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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428 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), 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)
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)
$6.99
About Average
by Andrew Clements
Reprint from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
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)
$7.99
Akin to Anne
by L.M. Montgomery
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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)
$12.99
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
Along Came a Dog
by Meindert DeJong & Maurice Sendak
from HarperCollins
Realistic Animal Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1959 Newbery Honor Book
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
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)
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 and the King (adapted)
by Margaret Landon
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Anna Hibiscus
by Atinuke
Reprint from Candlewick Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Anne of Avonlea
Anne #2
by L. M. Montgomery
from Tundra Books (NY)
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Anne of Avonlea
Anne #2
by L. M. Montgomery
from Aladdin Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Anne of Avonlea
by L. M. Montgomery
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$9.99
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)
$7.99
Applewhites Coast to Coast
by Stephanie S. Tolan
Fir from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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)
$7.99
Avenging the Owl
by Melissa Hart
from Sky Pony Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (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)
$7.99
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
Because of the Rabbit
by Cynthia Lord
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Because of Winn-Dixie
by Kate DiCamillo
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (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)
Beezus and Ramona
Ramona Collection Book 1
by Beverly Cleary
Reissue from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Belles On Their Toes
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.99
Beloved Dearly
by Doug Cooney
Reprint from Simon and Schuster
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Best Christmas Pageant Ever
by Barbara Robinson
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Best School Year Ever
by Barbara Robinson
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown
by Maud Hart Lovelace
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Betsy and the Great World
by Maud Hart Lovelace
from HarperTrophy
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Birchbark House
by Louise Erdrich
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Yearling
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Bobbyā€™s Friends
by Phia van den Berg
from Inheritance Publications
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.95
Boston Jane
by Jennifer L. Holm
from Scholastic Reference
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Boy
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Boy
by Roald Dahl
1999 reissue from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Brian's Winter
by Gary Paulsen
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (3 in stock)
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
By the Shores of Silver Lake
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Caleb's Story
by Patricia MacLachlan
1st Edition 2nd Printing from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Canadian Summer
Mitchells Series #2
by Hilda Van Stockum
from Bethlehem Books
Family Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.95
Candymakers
by Wendy Mass
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Captain Nobody
by Dean Pitchford
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Captive Treasure
by Milly Howard
from Bob Jones University Press
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman
Reprint from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1995 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman
Reprint from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1995 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Chains
Seeds of America #1
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Charlie
Adventures of an Arctic Missionary Book 2
by Gloria Repp
from Bob Jones University Press
Missionary Stories for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Charlotte in Giverny
by Joan MacPhail Knight
Reprint from Chronicle Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Artists & Illustrators (Location: ELE-ARTISTS)
Charlotte Sometimes
by Penelope Farmer
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web - Full Color Edition
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.99
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Children of Noisy Village
by Astrid Lindgren
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Children of the Longhouse
by Joseph Bruchac
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Christmas Compass
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Christmas Doll
by Elvira Woodruff
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Chucaro
by Francis Kalnay
from Walker and Company
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
Reprint from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker & Marla Frazee
from Hyperion/Madison Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Coal Camp Girl
Living History Library
by Lois Lenski
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
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
Colly's Barn
by Michael Morpurgo
New Ed from Mammoth
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Computer Nut
by Betsy Cromer Byars
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Copper-Toed Boots
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Wayne State University
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$18.95
Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters
by Lesley M.M. Blume
Reprint from Yearling
for 3rd-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Curious World of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Dancing Bear
from Dell Yearling
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Dear Enemy
by Jean Webster
from Yearling
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Deep Trouble
by Walt Morey
from Blue Heron Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Desperate Adventures of Zeno and Alya
by Jane Kelly
from Square Fish Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Dipper of Copper Creek
by Jean Craighead George, John George
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dirk's Dog, Bello
by Meindert De Jong
from Paideia Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Dobry
by Monica Shannon, illustrated by Atanas Katchamakoff
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
1935 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Double Fudge
by Judy Blume
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Dutch Color
by Doug Jones
from Canon Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.00
Dying to Meet You
by Kate Klise
from Sandpiper Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.99
Echo Mountain
by Lauren Wolk
from Dutton Children's Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Edward Eager's Tales of Magic
by Edward M. Eager
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
El Deafo
by Cece Bell
1st edition from Amulet Books
for 3rd-7th grade
2015 Newbery Honor Book
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99
El Guero
by Elizabeth Borton de TreviƱo
from Hampton-Brown
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Elijah Of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner, 2008 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Escape
by Mona Dunckel
from Bob Jones University Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Every Soul A Star
by Wendy Mass
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Everything on a Waffle
by Polly Horvath
First Square Fish, May 2008 from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
2002 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
Reprint from Square Fish Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
2010 Newbery Honor
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt
by Patricia Maclachlan
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Fair American
Sally Series #3
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
from Bethlehem Books
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.95
Farmer Boy
Little House Series #3
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
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