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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154 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), Used Books & Materials
26 Fairmont Avenue
by Tomie De Paola
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Acts of Light
by Emily Dickinson, illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert, appreciation by Jane Langton
Third Printing from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Harry Rountree
from Gallery Books
for 3rd-9th grade
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by Michael Hague
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
America America America
by Kenneth Seeman Giniger (Editor), Illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Among the Barons
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Among the Enemy
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Among the Free
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Among the Hidden
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Ancient Egypt: Life, Myth, and Art
by JoAnne Fletcher
First Edition from Duncan Baird
for 5th-9th grade
in Ancient Egypt (Location: HISW-ANEG)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen
from Barnes & Noble
for 3rd-8th grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 Paperback
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Arthur Szyk
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Windermere Readers #8
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen and illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Another Book of Verses for Children
by E.V. Lucas (editor), illustrated by F.D. Bedford
from Macmillan
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$26.00 (1 in stock)
Apple Blossoms and Other Stories
by Edmund Stanley and A. R. Taylor
from Scott, Foresman & Co.
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Argosy of Fables
by F. T. Cooper (editor), illustrated by Paul Bransom
from Frederick A. Stokes Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$64.00 (1 in stock)
Beauty of the Beast
by Jack Prelutsky, illustrated by Meilo So
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Best Little Stories from World War II
by C. Brian Kelly
1996 Printing from Montpelier Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in World War II (1939-1945) (Location: HISA-20WW2)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Americans
by Rosemary and Stephen Vincent Benet, illustrated by Charles Child
from Farrar & Rinehart
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Booked
Crossover #2
by Kwame Alexander
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Born in the Year of Courage
by Emily Crofford
from Carolrhoda Books, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Boy's War
by David Michell
1st edition from OMF
for 5th-8th grade
in WWII: Pacific Theater (Location: HISA-20WW2P)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Buddy's Crazy True-Life Adventures
Buddy Davis Amazing Adventures
by Buddy Davis
from Answers in Genesis
for 3rd-6th grade
in Short Stories (Location: LIT-ANTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Caught
Missing #05
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-7th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Anthology of Poetry
by Elizabeth Hauge Sword
for 1st-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Simon and Schuster
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99 $14.50 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Dover Publications
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 $1.50 (2 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Cooper Edens
from Chronicle Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
Arcadia
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Princess House Books
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Joanna Isles
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Thomas Kinkade
First Edition, Thus from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Weathervane Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Juanita C. Bennett
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Introduction to Poetry
Books for Young Explorers
by Michael Driscoll & Meredith Hamilton
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 2nd-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Citizen Tom Paine
by Howard Fast
from Duell, Sloan and Pearce
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Poetry
by Michael Rosen & Paul Howard
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$15.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear
by Edward Lear, collected and introduced by Holbrook Jackson
from Dover Publications
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Cornstalks: A Bushel of Poems
by James Stevenson
from Avyx, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (4 in stock)
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths - Audio CD
by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire
from Yearling
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$25.00 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Deirdre
by David Guard; illustrated by Gretchen Guard
2nd edition from Celestial Arts
for 4th-6th grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Dime a Dozen
by Nikki Grimes, Illustrated by Angelo
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dream Keeper And Other Poems
by Langston Hughes
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Enchanted Book
by Janina Porazinska, translated by Bozena Smith, illustrated by Jan Brett
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Every Living Thing
by Cynthia Rylant
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales and Stories
by Hans Christian Andersen, Edited by Signe Toksvig, Illustrated by George and Doris Hauman
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales of Brothers Grimm - Comprehension Guide
by Emily Fischer
from Veritas Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Veritas Press Literature Guides (Location: LITSG-VP)
$19.00 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Kay Nielsen
from Viking Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales: The Brothers Grimm
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by The Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Folklore for 2nd-6th grade
$19.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Folktales from Around the World
by Jane Yolen
from Pantheon Books
for 4th-Adult
in Short Story Anthologies for Kids (Location: FIC-ANTH)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Greek Myths
by Mary Pope Osborne, illustrated by Troy Howell
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Favorite Greek Myths
by Bob Blaisdell
from Dover Publications
for 4th-6th grade
$2.50 (2 in stock)
Favorite Poems for Children
by Holly Pell McConnaughy, editor
from Barnes & Noble
for 1st-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Favourite Tales from Grimm and Andersen
by Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Jirí Trnka
1983 Printing from Paul Hamlyn
for 4th-8th grade
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Favourite Tales from Hans Christen Andersen
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Anastasiya Archipova
from Floris Books
for 4th-6th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Fortune's Bones
by Marilyn Nelson, notes and annotations by Pamela Espeland
from Front Street
for 4th-8th grade
2005 Coretta Scott King Author Honor Book
in Slavery & the Underground Railroad (Location: HISA-19SL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Gift of the Magi
Dover Thrift Editions
by O. Henry
from Dover Publications
for 4th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 $2.00 (7 in stock)
Gift of the Magi
by O. Henry, illustrated by Kevin King
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gladiola Garden
World Voices
by Effie Lee Newsome, illustrated by Lois Mailou Jones
from Living Book Press
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
God Beneath the Sea
by Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen, illustrated by Zevi Blum
from Pantheon Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Greek Gods
by Bernard & Dorothy Evslin, Ned Hoopes, illustrated by William Hunter
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$2.00 (20 in stock)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
Windermere Readers #4
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Hope Dunlap
1954 printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Harp and Laurel Wreath
by Laura M. Berquist
from Ignatius Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Poetry Anthologies (Location: POET-ANTH)
$24.95 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Have You Seen Tom Thumb?
by Mabel Leigh Hunt, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
1943 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Here There Be Angels
by Jane Yolen, illustrated by David Wilgus
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Heroes & Monsters Of Greek Myth
by Bernard Evslin, Dorthy Evslin, ned Hoopes
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-7th grade
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Hidden
by Fanya Gottesfeld Heller with Joshua M. Greene
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Highwayman
by Alfred Noyes, illustrated by Charles Mikolaycak
1st edition
for 3rd-8th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from PaperStar Books
Autobiography for 4th-8th grade
1983 Newbery Honor Book
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.99 $4.50 (2 in stock)
Homesick: My Own Story
by Jean Fritz
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
I Saw Esau
by Iona & Peter Opie
First U.S. Edition from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
If I Were In Charge of the World and Other Worries
by Judith Viorst, illustrated by Lynne Cherry
from Aladdin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Inside Out & Back Again
by Thanhha Lai
Reprint from HarperCollins
Narrative Poetry / Novel-In-Verse for 4th-8th grade
2012 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
It's Perfectly True
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Paul Leyssac and illustrated by Richard Bennett
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Jack Tales
by Richard Chase
Reprint from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Joyful Noise
by Paul Fleischman
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Joyful Noise
by Paul Fleischman, illustrated by Eric Beddows
1st edition from Harper & Row
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
King and the Green Angelica
by Isabel Wyatt and Joan Rudel
from Lanthorn Press
for 1st-6th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
King of the Hummingbirds
by John Gardner, illustrated by Michael Sporn
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Kingdom Tales
by David & Karen Mains
from My Father's World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$34.95 $21.00 (1 in stock)
Legend of Sleepy Hollow
by Washington Irving
from Philomel Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Letters to Seabiscuit
by Compiled by Barbara Howard
from Seven Locks Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Little Mermaid and Other Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Neil Philip, illustrated by Isabelle Brent
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harvest House
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$11.99 $7.50 (2 in stock)
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harvest House
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery
from Harcourt
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Lives of the Artists
by M. B. Goffstein
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-8th grade
in Art History & Appreciation (Location: ELE-ARTHIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Loony Limericks from Alabama to Wyoming
by Jack Stokes
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book One)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
March (Book Two)
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
March - Boxed Set
by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin
from Top Shelf Productions
for 5th-9th grade
Robert F. Kennedy Book Award Winner, Coretta Scott King Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Moon & I
by Betsy Byars
from Beech Tree Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.50 (2 in stock)
Mouse of Amherst
by Elizabeth Spires, Illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
My America
by Lee Bennett Hopkins
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
My Symphony
by William Henry Channing, illustrated by Mary Engelbreit
from Andrews McMeel
for 3rd-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Naya Nuki
by Kenneth Thomasma
from Baker Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Nightingale
by Hans Christian Andersen; retold by Stephen Mitchell and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Odin's Family
by Neil Philip, illustrated by Maryclare Foa
from Orchard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Odyssey (retold)
Puffin Classics
by Geraldine McCaughrean retells Homer
Puffin Classics from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
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