Help us improve Litsee

With your permission, Google Analytics measures visits and Microsoft Clarity records clicks, scrolling and page interactions, with form inputs and page text masked. We use no advertising cookies.

Change it any time with Cookie settings. Privacy policy · Google privacy · Microsoft privacy

SchoolsStart your free trialStart a free classroom trial

FREE INTERACTIVE STORY · AGES 5–6

Shelly’s Party: a free interactive story

Shelly the snail is late for a party in a garden where the flowers are as tall as trees. Your child chooses how to help: a leaf boat down the stream, or a ride on a ladybird.

  • Reading age 5
  • 1 short chapter, 1 choice and 2 endings
  • About 4 minutes
  • Animal story

Read the story

Choose your hero

Paint it your way

Chapter 1Shelly is late

A painted garden where the flowers are taller than trees, with a tiny cottage and a ladybird on a leaf.

Nia was very, very small. The flowers were as big as trees!

A snail sat on a green leaf. Her name was Shelly. Shelly looked sad.

“My friends have a party,” said Shelly. “It is at the little house. But I am so slow!”

Nia looked at the long path. Then Nia saw the stream. Then Nia saw a red ladybird.

What happens next is up to your child

How can Nia help Shelly?

Questions for grown-ups to ask

Did you spot it?

  1. EasyWhat kind of animal is Shelly?Answer: A snail.
  2. MediumWhy was Shelly sad?Answer: She was going to be late for her friends’ party, because she is slow.
  3. HarderHow did the stream or the ladybird help Shelly?Answer: They moved much faster than Shelly could, so she got to the party on time.

Talk about it

  • Which way did you choose, and why? Which would be more fun?
  • Have you ever been worried about being late? What helped?

Words to talk about

snail
A small, slow animal with a shell on its back.
stream
A little river.
ladybird
A small red beetle with black spots.

Reading it together

Shelly’s Party is written for children starting to read: short sentences, words they can sound out, and pictures that show the giant garden. Read it aloud the first time and let your child point to the snail, the stream and the ladybird in the picture.

At the choice, read both options and ask which one your child would pick. Younger children often choose straight away; ask “Why that one?” and listen. Saying a reason out loud is the start of the prediction skills teachers look for in Reception and Year 1.

Then read the other ending. Ask what was the same (Shelly got to her party) and what was different (water or air). Children who enjoy it can draw a third way for Shelly to travel, and tell you the story of it.

About this story

Reading age
5 (ages 5–6). Written for Litsee’s reading level for age 5, where sentences are mostly 3–7 words long.
Length
1 short chapter, 1 choice and 2 endings. Each way through is 110–116 words.
Reading time
About 4 minutes for a 5-year-old reading on their own, at Litsee’s pacing of 30 words a minute for that age. Reading aloud to your child is usually quicker.
Book band
Roughly Green to Orange, if your child’s school uses book bands (schemes differ; see our book bands guide).
Characters
Shelly the snail, a red ladybird, Shelly’s friends
Theme
Animal story

About this story

Written for litsee.com by the Litsee team, Shelly’s Party was drafted with AI help and checked against Litsee’s reading level for age 5.

Pictures of the Giant Garden: from the Litsee app, painted with AI image tools and hand-picked by the Litsee team. “Read to me” plays an AI voice recorded in advance.

Last updated: .

Questions parents and teachers ask

What age is Shelly’s Party for?

It is written at Litsee’s reading level for age 5, with short sentences and familiar words, so it suits children aged 5 and 6. It is lovely read aloud to younger children too.

How long does it take to read?

About five minutes for one path, read slowly together. Most children want to read the other ending straight afterwards.

Can my child choose who the story is about?

Yes. Nia leads Shelly’s Party unless your child picks another of the 15 heroes above it. That hero’s name then fills every page, and “Put them in the pictures” paints them into the Giant Garden. Nothing is typed, saved or sent.

Now let your child make a story of their own.

In Litsee, your child creates the hero, picks the world and chooses what happens next in an illustrated story that is read aloud.

Start your free trial

7 days free. A card is needed to start, and nothing is charged if you cancel before the trial ends.

See plans and pricing · How Litsee works

Try it in LitseeYour child creates the hero, picks the world and chooses what happens next, in an illustrated story that is read aloud.Start your free trialUse it in classRead an illustrated, narrated story together on the whiteboard, and let the class choose what happens next.Start a free classroom trialSee Litsee for schools