Booktok For Kids Novels & Stories

Ashley's POV I walked over to the reading corner in the orphanage and picked up a brightly colored picture book. Its pages were filled with cute animals and simple drawings—the kind of content the kids could easily follow. I lowered myself onto the floor on the other side of the group. "Hey, kids," I said softly, a smile warming my voice. A few of them turned toward me. I opened the book and began reading in a relaxed, natural tone. "Once upon a time, there was a little bunny who absolutely loved carrots."

I did know this area would always be disorganized, but if it were more inviting, it would encourage the kids to read and teach them the importance of respecting shared things. There was a giant bean bag chair that I flopped down on, and I started to group books. I found multiple biographies that were hundreds of pages long and a couple of racy romance novels. I’m not against those or anything. I enjoyed both genres. But I don’t think pups are capable of reading them. “You were serious about this organizing books thing.” I jumped a mile and looked up at Blake, looming over me. “Shit, I didn’t mean to scare you, Darling.”

“I don’t know. Daddy says they protect the city, but I don’t see how. They never do anything.” My finger stopped on a worn out book. The faded writing on the spine said Beasts Of The Wild. I pulled it out and flipped it open in the middle. There was a drawing of a yeti-looking creature called a yowg. The description gave details of height, size and hair colour. Dietary information and habitats were also included. I flicked through more pages and found more creatures, some of which I was familiar with. The names, at least. Unfortunately, the book wasn’t organised into alphabetical order, so I had to search a number of pages before I found what I was looking for: Mouse King.

‘GEOGRAPHY AND FAIRYTALE SECTION’ spelled at the top of the shelf and as Gerey scanned from book to book, he remembered a few he'd read at school, ‘Knowing Wabrook's Water Brooks and Bodies’ by Whitaker Flarogue, ‘Sunset at Ingfalls’ by Simponie Gugh, ‘The best habitat for all - Ingfalls - Book One’ by Cuulambs Nicktra, but they were not what he searched for. He narrowed his eyes in concentration as he skimmed tens of book covers before he came across the right material to satisfy his interest, ‘Pixies, Elves, Brownies, Fairies - What Every Kid Needs to Know’ with no author mentioned as the writer. He pulled the book out from among the others with caution and took it to the seat he'd secured

I asked. He nodded. “I think so. They just wanted me to read to them, not compute something, so I guess I could do that.” I smiled. “The book’s on the side table. Thank you, Finn.” He waved happily before turning his back on us. “Please tell me it’s a fairy tale book, not the Introduction to Chemistry textbook?” Anya asked me. “I didn’t see any book except that,” Sky chimed in. “Why are you reading that to the kids?” He asked like he was accusing me again of giving my children a hard time.

So it wouldn't take long for the police to locate us and try to finish that mission as soon as possible. The little boy opened a small shabby and old book, in which the green cover was already totally covered with dust and some leaves exhibited a yellowish tone. I had the impression that I was seeing my old books from the time I went to church, where Bible stories mixed to explain the existence of God. I became even more believed that that situation was the same, because he opened the story on a page where a snake stuck in an apple tree tree appeared.

In a cozy room filled with colorful toys and books, Theo, a curious and energetic 3-year-old, sat on the floor surrounded by his favorite stuffed animals. His nanny, Hazel, a kind and patient young woman, sat beside him with a book in her hands, ready to embark on a magical storytelling journey. Hazel: "Are you ready for a story, Theo?" Theo: "Yes, Hazel! Story, story!" Hazel smiled warmly and began to read from the book, her voice gentle and soothing as she brought the words to life.

—Flashback— “Bronx, there’s a monster in my closet. Maybe it’s a witch.” I peek into his room. He’s reading a book. I bet it doesn’t have pictures. He says books with pictures are little kid books. I like books with pictures though. Maybe when I’m ten like him, I won’t like picture books anymore? That sounds boring. I’ll like picture books forever. “There’s no monster or witch in your closet.” He keeps reading. “It’s your imagination.”

Ash has now stopped trying to escape and is also interested to see if his rogue uncle actually knows how to read. I push the kids' book closer to him, gaining yet another pissed look. But I miss Ivy so much, his angry cobalt eyes only make me smile. I'm also starting to feel like shit for this, but he must know how to read... right? He has a phone, I've seen him do stuff in it. But I've also seen him struggle a bit. "Start with the title," I push, pointing at it. He looks at the book. "The frog and toad are friends," he starts, then opens the book and I see him swallow uncomfortably when he gets to the first chapter, "These are way too many words for a kids' book."

Two days later, the video went live on the Foundation's I*******m. It wasn't polished. It was shaky, filmed by Theo. Emma stood in front of her empty bookshelves. "Hi," Emma said to the camera. "I'm Emma West. My dad builds fortresses. But fortresses are boring if you don't have stories to read inside them." She held up The Hobbit. "My grandpa read this to my dad," she said. "And my dad read it to me. Every kid deserves a story. Please send books." It wasn't a gala speech. It wasn't a press release. It was a simple, direct demand from an eight-year-old girl who understood equity better than most politicians.