"The Fun They Had" is a short speculative fiction work by Isaac Asimov that was first published in a children's magazine in 1951. The story is Asimov's most anthologized, and has been reprinted over 30 times. Asimov himself has said that the success of the story was "probably the biggest surprise of [his] literary career." It was written as a favor to a friend, and he thought kids would get a kick out of seeing students who wished they could be in school.
Key Aspects of The Fun They Had
Tone
The tone is serious in that the story treats the futuristic elements as factual. The story is also somewhat nostalgic and mournful, given its interest in Margie's desire for the human connection...
