Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Written by
Tracy Donohue

This week, our blog post will focus on types of fiction texts, their defining characteristics, and examples of books.

Realistic Fiction

Defining Characteristics:

  • A fiction, or untrue, story
  • A story that has believable events and characteristics that could actually happen in real life
  • Although it can take place in a real setting, it is not based on history or science

Examples:

  • When Sophie Gets Angry-Really, Really Angry—by Molly Bang
  • Frindle—by Andrew Clements
  • The Great Gilly Hopkins—by Katherine Paterson

Historical Fiction

Defining Characteristics:

  • A mix of fiction and historical facts
  • Based on historical events, but the story is mostly untrue
  • Could possibly have historical character

Examples:

  • Pink and Say—by Patricia Polacco
  • Uncle Jed’s Barbershop—by Margaree King Mitchell
  • The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963—by Christopher Paul Curtis

Fantasy

Defining Characteristics:

  • A fiction, or untrue, story
  • The story couldn’t happen in real life
  • Typically involves magic or supernatural powers
  • Oftentimes takes place in another world or has make believe characters, such as wizards or dragons

Examples:

  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—by Roald Dahl
  • Magic Tree House (series)—by Mary Pope Osborne
  • A Bad Case of Stripes—by David Shannon

Mysteries

Defining Characteristics:

  • A fiction story based on a mysterious event or a crime
  • The story provides clues throughout the story, but the mystery isn’t typically solved until the end of the story

Examples

  • I Want My Hat Back—by Jon Klassen
  • The Boxcar Children (series)—by Gertrude Chandler Warner
  • Holes—by Louis Sachar

Traditional Literature

Defining Characteristics:

  • Stories that are typically passed down from generation to generation
  • A variety of types of traditional literature include:
    • Fairy tales—these stories typically have a theme of good vs. evil and typically have a happy ending
    • Fables—these short stories often have animals as characters and teach a moral, or lesson
    • Legends—these stories often exaggerate characteristics of a person that makes them notable

Graphic Novels

Defining Characteristics:

  • Similar to comic books in that they use art, and text, in sequence to tell a story
  • Although graphic novels are not considered a separate genre, there are many fiction graphic novels that are motivating young readers around the globe

Examples:

  • Hamster and Cheese—by Colleen Venable
  • The Wonderful Wizard of Oz—by Eric Shanower and L. Frank Baum
  • Coraline—by Neil Gaiman

It’s important to make sure children read a variety of books. This list provides ideas for the types of fiction you can include in family reading.  Your local library is a great resource for finding different types of fiction books.