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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149 Items found Print
Active Filters: 2nd grade (Ages 7-8), Trade Paperback
26 Fairmount Avenue
by Tomie dePaola
from Mondo Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Alfie and the Big Boys
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Alfie and the Birthday Surprise
by Shirley Hughes
Reissue from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie Gets in First
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie Gives a Hand
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$13.99
Alfie Weather
by Shirley Hughes
New from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie Wins a Prize
by Shirley Hughes
Reissue from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
Alfie's Alphabet
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie's Christmas
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie's Feet
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Alfie's Numbers
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
All Those Secrets of the World
by Jane Yolen
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
All-of-a-Kind Family Downtown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #2
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
from Rabbit Room Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.99
Anna Hibiscus
by Atinuke
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Apple Picking Time
from Dragonfly Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Astrid the Unstoppable
by Maria Parr, translated from the Norwegian by Guy Puzey
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Audrey of the Outback
by Christine Harris
for 1st-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
B Is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt
First School Experiences for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Babushka
by Charles Mikolaycak
1st edition from Holiday House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Baby Island
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Back to School with Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Odyssey Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.95
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
Bicycle Man
by Allen Say
from Sandpiper Books
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Big Alfie and Annie Rose Storybook
by Shirley Hughes
from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$14.99
Big Frank's Fire Truck
by Leslie McGuire
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Book About Christopher Columbus
by Ruth Belov Gross, Illustrated by Syd Hoff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Bracelet, The
by Yoshika Uchida
from PaperStar Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Brave Irene
by William Steig
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
Captive Treasure
by Milly Howard
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Carrot Seed
by Ruth Krauss & Crockett Johnson
from HarperCollins
Humorous Book on Botany for Nursery-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (5 in stock)
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
Charlotte's Web - Full Color Edition
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker & Marla Frazee
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Coals of Fire
by Elizabeth Bauman
from Herald Press
for ages 7 and up
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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
Coming On Home Soon
by Jacqueline Woodson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Cranberry Thanksgiving
by Wende & Harry Devlin
from Purple House Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Day Gogo Went to Vote
by Elinor Batezat Sisulu
from Little, Brown & Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
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
Desert Is Theirs
by Byrd Baylor, illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
1976 Caldecott Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Egg Tree
by Katherine Milhous
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
1951 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Emily
by Michael Bedard
from Dell Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
Erie Canal
by Peter Spier
from Doubleday & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Evening at Alfie's
by Shirley Hughes
Reprint from Red Fox
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$12.99
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
Ginger Pye
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Animal Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1952 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Gone Fishing
by Tamara Wissinger, Illustrated by Matthew Cordell
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$6.99
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
Granny Han's Breakfast
by Shelia Groves
from OMF
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
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
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
Ian and the Gigantic Leafy Obstacle
by Sheila Miller
from OMF
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
If You're Not from the Prairie . . .
by David Bouchard
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Ira Says Goodbye
by Bernard Waber
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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
Kirsten's Cook Book
American Girl
by Jodi Evert
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Cooking for Kids (Location: COOK-KID)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Least of All
by Carol Purdy
from Sonlight Curriculum, Ltd.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Letting Swift River Go
by Jane Yolen
from Little, Brown & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.99
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
Little House Cookbook
by Barbara Walker
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-8th grade
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$14.99
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
Looking for Home
by Eileen M. Berry
from Bob Jones University Press
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Lotus Seed
by Sherry Garland
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.99
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
Mary Jane: Her Book
by Clara Ingram Judson
from Salem Ridge Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
Mary McLean and the St. Patrick's Day Parade
by Steven Kroll
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Meet Rebecca
American Girl
by Jacqueline Dembar Greene
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
Middle Moffat
Moffats #2
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
1943 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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
Moffat Museum
Moffats #4
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Moffats
Moffats #1
by Eleanor Estes
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Molly's Pilgrim
by Barbara Cohen, illustrated by Daniel Mark Duffy
from Scholastic Inc.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.50 (2 in stock)
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
More All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #3
by Sydney Taylor
from Lizzie Skurnick Books
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.95
Most Wonderful Doll in the World
by Phyllis McGinley
from Scholastic Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
1951 Caldecott Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Mr. Putter and Tabby Bake the Cake
by Cynthia Rylant
from Harcourt
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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. Putter and Tabby Row the Boat
by Cynthia Rylant
from Harcourt
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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
My Book of Little House Paper Dolls
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperFestival
for 2nd-6th grade
in Little House Materials (Location: LIR-LHM)
$12.99
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
New Toes for Tia
by Larry Dinkins
from OMF
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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
Nory Ryan's Song
by Patricia Reilly Giff
from Yearling
for 2nd-3rd grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Obadiah the Bold
by Brinton Turkle
from Beautiful Feet Books
Historical Fiction for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.95
Patchwork Quilt
by Valerie Flournoy
from Scholastic Inc.
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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