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Realistic Fiction

Realistic fiction is kind of a newcomer to the long list of literary genres. Primarily aimed at children and adolescents (the corresponding genre in adult literature is usually just called "literary fiction"), realistic fiction is recognizable by its relatable characters and situations. What sets it apart from historical fiction is that the stories do not center around an actual historical event or person, though they may be set in a very real time period.

Characters deal with the things everyone else deals with—death, friendship, loneliness, embarrassment, first love—and they don't get transported to a make-believe island as a solution to their problems. They have to work it out, which is one of the main appeals of this genre; kids like to read about other kids (real or imaginary) going through the typical young person's trials and how they deal with it.

Not that all realistic fiction is sad and gloomy. It's just what it sounds like—stories about real-life from a fresh perspective. Also, we aren't suggesting there are no realistic elements to a fantasy like The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: there are, which is precisely what makes reading that book so rewarding. It's just that real kids don't fight literal dragons, they fight bullies, or their own insecurities, or ferocious acne.

A lot of the best and most-loved stories fall squarely within the limits of realistic fiction. Huckleberry Finn wasn't a real pirate, but he really rafted the Mississippi; Anne Shirley wasn't a Medieval princess, but she really became Matthew and Marilla's daughter; Anna and Caleb Witting aren't big on imagination, but they are big on really accepting Sarah into their family (at least, eventually).

The full range of human experience is explored in these stories, its darkness, its light, its sorrow, its joy. This is the purpose of literature, after all: to show us true life, and in showing us, to better prepare us for it. These books are some of the best at doing just that.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5), Trade Paperback
Alfie and the Big Boys
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Alfie and the Birthday Surprise
by Shirley Hughes
Reissue from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie Gets in First
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie Gives a Hand
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Alfie Weather
by Shirley Hughes
New from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie Wins a Prize
by Shirley Hughes
Reissue from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Alfie's Alphabet
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie's Christmas
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie's Feet
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie's Numbers
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
All Those Secrets of the World
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Angel in the Waters
by Regina Doman; illustrated by Ben Hatke
from Sophia Institute Press
Realistic Fiction for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Pregnancy & Infant Care (Location: PRE-INF)
$9.95
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles, Peter Parnall
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-1st grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Apple Picking Time
from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Babushka
by Charles Mikolaycak
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
Big Frank's Fire Truck
by Leslie McGuire
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Bracelet, The
by Yoshika Uchida
from PaperStar Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Carrot Seed
by Ruth Krauss & Crockett Johnson
from HarperCollins
Humorous Book on Botany for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (5 in stock)
Desert Is Theirs
by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
1976 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Egg Tree
by Katherine Milhous
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
1951 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Evening at Alfie's
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Everybody Cooks Rice
from First Avenue Editions
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Feast for 10
by Cathryn Falwell
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Big Red Hen
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Little Dog
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the New Dotted Dresses
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Strawberries
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Three Kittens
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and the Three Kittens
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and Their New Friend
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka and Their New Friend
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka Bake a Cake
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flicka, Ricka, Dicka Bake a Cake
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Flower Garden
by Eve Bunting
from Sandpiper Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00
Fritz and the Beautiful Horses
by Jan Brett
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle
by Sheila Miller
from OMF
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
If You're Not from the Prairie . . .
by David Bouchard
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Ira Says Goodbye
by Bernard Waber
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Just Plain Fancy
by Patricia Polacco
1st edition from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Least of All
by Carol Purdy
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Letting Swift River Go
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Madeline and the Bad Hat
by Ludwig Bemelmans
from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.99
Mary McLean and the St. Patrick's Day Parade
by Steven Kroll
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
by Charlotte Zolotow
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
1963 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.95
My Great-Aunt Arizona
by Gloria Houston
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
My Little Island
by Frane Lessac
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs
by Tomie DePaola
from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Sky Boys
by Deborah Hopkinson
from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Big Surprise
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Buttered Bread
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Gingerbread
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Red Shoes
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr and the Yellow Sled
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Snipp, Snapp, Snurr Learn to Swim
by Maj Lindman
from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Sugaring Time
by Kathryn Lasky
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-3rd grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Food & Farming Around the World (Location: HISMC-FOOD)
$9.99
Sugaring Time
by Kathryn Lasky
from Macmillan
for Preschool-3rd grade
1984 Newbery Honor Book
in Food & Farming Around the World (Location: HISMC-FOOD)
Summer My Father Was Ten
by Pat Brisson
from Boyds Mill Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Sunflower House
by Eve Bunting
1st Voyager Books Ed from Sandpiper Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Tenth Good Thing About Barney
by Judith Viorst
1st edition from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
The Wave
by Margaret Hodges
1st edition from Harcourt Children's Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1965 Caldecott Honor book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Way to Start a Day
by Byrd Baylor
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
1979 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Welcome to the Ice House
by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Laura Regan
Other Printing from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
What You Know First
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
When Marian Sang
by Brian Selznick, Pam Munoz Ryan
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Where Are You Going Manyoni?
by Catherine Stock
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Year at Maple Hill Farm
by Alice and Martin Provensen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.99
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