DURHAMVILLE, N.Y. — A nine-year-old student at Durhamville Elementary School got a head start in the literary world after his short story was selected for publication in a national anthology.

Short the Squirrel, Alabama’s official literacy mascot, visited Forest Avenue Magnet and Pine Level elementary schools Thursday to promote literacy for his fourth birthday.

For many years, I assumed that the appeal of a short story was that it was, well, short.Instead of slowly reading a novel over weeks, the reader of these bite-size plots can experience character ...