In Shirley Jackson's short story "Charles," a young boy named Laurie starts kindergarten and comes home each day with tales about a classmate named Charles, who is mischievous and troublesome. Laurie's stories about Charles, who gets into all sorts of trouble, intrigue his parents as they wonder about this boy's antics. However, as the year progresses, Laurie's behavior becomes increasingly problematic, until a school event reveals a surprising twist. The story explores themes of identity, childhood behavior, and parental perceptions, culminating in a clever and surprising revelation about Laurie and his imaginary classmate. [Generated by language model - please report any problems].

This book features in the following series: Creative Short Stories, Tale Blazers .

There are 23 pages in this book. This book was published in 2000 by Perfection Learning .

Shirley Jackson was born in San Francisco in 1916. She first received wide critical acclaim for her short story 'The Lottery', which was published in 1949. Her novels - which include The Sundial, The Bird's Nest, Hangsaman, The Road through the Wall, We Have Always Lived in the Castle and The Haunting of Hill House - are characterised by her use of realistic settings for tales that often involve elements of horror and the occult. Raising Demons and Life Among the Savages are her two works of nonfiction. Come Along With Me is a collection of stories, lectures, and part of the novel she was working on when she died in 1965.