Viking Kite
Short stories for reluctant and second language readers
A free teacher resource funded by Swedish educational grants and stipends from the Swedish educational writers' union (SLFF). Now available for teachers worldwide.
✓ Inspiration to get students reading.
✓ Stories with complete lesson plans
✓ Audiobooks and read-aloud tools
✓ Vocabulary + comprehension quizzes
✓ Project work & creative activities
✓ Post-reading videos
✓ P4C-inspired discussion prompts
"I teach some students who have never read a book. This invaluable resource has helped me encourage them to read in a way I didn't think was possible. Thanks."
Ted
Stories
Viking Kite Stories are chosen with the following criteria:✓ Short stories with short chapters
✓ Complicated, fun and challenging ideas with simple, accessible language
✓ Real world love from our test schools and students
✓ An idea or moment of wonder that is unforgettableWe do not accept submissions. All our stories are commissioned from best-selling authors or selected from established classics.
"I work in an International school and this is just what I needed to get my students reading."
Simon
About
Viking Kite is free library of stories, created or chosen to be perfect for reluctant readers and second language classrooms.Run by a small team of teachers and writers and funded by educational and literary grants (Sweden), Viking Kite aims to give teachers everything they need for a lovely classroom story experience.We also welcome donations from anyone who wants to support bringing story to classrooms.
"My students love the artwork, the audiobooks and the fun quizzes. The thought that has gone in to helping even the weakest reader is wonderful. The after-reading creative projects help to reinforce what has been learnt. Fantastic!"
Maria
Coming soon ...
We’re working as hard and as quickly as we can to get the books ready!Even though the books are already quality controlled and published, it takes time to create the classroom activities, audiobooks, and other lovely bits that go into making a Viking Kite story.Thanks for your patience — we can’t wait to share the next story with you!And, if you want to support our work and help us get stories out even quicker, we do welcome donations from anyone who wants to support bringing story to classrooms.
"Me and my students love the Viking Kite way of doing stories. And it's so simple for me - all I do is throw it up on the whiteboard and then we go through the story together. Sometimes I give them a chapter for homework but we still do it together in class as well. This just works. The best of the best."
Peter
How We Level Viking Kite Books
At Viking Kite, we make sure stories fit your students. First, we choose books by age group: younger readers (6–11) or older students (11–16). Then we adjust the language, so there’s the right level for everyone—from the simplest vocabulary to the richest, most advanced English.Each story is adapted into four levels:Level 1: Short, simple sentences. (CEFR A2-B1)Level 2: More variety, a bit of a challenge. (CEFR B1)Level 3: Rich vocabulary, longer sentences. (CEFR B1-B2)Level 4: Complex sentences, advanced words, ready for high school. (CEFR B2=C1)This way, your students get the right story at the right time—whether they’re just starting or ready for something more challenging.
"So simple to use and inspires the best conversations in class. Cradle Earth sparked a debate in class that went on for two lessons exploring the nature of consciousness, cosmology and society. Even reticent kids piped up. Awesome!"
Eva
Contact
If you want to know more about who we are, what we do, or have suggestions for other classics you would like to see done in the Viking Kite way, reach out with the form below.Please note, due to surprising growth, it may take us a week or so to get back to you.
Thank you
Thanks for reaching out.
Now, go and start that new story with your class!
Viking Kite quality
Viking Kite is a Scandinavian and UK educational fiction series.We are the team behind over 2 million books sold to, and loved by Scandinavian schools. Created by the authors of the best-selling Good Stuff series and trusted by publishers like the BBC, Liber, Bonnier, and Studentlitteratur.Our approach to stories in the classroom is built on the best of Scandinavian USA and UK pedagogy — including Philosophy for Children (P4C) and story-led learning.Our writing and educational team have created over 150 educational books and are #1 in Sweden and are credited by educational leaders with significant contributions to Scandinavian English literacy.Our stories and work have been translated into Chinese, Korean, Norwegian, Danish and Thai and sold globally under different names and brands.Our pedagogy is always evolving with PhD research undertaken at the University of Bath Spa and involvement in conference and seminars plus the wonderful feedback from our students, teachers and schools.
Viking Kite dna
Viking Kite began as a response to a growing problem in Scandinavia.Teachers and educators realised that students were reading less and less leading to a decrease in both critical evaluation skills and empathy. Vocabulary, concentration span, understanding of cause and effect and more were also negatively impacted in the reading decline.After a lengthy evaluation process, two main issues were identified.1) Teachers had no clear guidelines or material to help them encourage students to read2) The material students were given to read was seen as boringViking Kite was created to fix this.1) Complete, ready-to-use lesson plans were designed for using story in class. Woking with teachers, editors and curriculum developers, a new approach was researched and implemented. Ways to motivate and engage students in the reading process were developed, and activities and creative projects were implemented to reinforce language and conceptual understanding and use.2) Rather than abridged books which lose colour and quality or traditional ESL texts, which are low in ideas and language challenges, new stories were commissioned with specific criteria designed to meet the needs of modern readers.You can read about our stories and how they are selected or created here.
