Kid Stuff

Kid Stuff

Infobox short story |
name = Kid Stuff
title_orig =
translator =
author = Isaac Asimov
country = United States
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction short story
publication_type = Periodical
published_in = "Beyond Fantasy Fiction"
publisher = Galaxy Publishing
media_type = Print (Magazine, Hardback & Paperback)
pub_date = September 1953
english_pub_date =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"Kid Stuff" is a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the September 1953 issue of "Beyond Fantasy Fiction" and reprinted in the 1957 collection "Earth Is Room Enough". Asimov wrote the story in January 1953, intending it for a new magazine called "Fantastic", but it was rejected by its editor, Harold Browne. Asimov then submitted it to H. L. Gold, who accepted it for a new sister magazine of "Galaxy Science Fiction" called "Beyond Fantasy Fiction".

Plot summary

The story concerns a fantasy writer named Jan Prentiss who finds that a foot-long talking insect has materialized on his desk and declared itself to be an elf. The elf reveals that its kind are telepathic, and that during the last ice age they used human brains as psychic amplifiers to augment their own abilities. However, since the Industrial Revolution, the elves have avoided mankind, since they are unable to manipulate electricity. Prentiss' elf, however, is a mutant who "can" manipulate electricity. It needs to use Prentiss' brain as a psychic amplifier, though, since Prentiss, being a fantasy writer, is one of the few humans with a mind sympathetic enough for the elf to control. When Prentiss balks, the elf threatens Prentiss' wife and ten-year-old son. When Prentiss' son comes home from school, the elf tries to take control of his mind, too; but the boy, being a modern 1950s child, doesn't believe in "kid stuff" like fairies. The elf is unable to control him, and the boy crushes the elf with his schoolbooks.


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • kid stuff — kid′ stuff n. 1) inf something appropriate only for children 2) inf something very easy or simple • Etymology: 1925–30, amer …   From formal English to slang

  • kid stuff — n. Informal 1. something appropriate for children only 2. something very easy to do, make, etc …   English World dictionary

  • kid stuff — noun 1. : something befitting or appropriate only to children realized that all that saluting and about facing was kid stuff T.W.Duncan 2. : something extremely simple or easy convinced him that running for the town council would be kid stuff * * …   Useful english dictionary

  • kid stuff — n. marijuana, a drug for beginners. (Drugs.) □ That grass is kid stuff. □ He’s still using kid stuff …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • kid stuff — kids stuff or kid stuff something that is very easy or not suitable for adults He thinks computer and video games are kids stuff …   English dictionary

  • Kid Stuff Records — infobox record label image bg = none parent = founded = distributor = genre = Various country = US url = Kid Stuff Records was a record label of the 1980s devoted to children s music. The label s albums (including both read along records and full …   Wikipedia

  • kid stuff — noun Date: 1922 1. something befitting or appropriate only to children 2. something extremely simple or easy …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • kid stuff — Informal. 1. something appropriate only for children. 2. something very easy or simple. [1925 30, Amer.] * * * …   Universalium

  • Greasy Kid Stuff — For the Gym Class Heroes album, see Greasy Kid Stuff (album) Greasy Kid Stuff is a U.S. radio show that airs Saturday mornings from 8 9 AM (Pacific Time)on 94.7 FM KNRK out of Portland, Oregon. It is hosted by Belinda Miller and Hova Najarian,… …   Wikipedia

  • Greasy Kid Stuff — Álbum de Gym Class Heroes Publicación 2000 Género(s) Hip hop Cronología de Gym Class Heroes …   Wikipedia Español

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”