Ok, perhaps this site is not the perfect sample of stories to generate a reliable, statistically-valid result.
However, as I was putting this site together, adding all the traditional stories I could think of, I was very curious as to which stories would prove to be the most popular. I did try to ensure that all the classics were there. In fact, if you have a suggestion for a missing story, please contact me!
Ladies and gentlemen, we have a clear winner. There is one story on this site that dominates the top of the charts most days of the week.
The Short Kid Stories most popular story in the world is…
(Drum roll…)
Surprised? I guess not. I mean it is one of the classics and has been retold a million times or more in print and in movie form. It is widely credited to have been written and published in 1697 by a Frenchman, Charles Perrault. His story was called La Belle au bois dormant – “The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood.” The Brothers Grimm were to later print another version of the story called “Little Briar Rose” based on the orally transmitted Perrault version. However, it should be said that even Perrault’s version is said to be based upon earlier folk tales. The earliest reference to the sleeping beauty theme is from an episode in a work called Perceforst, said to be composed in France in the fourteenth century and first printed in 1528! So as you can see, there are many sources of the modern interpretation of the Sleeping Beauty story we know and love today.
I am delighted that a talented illustrator from India, Aswin Amarnath, volunteered to illustrate our version of Sleeping Beauty with some original illustrations just for Short Kid Stories. I think you’ll like the result, the fully illustrated story can be viewed here. You can view more of Aswin’s work on his illustrator profile page.
If any other illustrators would like to illustrate any stories on the site, please do get in touch through the illustrator submission page.