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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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Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10)
101 Dalmatians
by Dodie Smith
Reissue from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.79
18 Penny Goose
An I Can Read Book Level 3
by Sally M. Walker
from HarperCollins
Realistic fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.24
26 Fairmont Avenue
by Tomie De Paola
from Puffin Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.94 $3.20 (2 in stock)
77 Zebra
Adventures of an Arctic Missionary Book 3
by Gloria Repp
from Bob Jones University Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
A. Lincoln and Me
by Louise W. Borden
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
About Average
by Andrew Clements
Reprint from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.20 (1 in stock)
About the B'nai Bagels
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Atheneum
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Across So Many Seas
by Ruth Behar
from Nancy Paulsen Books
for 4th-8th grade
2025 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$15.29
Across So Many Seas
by Ruth Behar
from Nancy Paulsen Books
for 4th-8th grade
2025 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.49
Adventure to Home
by Robert Wells, illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in 19th Century America (Location: HISA-19C)
Adventures of an Arctic Missionary Trilogy
by Gloria Repp
from Bob Jones University Press
Missionary Stories for 4th-6th grade
in BJU Journey Books & Booklinks (Location: REA-BJU)
$22.92
Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Readers #10
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
1954 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Series 4
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures with Waffles
by Maria Parr, illustrated by Kate Forrester
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
Afraid to Ride
by C. W. Anderson
from Scholastic Book Services
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
After Many Days
by L. M. Montgomery
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Afternoon of the Elves
by Janet Taylor Lisle
Reprint from Atheneum
for 3rd-7th grade
1990 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
Akavak
by James Houston
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Akimbo of Africa
by Alexander McCall Smith
from Notgrass Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.91
Akin to Anne
by L.M. Montgomery
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.44
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Rand McNally
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$21.24
Alexi's Secret Mission
by Anita Deyneka
from School of Tomorrow
for 1st-4th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
All Alone
by Claire Huchet Bishop
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
All Alone in the World
by Johanna Spyri
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
All of the Above
by Shelley Pearsall, illustrated by Javaka Steptoe
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
All's Faire in Middle School
by Victoria Jamieson
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 4th-7th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$11.89
All-of-a-Kind Family
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Yearling
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
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)
$11.01
All-of-a-Kind Family Sequels Bundle
by Sydney Taylor
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$44.89
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)
$11.01
Almost All-White Rabbity Cat
by Meindert DeJong; illustrated by Herman B. Vestal
from Inheritance Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$10.16
Along Came a Dog
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Animal Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1959 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Along Came a Dog RUC
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1959 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Anak, the Eskimo Boy
by Piet Prins
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Morality Tales (Location: FIC-WH05)
$10.16
Anastasia Again!
by Lois Lowry
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Anastasia at this Address
by Lois Lowry
First Ediition from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Anastasia Has the Answers
by Lois Lowry
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Angel Knew Papa and the Dog
by Douglas Kaine McKelvey
from Rabbit Room Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.04
Animal Heroes
by Ernest Lloyd
from Pacific Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Animal Story Book
Young Folks Library
from Auxiliary Educational League
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
Animal, the Vegetable, & John D. Jones
by Betsy Byars, illustrated by Ruth Sanderson
from Delacorte Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Anna and the King (adapted)
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Anna Hibiscus
by Atinuke
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
Anna Hibiscus Bundle
by Atinuke, illustrated by Lauren Tobia
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Anne of Avonlea
Anne #2
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
Anne of Avonlea
Thrushwood Book
by L. M. Montgomery
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Anne of Avonlea
Anne #2
by L. M. Montgomery
from Tundra Books (NY)
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Anne of Avonlea
Anne #2
by L. M. Montgomery
from Tundra Books (NY)
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.49
Anne of Avonlea
Anne #2
by L. M. Montgomery
from Bantam Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Anne of Green Gables
by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Lauren Mills
from David R. Godine
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Anne of Green Gables Treasury
by Carolyn Strom Collins, Christina Wyss Eriksson
First Edition
for 4th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Annotated Secret Garden OSI
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, edited by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina
Annotated from W. W. Norton and Co.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Apple and the Arrow
by Conrad & Mary Buff
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fiction/Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1952 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Applewhites at Wits End
by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fir from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
Applewhites Coast to Coast OSI
by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fir from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Ark, The
by Margot Benary-Isbert
2021 Revision from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Ark, The
by Margot Benary-Isbert
2021 Revision from Purple House Press
for 3rd-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$13.59
Ashes
Seeds of America #3
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Avenging the Owl
by Melissa Hart
from Sky Pony Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Away Goes Sally
Sally Series #1
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
from Bethlehem Books
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
B Is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt
First School Experiences for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79
B Is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
B Is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Baby Island
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Back to School with Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt Children's Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Back to School with Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Odyssey Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.16
Baldy the American Eagle
The Good and the Beautiful Library Level 4
by Mary Adrian, edited by Jenny Phillips, illustrated by Genevieve Vaughan-Jackson
from The Good and the Beautiful
for 4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Ballet Shoes
by Noel Streatfeild
2018 Hardcover from Random House Books for Young Readers
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Bambi
by Felix Salten
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.64
Bambi
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$25.49
Bambi's Children
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Erna Pinner
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bambi's Children
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Banner in the Sky
by James Ramsey Ullman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.64
Banner in the Sky
by James Ramsey Ullman
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Baseball Saved Us
by Ken Mochizuki
from Lee & Low Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$10.16
Bastable Adventures Set
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by Cecil Leslie
from Living Book Press
Family Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$39.56
Bayou Suzette
Wartime Edition from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Beans on the Roof
by Betsy Byars, illustrated by Melodye Rosales
1st edition from Delacorte Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Beastie of Brambly Bald
Tree Street Kids #5
by Amanda Cleary Eastep
from Moody Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Beautiful Joe
by Marshall Saunders
1965 Edition from Harper & Brothers
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beautiful Joe
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Marshall Saunders
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Because of the Rabbit
by Cynthia Lord
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
from Candlewick Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
Updated from Candlewick Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona Collection Book 1
by Beverly Cleary
Reissue from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.49
Beezus and Ramona
by Beverly Cleary
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Beginning was a Dutchman
by Isla Mitchell, illustrated by Richard Kennedy
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant
by Patricia Beatty
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bel Ria
by Sheila Burnford
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Belles On Their Toes
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.59
Beloved Dearly
by Doug Cooney
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
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