Bedtime stories for 7-year-olds

These stories are a good fit for 7-year-olds: the plots and the words are easy to follow at that age. Each one shows how many minutes it takes to read aloud, so it is easy to pick one for tonight.

Grandma’s Chest: The Didukh
On Christmas Eve Mirko finds an old didukh in Grandma’s chest, hears how it once danced and sneezed, and ties a new one with her.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
Perez the Mouse
Little King Bubi sets out at night with Perez the Mouse to visit a poor boy named Gilito, and learns what it truly means to be a king.
Ages 6–89 min readKindness
Rexik, Trika and the Meteor Shower
Trika wants to catch a shooting star, Rexik notices that the stars burn out high in the sky, and Dad’s “star” turns out not to be a star at all.
Ages 6–87 min readDinosaurs
Sampo the Little Lapp
A little Sami boy, Sampo, sets off at night to the Mountain King’s mountain and boldly tells the giant that the sun will surely come back.
Ages 6–88 min readWinter
The Wawel Dragon
A Polish legend: a dragon under Wawel Hill terrifies all of Kraków, the knights run away, and humble shoemaker Skuba beats it with a needle and a clever idea.
Ages 6–88 min readCourage
The Little Fir Tree
A little fir tree is in such a hurry to grow up and wait for something better that she misses her own happiness until it is gone.
Ages 6–810 min readWinter
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack swaps a cow for five magic beans, climbs a beanstalk above the clouds and escapes a giant with a little hen and a golden harp.
Ages 6–87 min readAdventure
The Cat That Walked by Himself
The Woman tamed the Dog, the Horse and the Cow, but the clever Cat struck a bargain: three praises, and he gets the fire, yet he still walks by himself.
Ages 6–810 min readAnimal stories
Rumpelstiltskin
A miller boasts that his daughter can spin straw into gold, and now only one thing can save her: the strange name of a tiny little man.
Ages 6–86 min readMagic
The Swineherd
A princess scorned a real rose and a nightingale, yet kissed a swineherd for a magic toy, never guessing who he really was.
Ages 6–87 min readKindness
Snow White
A jealous stepmother tries three times to get rid of Snow White, but kind dwarfs and a lucky stumble save the girl.
Ages 6–89 min readMagic
Little Red Riding Hood
Little Red Riding Hood left the path to pick flowers, and a sly wolf beat her to Grandma’s house. A Brothers Grimm tale about the price of not listening.
Ages 6–88 min readCourage
Thumbelina
A tiny girl born in a tulip escapes a toad, a beetle and a blind mole, and the swallow she saved carries her to a warm land of flowers.
Ages 6–89 min readMagic
Hansel and Gretel
Lost in the forest, a brother and sister find a witch’s gingerbread house, where clever Gretel saves Hansel, and white pebbles and a duck lead them home.
Ages 6–89 min readCourage
Cinderella
A fairy godmother whisks Cinderella to the ball in a pumpkin coach, but at midnight the magic ends and a glass slipper is left on the stairs.
Ages 6–88 min readMagic
Sirko
The farmer sent old dog Sirko away, and a wolf helped him get home. Now Sirko must thank his friend, right in the middle of a wedding.
Ages 6–87 min readAnimal stories
Timko and the Wobbly Tooth
Timko’s first baby tooth falls out right in the middle of a laugh, then vanishes, and all of Oak Grove searches for it until evening.
Ages 6–87 min readBig moments
Timko and the Friends Who Fell Out
Rusty visits Timko, and the friends compete over who is his best friend, until Timko says words to Splash that he can never take back.
Ages 6–87 min readBig moments
Timko Moves House
Timko’s family moves to a new house in Ash Tree Glade: there are goodbyes to say to Rusty, Pip and the old house, and a new friend to find.
Ages 6–88 min readBig moments
Puss in Boots
The youngest miller’s son inherited only a cat, but that cat in boots outwitted the king, the mowers and even a man-eating giant.
Ages 6–87 min readAnimal stories
King Thrushbeard
A proud princess mocks every suitor, then spends a month with a wandering fiddler and learns for herself how much someone else’s laughter stings.
Ages 6–87 min readFeelings
The Emperor’s New Clothes
Two swindlers weave the emperor cloth that fools cannot see. Everyone pretends to see it, until a little girl speaks up at the parade.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
Rexik, Trika and the Dads' Contest
Rexik’s Dad and Uncle Horn compete to see who is stronger, while the moms quietly save the nests full of eggs from a flood.
Ages 6–88 min readDinosaurs
The Fisherman and His Wife
A poor fisherman lets a magic flounder go, and his wife Ilsebill keeps asking for more, until she wants to give orders to the sun itself.
Ages 6–88 min readMagic
Happy Hans
For seven years of work Hans earns a lump of gold, then on the way home he swaps his goods for worse and worse ones, and each time he is delighted.
Ages 6–87 min readFables
The Steadfast Tin Soldier
A one-legged tin soldier falls in love with a paper dancer, sails in a paper boat, ends up inside a fish, and stays true to the very end.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
The Ugly Duckling
A gray duckling chased out of the farmyard survives autumn and a harsh winter, and in spring sees in the water that he has become a swan.
Ages 6–88 min readFeelings
Rexik and Quetza the Postwoman
Quetza the postwoman brings Rexik a mysterious three-word letter, so he and Trika set off across the valley to see if something is wrong.
Ages 6–86 min readDinosaurs
The Umbrella Who Was Afraid of the Rain
A new yellow umbrella hides from the rain in a cupboard, until a lost little girl called Solomiyka is caught in a downpour outside.
Ages 6–87 min readCourage
Why Sun and Moon Live in the Sky
Welcoming Sun and Moon invite their friend Water and all her creatures to visit, but Water just keeps on coming and coming.
Ages 6–86 min readNature
The Twelve Months
A stepmother sends Marushka out in winter for violets, strawberries and apples, and the twelve months by a magic fire help the kind girl.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
The Cat of the Dovre Mountains
A hunter taking a white bear to the king spends Christmas Eve in a cottage that trolls invade, and they mistake the bear for a giant kitty!
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
Mother Holle
Hardworking Olenka jumps into a well after her spindle, meets Mother Holle, whose featherbed makes it snow, and comes home covered in gold.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
The Snowman
A snowman asks an old dog about the world and dreams of a warm stove; with the thaw he melts, and only then is it clear why he longed for it.
Ages 6–87 min readWinter
The Sparrow and the Two Chests
Grandpa searches for the sparrow Granny chased away and gets a box of treasure, but spooks climb out of greedy Granny’s big chest.
Ages 6–88 min readKindness
Why Possum’s Tail Is Bare
Possum bragged so much about his fluffy tail that Rabbit and Cricket taught him a lesson, and that’s why possums still have bare tails.
Ages 6–86 min readAnimal stories
The Painted Fox
Mykyta the Fox falls into a barrel of blue paint and becomes the mighty King Hostromysl, until one moonlit night his own yapping gives him away.
Ages 6–86 min readFables
A Lighthouse for a Forgetful Whale
A lighthouse keeper’s daughter makes up a song of light so that Bloop, a forgetful young whale, can find his way home even in thick fog.
Ages 6–89 min readFriendship
The Monkey and the Crocodile
A Monkey treats her friend the Crocodile to sweet pink apples, but when he carries her out to sea for his sly wife, only her quick wits save her.
Ages 6–86 min readFables
Momotaro, the Peach Boy
A boy who came out of a giant peach sails with a dog, a monkey and a pheasant to the demons' island to win back the people’s treasures.
Ages 6–88 min readCourage
The Bremen Town Musicians
Four old animals set off for Bremen to become musicians, but along the way they find something even better: a home and friends.
Ages 6–87 min readFriendship