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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59 Items found Print
Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5), Hardcover
Adèle & Simon
by Barbara McClintock
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles; illustrated by Peter Parnall
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles; illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Babushka
by Charles Mikolaycak
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Before I Was Born
by Harriet Ziefert, Illustrated by Rufus Coes
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Benjy and the Barking Bird
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Big Tree
by Mary Buff, Conrad Buff
1st Edition from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
1947 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Child's Calendar
by John Updike
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
2000 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
Reprint from University of Minnesota
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$16.95
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
1962 Reprint from Viking Press
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Christmas in Noisy Village
by Astrid Lindgren, illustrated by Ilon Wikland
from Puffin Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Cranberry Christmas
by Wende & Harry Devlin
First Edition from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Cranberry Halloween
by Wende & Harry Devlin
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.95
Eddie's Menagerie
by Carolyn Haywood
1st edition from Troll Associates
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Farmhouse
by Sophie Blackall
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Fire Engine Book
by Tibor Gergely
1st edition from Golden Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
$5.99
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 Their New Skates
by Maj Lindman
Updated from Albert Whitman & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Fox Eyes
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Going to Town
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Henrietta and the Day of the Iguana
by Winifred Rosen, illustrated by Kay Chorao
from Four Winds Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Henry Explores the Jungle
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
Anniversary from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Henry Explores the Mountains
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
Anniversary from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Henry the Explorer
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
45th Anniversary Edition from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.95
Home in the Woods
by Eliza Wheeler
from Nancy Paulsen Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
If It Weren't For You
by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Ben Shecter
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
In Plain Sight
by Richard Jackson, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$17.99
Journey Cake, Ho!
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1954 Caldecott Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Kate Greenaway's Marigold Garden
by Kate Greenaway
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Knots on a Counting Rope
by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault
Reprint from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Lion in the Box
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Little Donkey Close Your Eyes
by Margaret Wise Brown
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Little Princess (adapted)
by Barbara McClintock
from HarperCollins
Orphan Stories for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Long Ago on a Silent Night
by Julie Berry, Illustrated by Annie Won
from Orchard Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
$17.99
Lysbet and the Fire Kittens
by Marietta D. Moskin & Margot Tomes
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Mama's Way
by Helen Ketteman, illustrated by Mary Whyte
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Man Who Walked Between The Towers
by Mordicai Gerstein
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Man Who Walked Between The Towers
by Mordicai Gerstein
from Roaring Brook Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. Rabbit and the Lovely Present
by Charlotte Zolotow, illustrated by Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
1963 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Oh, What a Busy Day
by Gyo Fujikawa
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
One Lighthouse, One Moon
by Anita Lobel
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Over Land and Sea
by Steven L. Layne, Illustrated by Jan Bower
from Pelican Publishing Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pink and Say
by Patricia Polacco
from Philomel Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (4 in stock)
Real Pretend
by Joan Donaldson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Checkerboard Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Secret River
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
First Ed from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
1956 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Snow
by Philip.D. Eastman, Roy Mc Kie
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Sophie's Lucky
by Dick King-Smith
from Candlewick Press
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Spuds
by Karen Hesse, illustrated by Wendy Watson
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Story of Zachary Zween
by Mabel Watts, Marylin Hafner (Illustrator)
from Parents Magazine Press
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Summer
by Alice Low
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Sun Up
by Alvin Tresselt, Henri Sorensen (Illustrator)
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
This Way to Christmas
by Ruth Sawyer
from Harper & Brothers
for Preschool-1st grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Tim's Friend Towser
by Edward Ardizzone
1st edition from HarperCollins
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Wednesday Surprise
by Eve Bunting
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
What Ever Happened to the Baxter Place?
by Pat Ross, Roger Duvoisin (Illustrator)
from Pantheon Books
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
When I Was Young in the Mountains
by Cynthia Rylant
from Dutton Children's Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
While the Horses Galloped to London
by Mabel Watts, Mercer Mayer (Illustrator)
from Parents Magazine Press
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grace
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Year at Maple Hill Farm
by Provensen
Children's Choice Book Club Edition from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)