Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Contemporary realistic fiction includes stories that could happen to people or animals. The characters are
made up, but their actions and feelings are similar to those of people we could know. These stories often
take place in the present time and portray attitudes and problems of contemporary people. Realistic fiction
includes family stories; realistic animal stories; sports stories; adventures; and mysteries.
Because of Winn Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
One summers day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local
supermarket for some groceries and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie
is no ordinary dog. Its because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make
friends. And its because of Winn-Dixie that she finally dares to ask her father
about her mother, who left when Opal was three. In fact, as Opal admits, just
about everything that happens that summer is because of Winn-Dixie. Featuring
a new cover illustration by E. B.
Ages 9-12.
Newbery Medal; Dorothy Canfield fisher Childrens Book Award, Book Sense
of the Year Award.
Can be read in the classroom for enjoyment or used as a discussion topic to
promote a life lesson.

Historical Fiction
Historical fiction is set in an historical time period which blends authentic historical settings and facts
with imaginary characters and plot. It may include real historical figures as secondary characters. It is
generally considered to be a story written about a time in which the author has not lived or set in a time
no later than one generation before the composition.
Salt by Helen Frost
A Story of Friendship in a Time of War is a novel in verse, told in the
alternating voices of two twelve year olds. Anikwa is a member of the
Miami tribe, and James is the son of Anglo traders in the nearby Fort Wayne
in the Indiana territory. It is 1812, and tensions are rising between the two
groups. Salt becomes crucial when James father refuses to trade salt with
the Miami, but James attempts to smuggle it to his friend. One of the most
interesting aspects of Frosts verse is that she writes Jamess poems in long
parallel lines, which represent the stripes of the American flag. In contrast,
the verse lines of Anikwas story mirror Miami ribbon work. I think verse
novels are a great way to hook kids who might balk at a long, dense
historical novel because the action moves along quickly. Ages: 10-14
A Frances Foster Book; A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2013.
Historical Fiction books are a great way to tie literature into a topic of
discussion from a topic being studied in a history class.

Nonfiction/Information:
Nonfiction or Information books emphasize documented facts. They inform and entertain young
readers by the excellence of presentation, illustration, and research. They can be written about
any aspect of the physical, biological, or social world.
Community Helpers by Amanda Boyarshinov.
Community Helpers, A Read & Do STEM Early Reader
introduces NEW readers to independent reading with a
high interest topic - community helpers! Simple sentences
let even the youngest reader feel confident reading on
their own. A technology challenge at the end. Sight words
included: A, can, help, and they.
Grade: Kindergarten
Can be read in the classroom when promoting saftety
week or a discussion on the many different professions of
our communities.

Biography
Biography tells the story of an actual persons life, or portion of his or her life. Often the person's
life is notable for his or her accomplishments or a significant triumph. An autobiography is
simply a biography written by a person about him- or herself.
I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World
By Malala Yousafzai, with Patricia McCormick. Grades 5/6.
This special edition of Yousafzai's memoir for young readers does not
undercut the challenges that the Nobel Peace Prize winner has faced
including an assassination attemptin her struggle for equal education for
girls. Hearing from Yousafzai in her own words will certainly drive home
these global inequalities for your studentsand for yourself.
Ages: 10-18
Goodreads Choice Awards Best Memoir & Autobiography
Can be used in the classroom when learning about global and
gender inequalities.

Traditional Literature
Traditional literature, the ancient stories or poems of many cultures, originate in the oral, or
storytelling, tradition. These books are often attributed to different groups and cultures, but have
no known original authors. Traditional literature has been used as a way of passing down
traditional wisdom and knowledge necessary for the survival of the group as well as a way of
explaining myths, epics, legends, tall tales, fables, and religious stories.
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson is on his way to visit his father when
the single-engine plane in which he is flying crashes. Suddenly, Brian
finds himself alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but a
tattered Windbreaker and the hatchet his mother gave him as a present
and the dreadful secret that has been tearing him apart since his parents
divorce. But now Brian has no time for anger, self pity, or despairit
will take all his know-how and determination, and more courage than he
knew he possessed, to survive.
Ages 10-14
Newbery Medal, Dorothy Canfield Fisher Childrens Books Award
A connection in the classroom for traditional literature can be tied to any content area topics.

Poetry
Poetry is the artistic expression of ideas and feelings though a rhythmical composition of imaginative and
beautiful words carefully selected to achieve the desired effect in the listener or reader. Types of poetry
include Mother Goose and nursery rhyme books; anthologies of many kinds of poetry in one volume;
poetry books in which all the poems are on one theme or topic; and single, illustrated poems.
Fire Fly July selected by Paul B. Janeczko
Big, bright, and colorful, this collection of short poems proves that great
things come in small packages. Gorgeously illustrated, these brief poems
deliver big emotion and imagery as they take readers on a journey through
the seasons. Perfect for read-aloud time and independent reading, the
collection contains a few classics as well as poems by the top childrens
poets past and present. Its a firecracker of a book!
Grades: K-4
Junior Library Guild
Poetry can be utilized at all ages in the classroom to promote writing
structures, sentence formations, etc., and can be connected to all content
areas.

Modern Fantasy
Modern fantasy refers to works of literature in which the events, settings, or the characters are outside the
realm of possibility. The author must convince the reader to suspend disbelief by creating an internally
logical and consistent world. There are many types of modern fantasy, including the modern fairytale (by
a known author); animal fantasy, personified toys and objects; quest stories and high fantasy; time travel;
and stories about miniature worlds and people.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis
Air-raids over London during WWII compel four siblings Peter, Susan,
Edmund, and Lucy to be sent away from the city to the house of a kindly,
but remote Professor "who lived in the heart of the country." There is much
to discover in the country: woods, mountains, owls, eagles, maybe even
hawks and snakes. But the children will soon discover that the Professor's
large house, staffed by three servants, holds even more mystery. It is a house
filled with unexpected places, including a room which holds nothing but a
large wardrobe, which Lucy opens one rainy day, never dreaming that the
wardrobe is a passageway into Narnia.
Ages: 6-12

Science Fiction
Science fiction is a type of imaginative literature in which the author convinces us that something unusual
could happen because the story is grounded in scientific principles or technical possibility. It is sometimes
called futuristic fiction.
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow by Joanna Cole
Ms. Frizzle's class is growing a beautiful garden. But,
Phoebe's plot is empty. Her flowers are back at her old
school! So, the class climbs aboard the Magic School Bus.
And, of course, the kids don't only go back to Phoebe's
school, but they go inside one of Phoebe's flowers! Follow
the kids' adventure and learn how living things grow.
Grades: K-2
Science Fiction is a great way to engage
students ina specific science topic. Children will
believe they are reading a book such as this for
enjoyment, when it can actually be related to a
scientific principle.