Winter Magic

"Yes. Again, this is at the upper end of the age range. It’s really, really hard to choose five books. I felt guilty for leaving certain writers out, so I cheated a little bit and went for a selection of short stories by a range of writers that I admire—Geraldine McCaughrean, Abi Elphinstone, Michelle Magorian, Jamila Gavin, Katherine Woodfine, Piers Torday. It’s a very fine collection. It’s very varied. The Geraldine McCaughrean story is strange and almost pagan and then there’s more playful, elven fantasy. There’s a good range. I also chose it because I think it’s been slightly underrated. Short stories are an underrated genre anyway, but this is a really exceptional collection. Very bold choices, for girls or boys, it doesn’t matter. Also, for children who get overwhelmed by trying to sustain a longer book, a sophisticated short story can be a really good way of building up confidence. By the time they’ve finished it, they’ve read a really long book, even if they feel that they only dipped in and out. That’s quite an important step in reading, if you’re a parent worried about that. I love short stories, because they’re also a great way about learning about the art of creative writing. A short story is a great starting point for a child to take in a whole book. A lot of children do like that, so having some good examples of short stories available round your house is great. H.G. Wells’s short stories are wonderful classics, as are Roald Dahl’s short stories and the ghost stories of M.R. James, which are utterly terrifying. There are similarities in this collection to all of those writers."