Stories First Readers

Book Binding Tutorial

Begin by printing the cover and the Printer Spread separately. Be sure to set the printer to “double-sided” and to “flip on the short-edge.”  You can also print odd pages, flip manually and print even pages.  Then, align the cover and inside pages, clip in place, and staple to make a 5.5 x 8.5 booklet.

Les fables d’Ésope

Les fables d’Ésope, a collection of fables
A tortoise and hare race; a little mouse helps a big lion; a boy cries wolf; and other traditional stories by Aesop.

AGES: All
LENGTH: 1,824 words, 23 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-44

Outropistache

 Outropistache, a traditional story
An elf helps a woman spin straw into gold, but he demands her baby as payment.

AGES: ALL
LENGTH: 1,223 words, 17 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: 

Jesse Owens

Jesse Owens, a true story
An African American running legend and his journey to the 1936 Berlin Olympics. 

AGES: All 
LENGTH: 2,095 words, 21 pages 
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated 
READABILITY: Scolarius-41 

El Principito

El Principito​, a story by Etienne de Saint-Exupery 
A little prince lives on his planet with only one friend, his rose. When the little prince leaves and has adventures, he misses his rose.

AGES: ALL
LENGTH: 1,372 words, 22 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Fernández Huerta-80.91; Gutiérrez-49.59​

Le Bonhomme de Pain d’épice

Le Bonhomme de Pain d’épice, a traditional story
A gingerbread cookie comes to life and runs away from many who want to eat him.


AGES: All
LENGTH: 827 words, 15 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-46

Heidi

Heidi, a story by Johanna Spyri
A little girl is sent to the mountains to live with Grandfather. She soon learns to love her new family and friends.

AGES: All
LENGTH: 1,366 words, 19 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-40

Le Petit Prince

Le Petit Prince, a story by Etienne de Saint-Exupery
A little prince lives on his planet with only one friend, his rose. When the little prince leaves and has adventures, he misses his rose. 

AGES: All
LENGTH: 1,604 words, 24 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-40

La Belle au bois dormant

La Belle au bois dormant​, a traditional story   
A witch puts a curse on a princess: she will fall asleep for all eternity. But true love wakes up the sleeping beauty.

AGES: ALL
LENGTH: 1,696 words, 23 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-42

Les Musiciens de Brême

Les Musiciens de Brême, a traditional story   
Animals are abandoned, so they go out on the road looking to become musicians in the big city, Bremen.

AGES: ALL
LENGTH: 2,060 words, 26 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-37

Cendrillon

Cendrillon, a traditional story
A poor girl must work for a family who does not love her, until she goes to the royal ball.

AGES: All
LENGTH: 1,824 words, 23 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-44

Conte de Noël

Conte de Noël, a story by Charles Dickens
Scrooge only cares about money so three spirits take him to see his future.

AGES: All
LENGTH: 2,617 words, 27 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-39

Dorothée

Ramona

Ramona, a story by Helen Hunt Jackson
Native American girl is adopted by a rich family from Spain, but she later encounters racism and discovers the hardships of her biological family and their community. 

AGES: Upper elementary and older
LENGTH: 2,955 words, 28 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-42

Alice aux pays des merveilles

Alice aux pays des merveilles​, a story by Lewis Carroll
A little girl, Alice, runs after a White Rabbit. She runs into many strange creatures in a magical world. 

AGES: Upper elementary and older
LENGTH: 2,901 words, 29 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-38

Hansel et Gretel

Hansel et Gretel​, a traditional story 
Two children are abandoned in the forest. They are very hungry until they see a house made out of candy. But they soon find the candy is a trap.

AGES: ALL
LENGTH: 2,333 words, 20 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-45

Ali Baba et les 40 voleurs

Ali Baba et les 40 voleurs​, a traditional story   
A poor man finds a magical cave filled with treasure, but the treasure belongs to terrible bandits. His servant helps protect Ali Baba when the bandits come looking for their treasure.

AGES: ALL
LENGTH: 2,838 words, 27 pages
ILLUSTRATIONS: heavily illustrated
READABILITY: Scolarius (Flesch-Kincaid)-40