Stories


This is our ONLINE COLLECTION of stories, what will you read today? If you don't have time to read now, bookmark your favourite ones and check your Reading List later. 

If you are taking the bus, find our posters, scan and access a curated collection, part of Stories on the Go

Stories for Suitable for Young Readers
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I was two years old when I got my first bike It was better than your little trike We found it in the bushes My dad fixed it up for me He welded it ...More

Young Writer
Ted Schroeder

1 min read

Published by Biketober 2018 Writing Competiton
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Take some Milky Way dust Mix in some galaxies Wrench some light from inside a black hole It should be spaghettified and tender Knead in some rusty coloured Mars ...More

Young Writer
Alice Mcpike

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Inspiration: “Hide and Seek” by Wongi “Freak” Wilson     I walked across the bustling street, a soft breeze in ...More

Inspired by Street Art, Young Writer
Hazel Young

1 min read

Published by Paint n' Pen Submission
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Oh bicycle, Oh bicycle, I shall call you Amelia. Amelia, Amelia, I love you so. You carry me around. Amelia, Amelia, Riding you is divine. You are the rea ...More

Young Writer
Alex Wylie

1 min read

Published by Biketober 2018 Writing Competiton
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Zzzzz ….. zzzz ……. An annoying noise was causing hindrance to my much desired afternoon nap. I somehow manage to open my eyes partially, and w ...More

Young Writer
Srinika Guha

4 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

Some relationships are destined to last. Others end in tears, mass destruction or an intractable skin rash. My love affair in the winter of 2002 was doomed from ...More

Biography & Memoir
Nod Ghosh

11 min read

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A pirate ran off with my heart today, stitched it to his billowing sleeve, which was sweet, I suppose. He pilfered my shirt too, refusing to do hi ...More

Young Writer
Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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My garden was always my haven. How could it not be, when I spent half my life in a sulphury darkness? I had a villa, marble and gold, fragrance ...More

Young Writer
Molly Laurence

2 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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My monster is quite unique With a certain frame of mind He specialises in fear, you know The very best of his kind Although he creaks the floorboards ...More

Young Writer
Molly Laurence

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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The talk and chatter of my family over the hum of the radio, beneath the conversations of the sheep and the rustle of plants, dancing in the wind. All this tak ...More

Young Writer
Clara Giller

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

Find the hidden sequence of words: the first letter of each makes the puzzle answer. e.g. he offers trust = HOT Sometimes fresh air feels like waking up after ...More

Humor & Comedy
Raewyn Dawson

1 min read

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Polly lounges in her usual spot at McDonalds, fourth table from the right. She studies the colour of the wall behind her. Red, her favourite colour. Th ...More

Young Writer
Emily Tipper

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

Leila stood in the doorway, her little legs shaking in her blueberry pjs. “I don’t want to, Daddy,” she whispered. “Come on, sweetheart,” Michael said ...More

Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction, Humor & Comedy
Sarah Pratt

4 min read

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Ideas and inspiration to make your Matariki celebrations sparkle. PÕHUTUKAWA Whakamanahia ngā rau kahurangi kua mene ki te pō. E hoki ki ng ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Picture Book
Published by Allen & Unwin
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To send a letter you must have something important to say. Got it? Good, now write it on a piece of paper, then pop it in an envelope and seal it with yo ...More

Young Writer
Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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don’t you find this world absolutely hilarious? one second, the globe is turning and earth’s on the brink of extinction: the next the world is still turni ...More

Young Writer
Portia Bishop

2 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Despite the Lockdown the tides continue to tumble and dance against the land’s surfaces each trying to reach their destination. Each grit of sand ...More

Young Writer
Zoe Barson

2 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Hazel leaned over, brushing her lips against her sister’s forehead. “Goodbye.” She fumbled with the window, shoving it open, greeted by a g ...More

Action & Adventure, Drama, Young Writer
Emma Warwick

3 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Grayce huddled in the dark of her bedroom. The slithering sound came again, something scraping, knocking. Scrape-knock-knock-slide-slither. Somewhere ...More

Action & Adventure, Drama, Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Young Writer
Sarah-Kate Simons

3 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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I shuffle forward, cautious of not popping the two-metre bubble that surrounds every person around me. I look behind and see people lost and confused. So ...More

Young Writer
Bianca Rees

4 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

because of their size they gather crystals and clouds sharp and sparse collections of sun-catchers until that first nasty week in June then they ...More

Travel & Environment
Amy Blythe

1 min read

Google maps you take me though the underpass fast on my bike in the night my lights flash on the shapes of down and outs the louts, layabouts who shou ...More

Non Fiction, Travel & Environment
Melanie Dixon

1 min read

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When someone tells you to picture a magician, what do you think of? Daniel Radcliffe, complete with a wand and broomstick? Or perhaps a cheesy performer with ...More

Biography & Memoir, Non Fiction, Young Writer
Amelia Kirkness

9 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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I am a kākāpō. I live in Whenua Hou (Codfish Island). I BOOM rimu berries. They are delicious. I TWEET mosses and ferns. They are padded. I HOOT- ...More

Young Writer
Carlos Ruiz-Ayala

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Inspired by a brooch made from bullets, Kaiapoi Museum.   The bullets are usually found in the sand, often around a day after a battle, make sure it’ ...More

Young Writer
Kaelani Pockson

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Kiss frogs. Sleep for 100 years. Turn into a human and not speaking. Sneak out late at night. Change your mum into a bear and back again. Lose your shoe ...More

Young Writer
Jessica McLister

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

Pull-my-Finger the Giant only had one joke, probably like your dad or grandad. But he was very fond of it and he told it as often as he could. This was i ...More

Humor & Comedy

Jerry and his friend, Ross, were playing in Jerry’s sandpit. Charlie appeared. “What are you playing?” Charlie asked Jerry. “Planes.” Jerry held up ...More

Action & Adventure, Fiction
Andrew M. Bell

5 min read

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When I pick her up she feels warm and frail. She’s like a giraffe sticking her neck high above the canopy searching for a decent snack. When she flies you ...More

Fiction, Young Writer
Blake Lucas

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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knitted scarves wrap around her neck while legs freeze beneath leopard-                                print leggings canvas ...More

Young Writer
Elizabeth Steel

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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When a baby is born, it’s the happiest day of your life You are handed a bundle of perfection, You make a promise to be the baby’s protector ...More

Young Writer
Rosie Cruickshank

2 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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The strap pinches my neck. My fingers poise above the keys. Moonlight highlights the skeletal frame of my alto saxophone. I stretch my eyes out in ...More

Young Writer
Monica Koster

3 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

“What do you intend to do about this disgraceful situation?” Alison Carrington seethed. Mayor Harper stared at the outraged, elderly woman, like a m ...More

Drama, Fiction
Andrew M. Bell

22 min read

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Dear Earth, Before we go, we’d just like to say a few things. When we first arrived, we were born into a world that (so it seemed) you had adapte ...More

Young Writer
Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Feijoas roll down the roof to be pecked by the birds startling the rats which scurry above. A grimy workbench dusty with tools next to a soggy, wet lead che ...More

Fiction, Young Writer
Georgia Daniell

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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I miss you, Life Outside the Gate. ​My gate isn’t very high, but now it feels like the top is touching the clouds. ​Whenever I think about b ...More

Young Writer
Betty Mackay

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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His fur is silky black, blue eyes wild, teeth glistening white – white like the snow that fell last winter, like the oleander that grows by the ravine. T ...More

Young Writer
Krissie Bearsley

6 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

The dragonfly’s eyes are made up of multiple hexagons. Inside each hexagon is a black and white picture of my face. I’ve printed the photos from ...More

Fiction
Gail Ingram

2 min read

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  Kingdom of Blong is the fifth in the Elastic Island Adventures children’s book series for children aged 7 – 12, although note all the books can ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Travel & Environment
Karen McMillan

17 min read

Published by Duckling Publishing
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Flowers. There are a lot of flowers. Every day someone crouches by me, one hand on their heart and the other holding a bunch of flowers. Lilies, lilacs, rose ...More

Non Fiction, NZ History, Young Writer
Olivia Ruland

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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I was rushing around like a headless chicken; measuring, collecting cardboard and forming the plan of attack. My mission? To build a scale model of a ...More

Leon Greig

3 min read

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We flip on the trampoline and wince as our fragile flesh scrapes the net. We stare at screens try to improve our eyesight by gazing deep into the pixelat ...More

Young Writer
Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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“What else will I need?” “Just that will be enough.” I finish filling my drink bottle and prepare myself for the unknown, not knowing if I will c ...More

Young Writer
Arona

4 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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In my game, Zombies roam. In my game, Creepers groan. In my game, skeletons run with arrows & bows. In my game, I am the only good guy. In my game, vill ...More

Young Writer
Dylan Wright

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Flip Flop Bay is the sixth in the Elastic Island Adventures children’s book series for children aged 7 – 12, but note the books can be read as stand ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Action & Adventure, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Humor & Comedy, Travel & Environment
Karen McMillan

18 min read

Published by Duckling Publishing
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  Emotions are messages from your heart, they tell you what you need. Some of them are BIG feelings, and some are very small indeed. Imagine your feel ...More

* STORIES ON THE GO, Picture Book
Rebekah Ballagh

1 min read

Published by Allen & Unwin
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“Come on, Moon, it’s time to hunt.” Sunrise went first to check if there was any danger. Moon tried to go before Sunrise had said the coast was cle ...More

Young Writer
Bronnie Homer

4 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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I remember the clock He liked to count down Whether we liked it or not, Whether we smiled or frowned He hung in my house On the nursery wall We saw him ...More

Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Writer
Published by WRITE ON Magazine

It’s been nearly 70 years since my children left home. That sounds ridiculous but I am 120 years old. When they left, my house felt empty. I began to ...More

Fiction, Travel & Environment
Kat Miller

12 min read

The time had come. In the warm darkness of his egg, the flamingo chick moved. Crack! His mother stood up. She fussed about, touching the egg gently w ...More

Action & Adventure, Fiction, Travel & Environment
Andrew M. Bell

14 min read

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Nobody knew who he was. Or where he came from. Only that he lived on the traffic island in the middle of the intersection and had one arm. When he firs ...More

Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Young Writer
Lilah Hughes

4 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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You can do it for fitness You can do it for play You can ride your bike All of the day When you drive in a car It creates pollution Join with me Start ...More

Fiction, Young Writer
Cooper Harris

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

It’s what I could do to help Fleur out. Family is family. The last Friday each month, we’d drive into the city from opposite directions, and in the motel c ...More

Fiction
Heather McQuillan

2 min read

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Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? It could be you! A cute, three-roomed pineapple in one of the most in-demand locations in the world! Buy now and you ...More

Young Writer
Emily Norris

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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I am lost in countless dizzying turns and endless corridors. A bare light bulb flickers as I pass beneath it. I flinch involuntarily. Ping! The famili ...More

Fiction, Mystery & Crime, Young Writer
Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Yessssss, I thought the first day of Lockdown Breakfast was yum on the first day of Lockdown It was cloudy School was out on the first day of Lockdown We went o ...More

Young Writer
Zara Rooney

2 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine

Fox

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They didn’t want my name to be conventional. It’s a quick, sharp sound, a sound that belongs with cricket chirps and snapping twigs, brilliant as ...More

Fantasy & Science Fiction, Young Writer
Sarah-Kate Simons

3 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine
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Meet her in the forest You’ll find her fascinating She may not welcome you but she has no choice in this The tree which she is forever linked to c ...More

Drama, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction, Young Writer
Sophia Williamson

1 min read

Published by WRITE ON Magazine