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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168 Items found Print
Active Filters: Kindergarten (Ages 5-6), Hardcover
"Let's Hear It For The Queen"
by Alice Childress, illustrated by Loring Eutemey
from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (1 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)
$6.40 (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)
$9.60 (2 in stock)
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)
Best-Loved Verse
by Illustrated by Margaret Tarrant
from Gallery Books
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Bilbo's Last Song
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Riverwood Publishers
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Lord of the Rings (Location: LIR-LOTR)
Birds, Beasts and the Third Thing
by D. H. Lawrence; illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen
from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Book of Pigericks
by Arnold Lobel
First Ediition from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
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)
$7.64
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 Book of Poems
by Gyo Fujikawa
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Book of Poems
by Gyo Fujikawa
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.74
Child's Book of Poetry
by Arthur Malcolm (selected by), illustrated by Eva Noe
from J. H. Sears & Company
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
Child's First Steps to Virtues
by Emily Hunter
from Harvest House
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
Books of Wonder
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Diane Goode
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
Popular Edition from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$6.40 (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 Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
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)
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)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Christmas Poems
by Myra Cohn Livingston, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Holiday House
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut
by Derrick Barnes, illustrated by Gordon C. James
from Agate Bolden
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
2018 Newbery Honor Book, 2018 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Don't Count Your Chicks
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Donkey Trouble
by Ed Young
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Dragon Kite
by Nancy Luenn, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for Kindergarten-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)
Elephant's Ball
by Anonymous (W. B.), illustrated by Pauline D. Baynes
from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Emperor's New Clothes
Folk Tale Classic Library
by Virginia Lee Burton (designed and illustrated), Hans Christian Andersen
from Clarion Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.49
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 (1 in stock)
Fables of Aesop
by Aesop, illustrated by Edward J. Detmold
from Gramercy Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
Family of Poems
by Caroline Kennedy
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
First Poems of Childhood
by Tasha Tudor
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
First Poems of Childhood
by Tasha Tudor
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Flower Fairies of the Autumn
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Flower Fairies of the Garden
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Flower Fairies of the Spring
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Flower Fairies of the Spring—A Celebration
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Flower Fairies of the Summer
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Flower Fairies of the Trees
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Flower Fairies of the Wayside
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Flower Fairies of the Winter
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Flower Fairy Alphabet
by Cicely Mary Barker
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Flying Trunk and Other Stories from Hans Christian Andersen
by Naomi Lewis retelling Hans Christian Andersen
from Simon and Schuster
for K-3rd
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
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)
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
from Doubleday & Company
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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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 Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Berta & Elmer Hader
from Weiser & Weiser
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Hansel and Gretel
by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Lisbeth Zwerger
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Harlem
by Walter Dean Myers, illustrated by Christopher Myers
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
1998 Caldecott Honor Book, Coretta Scott King Award
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
I, Too, Am America
by Langston Hughes and Brian Collier
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$16.99
Illustrated Treasury of Humor for Children
by Judith Hendra, editor; introduction by William Cole
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
In My Mother's House
by Ann Nolan Clark
from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1942 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
John Martin's Big Book - 7 Volume Set
from P. F. Collier & Son Co.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Kaleidoscope of Fairies & Fables
by Hans Andersen, Aesop, Kipling & the Brothers Grimm, retold by Robert Mathias
from Hamlyn
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$11.20 (1 in stock)
Land of Nod and Other Poems for Children
by Robert Louis Stevenson, selected and illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
for Kindergarten-5th 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)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Lion and Blue
by Robert Vavra, illustrated by Fleur Cowles, preface by the Prince of the Netherlands
from Reynal and Co.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Little Mermaid
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Charles Santore
First Edition from Gramercy Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Little Red Hen
by Evelyn M. Begley, reteller, illustrated by Carl and Mary Hauge
from Whitman Publishing Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Little Red Riding Hood
by Paul Galdone, Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
First Edition Thus from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.64
Little Red Riding Hood
by Trina Schart Hyman, retelling Grimm
from Holiday House
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1984 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Lon Po Po
by Ed Young
from Philomel Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
Caldecott Medal Winner 1990
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Long Ago in Oregon
by Claudia Lewis, illustrated by Joel Fontaine
from Harper & Row
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Magic Brush
by Robert B. Goodman & Robert A. Spicer (adapters), illustrated by Y. T. Mui, edited by Ruth Tabrah
from Island Heritage Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Margaret Wise Brown's Wonderful Storybook
by Margaret Wise Brown, illustrated by J. P. Miller
from Western Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Marshmallow Clouds
by Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek, illustrated by Richard Jones
from Candlewick Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$16.99
Michael Hague's Favourite Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Mother Goose
by Arthur Rackham (illustrator)
from Weathervane Books
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$7.20 (2 in stock)
Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes
by Arthur Rackham (illustrator)
from Viking Press
for Nursery-Kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$7.20 (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 Brimful Book
by Dana Bruce (editor), illustrated by Tasha Tudor, Margot Austin, and Wesley Dennis
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
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)
$15.29
My First Oxford Book of Poems
by John Foster (compiler)
from Oxford University
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
My First Picture Book of Poetry
from Award Publications, Limited
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
My First Poetry Reader
by Jenny Phillips
from The Good and the Beautiful
for Kindergarten
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$7.60 (1 in stock)
My Level 1 Poetry Reader
by Jenny Phillips
from The Good and the Beautiful
for Kindergarten
in GATB Language Arts & Reading (Location: CUR-GABELA)
$7.60 (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 Shadow
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Ted Rand
First Impression from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
My Uncle Emily
by Jane Yolen
from Philomel Books
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$15.29
My Very First Mother Goose
by Iona Opie
from Candlewick Press
for Nursery-kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
My Very First Mother Goose
by Iona Opie
from Scholastic Inc.
for Nursery-kindergarten
in Mother Goose & Nursery Rhymes (Location: PIC-MG)
$3.60 (1 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 Leonard Weisgard
1975 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Night Before Christmas
by Clement C. Moore, Illustrated by Corinne Malvern
29th Printing, 1974 from Golden Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
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