Literature by Genre

Since Aristotle, man has been busy classifying things. Adam was the classification pioneer (naming the animals), but it was the Greek philosopher who turned it into an art form, an obsession, and an intellectual sport. We've had 2300 years to get better at it, and today a book isn't just a "book": it's a novel, or a treatise, or a poem, or a drama. But it isn't even just a novel, anymore—it's a satire, or historical fiction, or science fiction, or a philosophical novel, or an autobiographical collection of short stories set in a dystopian near-future.

There may be no examples of the last type, but genres (rather than being confusing, as some claim) are invaluable guides to navigating the endless stream of books that flows through our bookstores, libraries, and online distribution centers. For instance, you know just by hearing the phrase "romance novel" there won't be much quality in any section so named, and if the normal romance novel is to be shunned, you can be certain the growing field of paranormal romance fiction will be even more useless.

I will not take this opportunity to describe each and every genre we've included in our selection; that's what the sidebar is for. However, before you dismiss the genre distinctions as useless generic terminology, consider what they can do. If you've just finished a book by Jane Austen, or Tim O'Brien, or Rudyard Kipling, and want to read similar books but don't know where to start, you could start by looking at other books included in their respective genres.

Some of the genres are pretty basic. Obviously, if you want to read poetry you aren't going to look under Novels. Well, you might, but you'd be mostly out of luck. Others, like Epic & Saga, can be much more helpful for more specific searches—our Epic & Saga category includes 42 items; our Literature & Adult Fiction includes 2,397.

Most of the books found here are for older students or adults (though that doesn't mean younger readers can't enjoy most of them as well, as long as you preview and discuss each title with them). For kid-oriented reading, check out our Fiction category. The genres there are even more specific, partly because there are more obvious distinctions beween different kinds of children's literature, and partly because we've spent more time bringing in specifc titles for young readers. That in no way means we've ignored our selection for adults and high schoolers.

In fact, we're pretty proud of it. Not every book is worth reading; we've tried to limit those on our shelf to ones that are. To make it easier for you to find the sort of book you want to read, we've given most of the titles genres. Sure, it's often fun to lazily browse bookstore shelves or websites, but let's face it—somtimes you just need to find the next book that's going to provide your fiction fix, and you don't have time to research the whole broad genre that happens to be your favorite. Reader, we salute you, and offer you: Literature by Genre.

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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122 Items found Print
Active Filters: Preschool (Ages 4-5)
All the Small Poems and Fourteen More
by Valerie Worth
from Sunburst Book
Lyrical Poetry for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.99 $5.00 (5 in stock)
All the World's a Stage
by Rebecca Piatt Davidson, illustrated by Anita Lobel
from Greenwillow Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Amazing Peace
by Maya Angelou, illustrated by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
from Schwartz & Wade
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Arnold Lobel Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Arroz Con Leche
by Lulu Delacre
Bilingual from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Atlanta's Race
by Shirley Climo (reteller), illustrated by Alexander Koshkin
from Clarion Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Babes and Cradles
by Maud Wolcott Spalding, illustrated by Lucile Patterson Marsh & Anita Parkhurst
from Southern Publishing Association
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
by Fred Rogers, illustrated by Luke Flowers
from Quirk Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Big Ball of String
by Marion Holland
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Beginner Books (Location: EAR-BB)
Bilbo's Last Song
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Riverwood Publishers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Lord of the Rings (Location: LIR-LOTR)
Book of Pigericks
by Arnold Lobel
First Ediition from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Verses for Children
by E. V. Lucas
1st THUS from Popular Culture Ink
for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bremen Town Musicians
by Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
Tra from Minedition
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bremen Town Musicians
by Ilse Plume retelling Brothers Grimm
Tra from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
1981 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Brother Sun, Sister Moon
by Katherine Paterson, Saint Francis of Assisi; illustrated by Pamela Dalton
from Chronicle Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Henriette Willebeek Le Mair
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Ruth Mary Hallock
from Barnes & Noble
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Martin & Alice Provensen
from Golden Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses - A Poetry Pop-Up Book
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Martin & Alice Provensen
from Golden Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes
by Linda Bleck
Reprint from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Circus
by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Arnold Lobel
from Aladdin Books
Rhyming Books for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Don't Count Your Chicks
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Edward Lear's Nonsense Books
by Edward Lear
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Emperor and the Nightingale
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Bill Sokol
from Pantheon Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eric Carle's Animals Animals
by Eric Carle
First Edition from Philomel Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
Family of Poems
by Caroline Kennedy
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Firefly July
by Selected by Paul B. Janeczko, Illustrated by Melissa Sweet
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.99
First Caldecott Collection
by Randolph Caldecott
from Living Book Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99
First Poems of Childhood
by Tasha Tudor
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
First Poems of Childhood
by Tasha Tudor (illustrator)
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Fourth Caldecott Collection
by Randolph Caldecott
from Living Book Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99
Fox & the Cat
by Kevin Crossley-Holland, Susan Varley (Illustrator)
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
Animal Fables for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Frogs and Toads All Sang
by Arnold Lobel, illustrated by Adrianne Lobel
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Fun Poems & Finger Plays
2nd edition from A Beka Books
for Preschool
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Give Yourself to the Rain
by Teri L. Weidner
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
God's Servant, Job
by Douglas Bond
from P&R Publishing
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$9.99
Golden Treasury of Poetry
by Joan Walsh Anglund
from Golden Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Hailstones and Halibut Bones
by Mary O'Neill, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hailstones and Halibut Bones
by Mary O'Neill
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Hailstones and Halibut Bones
from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
from Minedition
for Preschool-2nd grade
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Val Biro
from Gramercy Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Jiri Trnka
5th Impression, 1965 from Paul Hamlyn
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hans in Luck
by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, retold and illustrated by Paul Galdone
from Parents Magazine Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hansel and Gretel
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Susan Jeffers
First Edition from Sun Dial Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hansel and Gretel
by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
I, Too, Am America
by Langston Hughes and Brian Collier
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$19.99
Lavender's Blue
by Kathleen Lines
New from Oxford University
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Leaves From a Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, Illustrated by Donna Green
from Vermillion, Inc
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Book of Poems & Prayers
by Joan Walsh Anglund
1st edition from Simon and Schuster
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
London Bridge Is Falling Down!
by Peter Spier
from Young Readers Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Lullabies & Good Night
by Stephen Elkins (editor), illustrated with paintings by Mary Cassatt
from Ideals Children's Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mother Goose
by Arthur Rackham (illustrator)
from Wordsworth Classics
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mother Goose
by Arthur Rackham (illustrator)
from Weathervane Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
by Arthur Rackham (illustrator)
from Viking Press
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Mother Goose's Nursery Rhymes
by Walter Jerrold, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Nursery-2nd grade
My Daddy Rules the World
by Hope Anita Smith
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$17.99
My First Oxford Book of Poems
by John Foster (compiler)
from Oxford University
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
My People
by Langston Hughes with Charles R. Smith, Jr.
First Edition from Atheneum
for Preschool-1st grade
Coretta Scott King Award
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
My Very First Mother Goose
by Iona Opie
from Candlewick Press
for Nursery-kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
National Geographic Book of Nature Poetry
by J. Patrick Lewis
from National Geographic
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
Nibble Nibble
by Margaret Wise Brown
from Young Scott Books
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Checkerboard Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore
from Golden Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Little Golden Books (Location: PIC-GOLD)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Cheryl Harness
from Random House
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas with DVD
by Clement Moore, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Putnam Juvenile
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
On the Wing
by David Elliott, Illustrated by Becca Stadtlander
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.99
Original Mother Goose
by Blanche Fisher Wright, illustrator
from Running Press
Rhyming Books for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Over the Hills and Far Away
by Elizabeth Hammill
from Candlewick Press
for Nursery-1st grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
Oxford Book of Children's Verse
by Iona and Peter Opie
from Oxford University
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Peaceful Pieces: Poems and Quilts About Peace
by Anna Grossnickle Hines
from Henry Holt and Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Pied Piper of Hamelin
by Robert Browning, Illustrated by Kate Greenaway
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Pied Piper of Hamelin
by Robert Browning, Illustrated by Kate Greenaway
from George Routledge
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Pied Piper of Hamelin
by Robert Browning, Illustrated by Kate Greenaway
from Living Book Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Piper, Pipe That Song Again
by Nancy Larrick
from Random House
for Preschool-5th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Poems and Prayers for the Very Young
by Martha Alexander
from Random House
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poems for Small Friends
by Bobbi Katz, Gyo Fujikawa
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Nursery-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poetry for You and Me
2nd edition from A Beka Books
for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Poetry for Young People: Lewis Carroll
Poetry for Young People
by Lewis Carroll
Illustrated from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poetry for Young People: Lewis Carroll
Poetry for Young People
by Lewis Carroll, edited by Edward Mendelson, illustrated by Eric Copeland
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Poetry for Young People: Lewis Carroll
Poetry for Young People
by Lewis Carroll, edited by Edward Mendelson, illustrated by Eric Copeland
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Preschool-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Poke in the I
by Paul Janeczko
from Candlewick Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.99 $5.50 (2 in stock)
Princess and the Pea
by Hans Christian Andersen & Dorothee Duntze
from North-South Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$7.95
Randolph Caldecott's Favorite Nursery Rhymes
by Randolph Caldecott
from Castle Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Random House Book of Mother Goose
by Arnold Lobel
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
Read-Aloud Poems for Young People
by Glorya Hale
from Tess Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Real Mother Goose
by Blanche Fisher Wright, illustrator
from Scholastic Inc.
Rhyming Books for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$9.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Real Mother Goose
by Blanche Fisher Wright, illustrator
from Barnes & Noble
Rhyming Books for Preschool-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever
by Richard Scarry
50th Anniversary Edition from Golden Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$16.99
Ride a Purple Pelican
by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Garth Williams
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Second Caldecott Collection
by Randolph Caldecott
from Living Book Press
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99
Shoemaker and the Elves
by The Brothers Grimm, translated by Wayne Andrews, illustrated by Adrienne Adams
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Sing a Song of Popcorn
by Beatrice Schenk De Regniers
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Sing a Song of Seasons
by Fiona Waters (selections), illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon
from Nosy Crow
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$40.00
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