Sleeping BeautyA mean fairy casts a spell on a young girl. Can she avoid pricking herself on a spindle until she is sixteen? Includes an audio narration by Sharon Blumberg.
6. Jack and the BeanstalkJack exchanges a cow for a handful of beans. Even though his mother is angry, a giant beanstalk leads on to a great adventure.
7. Puss In BootsA miller's son inherits a clever cat who helps him win power and fortune.
8. The Little Match GirlThe little match girl lights her matches to stay warm in the freezing weather and is reunited with her loving grandmother.
9. June’s BirthdayOn her twelfth birthday, a girl feels overshadowed by her baby brother.
10. The Frogs’ RaceA group of frogs decide to race to the top of the tower, but will they all be discouraged when everyone says they can't do it?
11. Snow White and the Seven DwarfsSnow White is under threat from an evil stepmother who wants to be the fairest in the land.
12. The Unicorn and His FriendsA fairy's monkey helps her dream come true of being able to ride a flying Unicorn.
13. Aladdin and the Wonderful LampAn evil sorcerer tricks Aladdin into thinking that he is Aladdin's uncle so that he can retrieve for him a powerful and magical lamp. The classic Middle Eastern folk tale retold and illustrated by Walter Crane.
14. The Three Little PigsThree little pigs build houses to keep safe from the bad wolf, but he keeps trying to blow them down.
15. The Princess and the PeaThe prince wants to marry a real princess. How can they find out if the beautiful girl who arrives on a wet night really is one?
16. The Girl behind the MirrorLucy and her mum come across a weird and wonderful Chinese shop and in it they find the perfect dresser for Lucy's room. Imagine Lucy's shock when the mirror on it turns out to be far from normal.
17. The Emperor’s New ClothesTwo swindlers pretend to weave the vain emperor new clothes, but claim it's invisible to stupid people. Will anyone be brave enough to say there's nothing there? Includes audio narration.
18. RumpelstiltskinCan the queen save her new child by guessing the name of the dwarf who spun straw into gold?
19. The Fisherman and his WifeA fisherman saves the life of a fish and is rewarded when his wife suggests to ask for a pretty cottage. Unfortunately she keeps wanting more and more and is never satisfied.
20. Princess Rose and the Golden BirdA wicked witch curses the beautiful princess who sings every night with a golden bird.
21. Midnight O’ClockA strange magic starts when the clock strikes midnight. What are you afraid of?
22. The Adventures of BirdBird is his name. And he is a bird. Large, a little ugly and clumsy, but lovable. Eats too much junk food so has lost the ability to fly. Is befriended by two children and they embark on an adventure together.
23. The Children of LirThe legend of the four Children of Lir, turned into swans for nine centuries by their wicked stepmother.
24. The Legend of the Black SeaA fisherman loses his belief in goodness and learns a valuable lesson.
25. ‘Twas the night before ChristmasThe famous poem by Clement Clarke Moore about one Christmas eve and the arrival of you-know-who down the chimney.

Top Rated

I’ve really noticed an upturn in the number of stories being rated every day. I didn’t want to present that just yet on the site until there are a critical mass of ratings across the board, however I thought you would like to see what are the top rated stories on the site to date. This list only includes stories that have at least 5 ratings:

[starrating template_id=4 select=’story’ min_votes=5 excerpt_words=30]

What’s nice to see is that the majority of this list is from modern authors contributing original content to the site.

It just remains for me to wish you all a wonderful story-filled holiday season and new year. Let’s see what 2015 brings.

Now where did I put those mince pies?!