Who can forget the experience of reading certain short stories for the first time: the sense of foreboding that gradually builds throughout “The Lottery” until it explodes in the horrifying climax; the shocking twist that rocks the reader at the end of “An Occurrence at Owl Cree Bridge”; the delicious irony that wraps “The Gift of the Magi” up like a well-tied bow? These are stories that reach out of their pages and take you in their grip and never let go. Many people can remember in vivid detail the time and place they first read “The Lottery.” Most of those people have never felt the same about the word “lottery” again.

Little Worlds was born out of our love of short stories and our frustration with the anthologies available for middle school students in the early 1980s. These anthologies were unsatisfactory in a number of ways. Some of them contained low-quality stories by unknown writers. Others contained a few good stories but not enough. In still others, the stories seemed dated in a way that truly great works of fiction never do, no matter how old they are.

Our goal in editing Little Worlds was to put together an anthology with a large number of stories that were both high in literary quality and accessible to middle school students. We wanted to introduce students to some of the best practitioners of the short story who ever lived, including writers such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Eudora Welty, Edgar Allan Poe, Katherine Mansfield, Ernest Hemingway, Guy de Maupassant, and Flannery O’Connor. We wanted teachers to pick up our anthology and find the classic stories they wanted to teach all in one place.

By creating a two-part structure for Little Worlds, we also hoped to make available an anthology with maximum flexibility. The first part includes stories that illustrate such basic elements of the short story as plot, character, point of view, and irony. After mastering these elements, students are ready to apply their skills to the more complex and often longer stories in Part II. But depending on the themes or writers they want to emphasize, teachers are free to move back and forth between the two parts.

Judging by the longevity of Little Worlds, we achieved our goal. The anthology recently celebrated its 25th anniversary and seems more in demand than ever. The feedback we have received over the years has been gratifying. One teacher called the two-part structure “a very useful teaching tool” and added: “I have used this book with eighth graders and have found it hugely successful.” Another teacher said, “I browsed the internet forever before finding this great anthology. It contains a wonderful selection of stories perfect for middle schoolers.” A third described Little Worlds as an “invaluable” classroom resource with “fantastic” stories.

 In the end, what pleases us most is knowing that, through Little Worlds, we have introduced tens of thousands of students to some of the most powerful and memorable short stories ever written. We hope that, in the process, we have instilled in them a love for the short story, what Eudora Welty called “a little world in space.” And we would like to think that every one of them remembers where they were sitting and what they felt when they read “The Lottery” for the first time.

Peter Guthrie

Author, Little Worlds 

Twenty-nine years ago when Peter and I first started work on Little Worlds, neither of us had been teaching for very long, and we didn’t know much. We did, however, know that we loved stories and that we wanted to give our students stories worth loving. Today I am a teacher with over 30 years in the classroom and I still love these stories. Now, however, I also love them for the many ways they fit into my classes, no matter what I’m teaching or at what level. I have used  “The Tunnel,” “A Visit of Charity,” and “The Fig Tree” at the beginning of an English elective entitled “Journeys” and later incorporated “The Japanese Quince” and “Miss Brill.” While teaching a unit on stories from the Bible, trees and gardens seemed to jump out from these stories. I chose “Marigolds,” and once again “The Fig Tree” but could have chosen “Japanese Quince” or even “A Visit of Charity” with its red apple in the final scene.

I find the stories to be excellent companion pieces to longer works and often pair them with books aimed at a young adult audience. “To Build a Fire” was the perfect complement to Into the Wild and led my students into a lively discussion about arrogance against nature. More recently I have paired “The Lottery” with Hunger Games to focus on rituals, a topic we pick up again later while reading the Odyssey. “Marigolds” and To Kill a Mockingbird both take place in the South during the depression, but present two different racial points of view.

These days I primarily teach 9th grade with occasional side trips to the 8th grade. Students use Little Worlds in 8th and 9th grade. The 8th grade curriculum focuses more purposely on genres and incorporates Little Worlds as Peter and I originally envisioned it. Students work their way through the first part and learn the vocabulary and techniques they need to read short stories closely and to talk about them effectively. My 9th grade class is designed around essential questions such as “What is justice?” and “What do individuals and society owe each other?” For this class I rely on “Winter Night,” “Marigolds,” and “Sun and Shadow” to help my student explore the complex relation of individuals and society. When we explore justice. I have them read “Daughter,” “African Morning,” and the almost myth-like “Why Reeds are Hollow.” I now know that the stories Peter and I chose are also valuable guides leading my students to more abstract thinking and a deeper understanding of what it is to be human.

 Mary Page

Author, Little Worlds