Story starters for kids, 60 first lines that do the hard part.

Silly (ages 4 to 8)

Short sentences and simple words. Good for KS1 and early readers.

• The banana did not want to be eaten. So it put on a hat and ran away.
• Grandpa jumped so high on the bed that his pants landed on the roof.
• My jelly will not stop wobbling. Now it is wobbling out the door!
• A giant sat on our house. He said, “Sorry! I thought it was a chair!”
• The dog did a little burp, and out came a cloud shaped like a duck.
• One morning, all the spoons began to sing. The forks were NOT happy.

Everyday, but slightly wrong (ages 6 and up)

• The fridge started talking on a Tuesday.
• At 7:14 a.m., every sock in the house had a tiny note pinned to it that said “We need to talk.”
• Our new neighbour mows his lawn at midnight, in a tuxedo, and the grass grows back blue.
• The lift in Priya’s building has a button marked “7½”, and this morning somebody pressed it.
• “Please stop sitting on me,” said the sofa, very politely, just as Grandpa sat down.
• The bus driver handed me a ticket that said “Valid for one Wednesday only. Choose wisely.”

Fairy tales (ages 5 and up)

• Once upon a time, a dragon who was afraid of the dark knocked on a candle-maker’s door.
• The princess kissed the frog, and the frog wiped his mouth and said, “Excuse me, why would you do that?”
• The wishing well had a sign on it: “Closed for repairs. Wishes may come true backwards.”
• In the kingdom of Fuddleby, the king had lost his crown again, and this time a goose was wearing it.
• “You get three wishes,” said the genie, “but you have to use them all before lunch.”
• Once upon a Thursday, a witch opened a bakery, and her very first customer was a nervous troll.

Animals (ages 4 and up)

• The penguins at the city zoo have been planning something, and this morning the zookeeper found their map.
• Our cat has been sneaking out every night, and today she came home wearing a tiny hat.
• Farmer Ingrid counted her sheep twice and got fifty-one both times. She only owns fifty.
• The octopus at the aquarium had learned to open its tank, and it had written a list of places to visit.
• At six o’clock sharp, the rooster cleared his throat and announced that he was quitting.
• The giraffe kept getting her head stuck in the clouds, which was fine until the thunderstorm rolled in.

Pirates (ages 6 and up)

• Captain Mei unrolled the treasure map, and the X began to wriggle slowly away across the paper.
• The ship’s parrot had been silent for twenty years. This morning it cleared its throat and said, “Don’t trust the cook.”
• Ship’s log, day 41: still no land in sight, still no treasure, and the ship’s cat has been promoted to first mate.
• A bottle washed up on the beach with a message curled inside: “Help! I am stuck inside a bottle.”
• The island appeared on Tuesday, sailed past us on Wednesday, and was nowhere to be found by Thursday.
• Every pirate aboard the Salty Biscuit was afraid of something. Captain Tomás was afraid of seagulls.

Superheroes (ages 6 and up)

• Priya discovered her superpower on a Monday: she could talk to sandwiches. Unfortunately, the sandwiches knew things.
• Captain Drizzle could make it rain, but only on herself, and only when she was already running late.
• The city was in danger, the sky was full of giant bubbles, and the only hero available was Grandpa Bao in his dressing gown.
• “Never fear!” cried the Marvellous Mop, landing on the roof. Then he realised he had forgotten what his power was.
• Doctor Dreadful’s evil plan was simple: replace every playground slide in the city with a very, very slow escalator.
• The superhero academy had one entrance test: rescue a cat from a tree without upsetting the cat.

Road trips (ages 6 and up)

• The roadside diner had one thing on the menu: “Whatever the cook dreamed about last night.”
• Grandpa insisted he knew the way because he’d done this exact trip before, in 1971, on a bicycle.
• The man in the tollbooth didn’t want money. He wanted us to answer a riddle, and he had all day.
• First to spot a yellow car wins. Lucía had just spotted forty of them, all driving in a line, all heading our way.
• Postcard found in the glovebox: “If you’re reading this, you’re already on the wrong road. Keep going.”
• The gift shop at the top of the mountain sold only one thing: snow globes with our car inside them.

Spooky but friendly (ages 8 and up)

• The ghost who lives in Room 12 of our school has exactly one rule, and this morning the new teacher broke it.
• At 3:07 a.m., the grandfather clock struck thirteen, and the portrait on the stairs blinked.
• NOTE FOUND IN THE ATTIC: “Please feed the thing under the floorboards. It likes toast. Do NOT give it jam.”
• Priya’s new bedroom came with a wardrobe that was always warm inside, and every night at nine it hummed a lullaby.
• “Whatever you do,” whispered the caretaker, “don’t let the pumpkins hear you laugh.”
• The full moon rose over Mossbury, and every scarecrow in the village slowly turned its head to the left.

Space and robots (ages 8 and up)

• Captain Aiyana’s spaceship had one small problem: the onboard computer had become best friends with the toaster.
• At 07:42 ship time, every robot on Deck 9 stopped what it was doing, turned to the window, and pointed.
• The year is 3000, and Grandpa still refuses to let the hover-car drive itself, which is how we ended up in orbit.
• MESSAGE RECEIVED FROM DEEP SPACE: “Hello, Earth. We are coming to visit on Thursday. Please tidy up.”
• Ravi built a time machine out of an old washing machine, and it worked, but only on the spin cycle.
• The aliens landed on the school field, looked around carefully, and asked to speak to whoever was in charge of the swings.

Mysteries (ages 8 and up)

• The chocolate cake vanished from the bakery window at 4:15 p.m., and the only clue was a single blue feather.
• Detective Mei Lin had solved ninety-nine mysteries. The hundredth began with a knock and a very nervous goose.
• “Nobody leave this room,” said Grandma Zuzana. “Somebody in this house has eaten my last biscuit.”
• CASE FILE #47: The Missing Trophy. Suspects: the coach, the team mascot, and the school hamster.
• Every Thursday at midnight, someone sneaks into the town museum and polishes the dinosaur. Nobody knows who.
• The ransom note, made of letters cut from cereal boxes, demanded twelve jam doughnuts for the return of Mrs Okafor’s prize pumpkin.

How to use a story starter

1. Read it aloud. Read the line with expression. Ask: who is this about, and what is the problem?
2. Ask three questions. Who? Where? What happens next? Write a word or two for each.
3. Write the next three sentences. Keep going without stopping to fix spelling. Getting the story moving is the goal.
4. Add a twist. Something goes wrong, someone unexpected arrives, or an object starts talking.
5. Find an ending. Solve the problem, or end with a joke. Read the whole thing aloud.

Make it a game

Starters work even better shared. Read one out, then take turns adding a sentence each, seeing only the sentence before yours. See 10 story games for families and storytelling games for the classroom.

Questions

What is a story starter?

A story starter is a first line or short prompt that begins a story for you. It usually gives a character, a setting or a problem, so the writer only has to decide what happens next.

Which story starters suit KS1 or ages 5 to 7?

Use the Silly and Animals lines: short sentences, simple words and a clear funny problem. Read them aloud and let children tell the next part before they write it.

Which story starters suit KS2 or ages 7 to 11?

Most of the themes here work for KS2. The Spooky, Space and Mystery lines have longer sentences and more to infer, so they suit ages 8 and up.

Can I print these?

Yes, for home and classroom use. Print this page from your browser. The Taletoss classroom edition also has printable starter cards.

More story game guides

• Storytelling games for the classroomEight storytelling games for the classroom, each with a writing focus and timing: story chain, fold-and-pass, genre switch, show-don’t-tell relay and more.
• Story games for familiesTen storytelling games for families that need no kit: story chain, fortunately unfortunately, secret words and more, each with a line to start.
• The one word story gameHow to play the one word story game: rules, variations from one word to one sentence, 12 story titles to use as prompts, and tips for kids and drama groups.
• Story cubes alternativesNo story dice at home? Make your own with one ordinary die and a roll table, or try six storytelling games that need no dice at all.

All guides