Realistic Fiction

Genre Study:

Realistic fiction is a literature genre that consists of stories that could have actually occurred to people or animals in a believable setting. The stories often resemble real life, and fictional characters in the stories act and behave similarly to real people. The plot of a realistic fiction novel generally highlights the social or personal events or issues that are often found in real life. The setting of a realistic fiction novel is a real place or resembles a real place and the events that occur outside of the action of the fictional characters is usually real events that have happened or are happening in real life. Many realistic fiction books can be used for writing prompts to see what students think from a small portion of the text read aloud to them.  These books can also be used as a basic reflection tool to see what students get out of the book.  One way we could do this is ask students to reflect on the concepts within the book prior to reading the book, and then ask them to write about them again after they have finished reading the text.  We can use realistic fiction to help our students see a variety of concepts about life from a different perspective than they experience them in their own lives too.  Once students finish reading the book, we can ask them to reflect about ways the book has changed them, as well as ways they plan to change in order to prevent or decrease the chance of things happening, like the book, in the areas around them.

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Selected Titles:

Curtis, C. (1999). Bud, not buddy. New York: Delacorte Press.

This book has an interest level for grades 5-8 and a Lexile level of 950L and a grade level equivalent of 5.2. Bud, Not Buddy won the 2000 Newbery Award winner and it is a story of an orphan boy, Bud, during the Great Depression (1936) in Flint, Michigan who is on a quest to find his father who he believes is a man called Herman E. Calloway. Bud carries his suitcase around with him wherever he goes because it holds his only belongings and he insists that people call him Bud, not Buddy. Events occur in the book that are based on true historical facts like the Great Depression, Hoovervilles, Jazz music, civil rights, and union workers. The language used in Bud, Not Buddy is moderately complex so students can follow the events fluently so they can focus more on the more complex meaning and life experiences associated with the text. Students can connect to Bud because he is a 10-year-old boy with a curious and adventurous mind and he frequently tells the readers about his Rules and Things To Have a Funner Life and Make a Better Liar Out of Yourself, which is something that kids will find entertaining and funny.

Giff, P. (2002). Pictures of hollis woods. New York: Wendy Lamb Books.

This text has an interest level of grades 5-8 and a Lexile level of 650L and a grade level equivalent of 4.5. Pictures of Hollis Woods is about a character named Hollis Woods is a 12-year-old girl who is transferred from foster home to foster home and she is very skilled at drawing pictures but the adoption and foster care agency believes she needs to be in school more and needs different care even if she gets comfortable with her caretakers. The organization of the text in Pictures of Hollis Woods is very complexity because each chapter is either about a picture that Hollis has drawn so it is kind of a flashback moment for the reader to understand where she has been in her past or the chapter is about a situation that is currently happening with Hollis. Students need to be aware of the organization of the book because it is very complex and students will struggle to get the most out of the text if they do not follow the storyline. Students can make connections to Hollis because she is a young girl who wants to do what she loves and feel wanted and needed by somebody else. Students will empathize with Hollis Woods as well because she is an orphan who does not get fully understood by adults and the social agency.