When was the last time you read a story by a middle-school student? Do you wonder what's up with kids these days that isn't bad news? Do you know what kids are thinking and learning? Do you want to know what kind of skills they take away from school? In its own modest way, SHORT STORIES BY SHORT PEOPLE gives a glimpse into these answers. This volume is the work of 95 sixth-graders at Berkshire Middle School in Beverly Hills, Michigan.

So many assignments end up being read by only two people--the student and the teacher--that a certain amount of complacency sets in where student writing is concerned. Connecting school work to the real world is the best way to show students that what is taught in school has more ramifications than the earning of a grade. Accordingly, students were challenged to write for readers outside the school walls.

What resulted is a compilation of stories on all topics. Tales within the same genre are grouped together, but the subject matter of each story is unique. If you pay attention to the reactions of characters to their respective situations, you will get a peek into the beliefs and concerns of these authors regarding such issues as response to authority, friendship, right, wrong, evil, good, commitment, adversity, courage, perseverance, and more. You will also experience humor, mystery, adventure, science fiction, historical fiction, horror, fantasy, fable, and even nonfiction (in the section "The World As It Is"). Kids have a lot to say, but we don't always hear it. Here is a document to help address that.

By the way, the title of the book was also chosen by the students from a list they generated. It was the highest vote-getter of the titles that their editor would approve. Given free rein, however, students would have named the book STORIES TO READ ON THE JOHN BY KIDS. That, too, tells us something: They are still kids, after all.