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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100 Items found Print
Active Filters: 1st grade (Ages 6-7), New Books & Materials
Alfie and the Big Boys
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Alfie Gives a Hand
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Alfie Wins a Prize
by Shirley Hughes
Reissue from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah
by Emily Jenkins
from Schwartz & Wade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Andrew Henry's Meadow
by Doris Burn
from Philomel Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
Exodus Books 5-Star Rating
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Anna Hibiscus
by Atinuke
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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
Bear That Heard Crying
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock & Helen Kinsey
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Bears on Hemlock Mountain
by Alice Dalgliesh
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
Big Balloon Race
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Eleanor Coerr
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1949 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Blueberries for Sal
by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1949 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Brave Irene
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Canada Geese Quilt
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.99
Chair For My Mother
by Vera B. Williams
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1983 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Chalk Box Kid
by Clyde Robert Bulla
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Child's Calendar
by John Updike
from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
2000 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
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
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
Cody and the Fountain of Happiness
Cody series #1
by Tricia Springstubb, Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Courage of Sarah Noble
by Alice Dalgliesh
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-6th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
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
Day of Ahmed's Secret
by Florence Parry Heide, Judith Heide Gilliland
1st Mulberry ed from HarperCollins
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Down, Down the Mountain
by Ellis Credle
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
Emily
by Michael Bedard
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Evening at Alfie's
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
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
Floss
by Kim Lewis
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Animal Stories for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
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
Gardener
by Sarah Stewart & David Small
from Sunburst Book
Realistic fiction for Kindergarten-4th grade
1998 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Gooney Bird Greene
by Lois Lowry
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Grandfather's Journey
by Allen Say
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1994 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Grandfather's Journey
by Allen Say
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$17.99
Hannah
Stepping Stones: A Chapter Book
by Gloria Whelan
from Random House
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill
from Bethlehem Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
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
Henry the Explorer
by Mark Taylor, illustrated by Graham Booth
from Purple House Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Here's a Penny
by Carolyn Haywood
from Sandpiper Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
How My Parents Learned to Eat
by Ina R. Friedman
from Sandpiper Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Hundred Penny Box
by Sharon Bell Mathis
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
1976 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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
Island Boy
by Barbara Cooney
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Just Plain Fancy
by Patricia Polacco
1st edition from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Lentil
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction/Humor for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Letting Swift River Go
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Light at Tern Rock
by Julia L. Sauer
from Penguin Putnam
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Like Jake and Me
by Mavis Jukes
Reprint from Yearling
for 1st-4th grade
1985 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
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 Pear and His Friends
by Eleanor F. Lattimore
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.95
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
Lost Lake
by Allen Say
from Houghton Mifflin
Word Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Lotus Seed
by Sherry Garland
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Love You Forever
by Robert Munsch
from Firefly Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.95 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Lucy's Summer
by Donald Hall & Michael McCurdy
from David R. Godine
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.95
Madeline and the Bad Hat
by Ludwig Bemelmans
from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.99
Make Way for McCloskey
by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE)
$28.99
Minstrel in the Tower
by Gloria Skurzynski
from Random House
Historical Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$5.99
Mirette on the High Wire
by Emily Arnold McCully
from PaperStar Books
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1993 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Miss Rumphius
by Barbara Cooney
from Puffin Books
Realistic Stories for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Moominland Midwinter
Moomintrolls Book #5
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Moominpappa at Sea
Moomintrolls Book #7
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Moominsummer Madness
Moomintrolls Book #4
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Moominvalley in November
Moomintrolls Book #8
by Tove Jansson
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 1st-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea
by Cynthia Rylant
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Stories for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.99
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
Mrs. Katz and Tush
by Patricia Polacco
from Dragonfly Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
My Favorite Songs
by Maria Trapp
from Veritas Press
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$17.00
My Great-Aunt Arizona
by Gloria Houston
Reprint from HarperCollins
for Preschool-3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Nana Upstairs & Nana Downstairs
by Tomie DePaola
from Puffin Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
New Coat for Anna
by Harriet Ziefert
from Random House
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Next Spring An Oriole
Stepping Stones: A Chapter Book
by Gloria Whelan
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
No More Dead Dogs
by Gordon Korman
from Little, Brown & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Obadiah the Bold
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95
One Morning in Maine
by Robert McCloskey
from Puffin Books
Realistic Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1953 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
One Morning in Maine
by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
Realistic Family Stories for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1953 Caldecott Honor Book
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$18.99
Peppe the Lamplighter
by Elisa Bartone
from William Morrow & Company
Family Stories for 1st-3rd grade
1994 Caldecott Honor book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Pioneer Cat
by William H. Hooks
from Random House
Historical Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$5.99
Poppy Seed Cakes
by Margery Clark, Illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
$26.95
Pulling Together
by Dawn L. Watkins
from Bob Jones University Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Rachel and Obadiah
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95
Rag Coat
by Lauren Mills
from Little, Brown & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Roxaboxen
by Alice McLerran
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.99
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
Sky Boys
by Deborah Hopkinson
from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Story of Ruby Bridges
by Robert Coles, Illustrated by George Ford
Rep Anv Sp from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $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
Sunflower House
by Eve Bunting
1st Voyager Books Ed from Sandpiper Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Through Grandpa's Eyes
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for K-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Thunder Cake
by Patricia Polacco
from PaperStar Books
Realistic Fiction for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot
Violet Mackerel
by Anna Bradford, Illustrated by Elanna Allen
from Simon and Schuster
for 1st-4th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$5.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Wee Gillis
by Munro Leaf
from New York Review of Books
for Preschool-1st grade
1939 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.95
What You Know First
by Patricia MacLachlan
from HarperCollins
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99
When I Was Young In the Mountains
by Cynthia Rylant
from Puffin Books
Family Stories for 1st-3rd grade
1983 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Year at Maple Hill Farm
by Alice and Martin Provensen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$9.99