Paul Holmes -
University
English Professor

Free Materials For ESL Teachers and Learners

Short Stories for Kids

Complete lesson plans, including stories, listening, classroom activities, quiz questions and more!

The Baffling Banana Blizzard

Milo the mischievous monkey discovers a hidden portal to a land of sour bananas and embarks on a quest to find kindness crystals and restore sweetness to the land.

Try this story at a different level?

 

In a magic place called Tootsville, there was a funny monkey named Milo who loved bananas. One day, he found a secret door under a banana peel and jumped in. Milo landed in a place with huge bananas and banana snow!

Milo saw mountains of chocolate bananas and a sky full of banana peels. He grabbed a banana to eat, but it tasted bad, not sweet. Milo was sad and went to ask his smart friend, Oliver the Owl, for help.

Oliver the Owl told Milo that a mean wizard made the bananas taste bad. To fix it, Milo needed to find five special crystals. Milo said, “I can do it!” and went to look for them. He saw silly banana squirrels and crossed a river of banana pudding. Milo didn’t stop, even when it was hard.

Milo found all the crystals, and they made the bananas sweet again. Tootsville was happy, and Milo learned to be happy with what he had. He and Oliver taught everyone to be nice and say thank you. Sharing bananas made everyone smile.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

1TootsvilleA make-believe town where pretend things happen
2monkeyAn animal that likes to jump around and eat fruit
3bananasA long, yellow fruit that you can peel and eat
4crystalsShiny rocks that can be all different colors
5wizardA person in stories who can do magic
6puddingA soft, sweet food that you can eat with a spoon
7squirrelA small animal with a big bushy tail that climbs trees
8riverA long strip of water that flows across the land
9sharingLetting someone else use or have some of what you have
10happyFeeling good and smiling

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What was the name of the funny monkey in Tootsville?
2. What did Milo find under a banana peel?
3. Who did Milo ask for help when the bananas tasted bad?
4. What did Milo need to find to make the bananas sweet again?
5. What did Milo and Oliver teach everyone in Tootsville?
6. What made everyone in Tootsville smile?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a magic place called Tootsville, there was a funny monkey named Milo who (1)______ bananas. One day, he found a secret door under a banana peel and jumped in. Milo landed in a place with (2)______ bananas and banana snow!

Milo saw mountains of chocolate (3)______s and a sky full of banana peels. He grabbed a banana to eat, but it (4)______ bad, not sweet. Milo was sad and went to ask his smart friend, Oliver the Owl, for help.

Oliver the Owl told Milo that a mean wizard made the bananas (5)______ bad. To fix it, Milo needed to find five special crystals. Milo said, “I can do it!” and (6)______ to look for them. He saw silly banana squirrels and crossed a river of banana pudding. Milo didn’t stop, even when it was hard.

Milo found all the (7)______, and they made the bananas sweet again. Tootsville was happy, and Milo learned to be happy with what he had. He and Oliver taught everyone to be nice and say thank you. (8)______ bananas made everyone smile.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is Milo’s favorite food?
2. How would you feel if you found a secret door under a banana peel?
3. Do you like bananas? Why or why not?
4. What do you think a banana snow would look like?
5. How do you think Milo felt when he tasted the bad banana?
6. What do you think a mean wizard is like?
7. Do you think it was easy or hard for Milo to find the special crystals? Why?
8. Why do you think sharing bananas made everyone smile?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Tootsville
2. monkey
3. bananas
4. crystals
5. wizard
6. pudding
7. squirrel
8. river
9. sharing
10. happy

Meanings:
(A) Shiny rocks that can be all different colors
(B) A long strip of water that flows across the land
(C) A make-believe town where pretend things happen
(D) A soft, sweet food that you can eat with a spoon
(E) Letting someone else use or have some of what you have
(F) A small animal with a big bushy tail that climbs trees
(G) A person in stories who can do magic
(H) A long, yellow fruit that you can peel and eat
(I) Feeling good and smiling
(J) An animal that likes to jump around and eat fruit
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What is the name of the funny monkey in the story?
(a) Milo
(b) Oliver
(c) Tootsville
(d) Wizard

2. What did Milo find under a banana peel?
(a) A chocolate mountain
(b) A river of banana pudding
(c) A crystal
(d) A secret door

3. Who did Milo ask for help?
(a) The banana squirrels
(b) The mean wizard
(c) Oliver the Owl
(d) Tootsville

4. What did Oliver the Owl tell Milo about the bananas?
(a) They were always sweet
(b) A mean wizard made them taste bad
(c) They were made of chocolate
(d) They were magical

5. How many special crystals did Milo need to find?
(a) Five
(b) Three
(c) Ten
(d) Two

6. What did Milo have to cross to find the crystals?
(a) A sky full of banana peels
(b) A mountain of chocolate bananas
(c) A river of banana pudding
(d) A secret door

7. What happened when Milo found all the crystals?
(a) The bananas turned into chocolate
(b) The bananas became sweet again
(c) The mean wizard disappeared
(d) Tootsville became sad

8. What did Milo and Oliver teach everyone in Tootsville?
(a) To eat more bananas
(b) To find more crystals
(c) To be mean and not say thank you
(d) To be nice and say thank you

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Milo and Oliver taught everyone to be rude and never say thank you, and hogging bananas made everyone frown.
2. Milo’s friend Oliver the Owl told him that a mean wizard made the bananas taste bad.
3. Milo found all the crystals and made the bananas sweet again.
4. There is a serious monkey named Milo who hates bananas.
5. Milo needed to find five special crystals to fix the bananas.
6. Milo saw serious banana squirrels and crossed a river of apple pudding.
7. Milo landed in a place with tiny bananas and carrot snow.
8. Milo found a secret door under a banana peel and jumped in.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this story in two sentences. Here are some hints:
Who are the main characters?
What happens in the story?

Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What was the name of the funny monkey in Tootsville?
Milo

2. What did Milo find under a banana peel?
A secret door

3. Who did Milo ask for help when the bananas tasted bad?
Oliver the Owl

4. What did Milo need to find to make the bananas sweet again?
Five special crystals

5. What did Milo and Oliver teach everyone in Tootsville?
To be nice and say thank you

6. What made everyone in Tootsville smile?
Sharing bananas
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) loved
(2) huge
(3) banana
(4) tasted
(5) taste
(6) went
(7) crystals
(8) Sharing
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Tootsville
Answer: (C) A make-believe town where pretend things happen

2. monkey
Answer: (J) An animal that likes to jump around and eat fruit

3. bananas
Answer: (H) A long, yellow fruit that you can peel and eat

4. crystals
Answer: (A) Shiny rocks that can be all different colors

5. wizard
Answer: (G) A person in stories who can do magic

6. pudding
Answer: (D) A soft, sweet food that you can eat with a spoon

7. squirrel
Answer: (F) A small animal with a big bushy tail that climbs trees

8. river
Answer: (B) A long strip of water that flows across the land

9. sharing
Answer: (E) Letting someone else use or have some of what you have

10. happy
Answer: (I) Feeling good and smiling
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What is the name of the funny monkey in the story?
Answer: (a) Milo

2. What did Milo find under a banana peel?
Answer: (d) A secret door

3. Who did Milo ask for help?
Answer: (c) Oliver the Owl

4. What did Oliver the Owl tell Milo about the bananas?
Answer: (b) A mean wizard made them taste bad

5. How many special crystals did Milo need to find?
Answer: (a) Five

6. What did Milo have to cross to find the crystals?
Answer: (c) A river of banana pudding

7. What happened when Milo found all the crystals?
Answer: (b) The bananas became sweet again

8. What did Milo and Oliver teach everyone in Tootsville?
Answer: (d) To be nice and say thank you
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Milo and Oliver taught everyone to be rude and never say thank you, and hogging bananas made everyone frown. (Answer: False)
2. Milo’s friend Oliver the Owl told him that a mean wizard made the bananas taste bad. (Answer: True)
3. Milo found all the crystals and made the bananas sweet again. (Answer: True)
4. There is a serious monkey named Milo who hates bananas. (Answer: False)
5. Milo needed to find five special crystals to fix the bananas. (Answer: True)
6. Milo saw serious banana squirrels and crossed a river of apple pudding. (Answer: False)
7. Milo landed in a place with tiny bananas and carrot snow. (Answer: False)
8. Milo found a secret door under a banana peel and jumped in. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧

📚 How about these other Level 1 stories?

The Giant’s Garden

Greg and Whiskers had a pretty garden, but mean Goblins took the seeds. Whiskers helped and they made it pretty again.

In the magical land of Sprinkleville, a mischievous gnome named Minty Mischief plots to steal all the cupcakes from the famous cupcake castle, but a young girl named Ella is determined to stop him and save the town from chaos.

The Cupcake Castle Caper

In a yummy town called Sprinkleville, a little gnome named Minty made salty cupcakes by mistake. Ella, a brave girl with a good nose, found Minty and helped him make delicious cupcakes again.

The Lazy Lion

Once upon a time, in a beautiful jungle, there lived a lion named Leo. Leo was the laziest lion in

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