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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108 Items found Print
Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10), Trade Paperback, Used Books & Materials
26 Fairmount Avenue
by Tomie dePaola
from Mondo Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (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)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Boston Jane
by Jennifer L. Holm
from Scholastic Reference
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Charlotte Sometimes
by Penelope Farmer
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
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)
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)
Double Fudge
by Judy Blume
from Puffin Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
First Four Years
Little House Series #9
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
by Margaret Sidney
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Freak the Mighty
by Rodman Philbrick
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Getting Near to Baby
by Audrey Couloumbis
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
2000 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Girl Named Disaster
by Nancy Farmer
First Printing Dec.2011 from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Gold Cadillac
by Mildred D. Taylor
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Great Wheel
by Robert Lawson
from Walker and Company
Realistic fiction for 4th-8th grade
1958 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99 $6.00 (2 in stock)
Happy Yellow Car
by Polly Horvath
for 3rd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Harriet Spies Again
by Helen Ericson (based on Louise Fitzhugh)
Reprint from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi Grows Up
by Johanna Spyri, Charles Tritten
from Dell Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Hope Was Here
by Joan Bauer
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
Newbery Honor Winner 2001
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Hope Was Here
by Joan Bauer
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-6th grade
2001 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Jake Drake, Bully Buster
by Andrew Clements
Reissue from Atheneum
for 3rd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Jenny Wren
by Dawn L. Watkins
from Bob Jones University Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Katy
by Mary Evelyn McCurdy (formerly Notgrass)
from Notgrass Company
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.95 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Kellyhorns
by Barbara Cooney
from Volo Hyperion
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Kildee House
by Rutherford G. Montgomery
from Walker and Company
for 4th-6th grade
1950 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
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)
Lemonade War
The Lemonade War #1
by Jacqueline Davies
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Letters from Rifka
by Karen Hesse
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Little House in the Big Woods
Little House Series #1
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Little House on Rocky Ridge
Rocky Ridge Years Book 1
by Roger Lea MacBride
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lucretia Ann on the Oregon Trail
by Ruth Gipson Plowhead
from Caxton Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lumber Camp Library
by Natalie Kinsey-warnock
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Macaroni Boy
by Katherine Ayres
Reprint from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Mary on Horseback
by Rosemary Wells
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.99 $2.50 (3 in stock)
Mary on Horseback
by Rosemary Wells
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Midnight Clear
by Katherine Paterson
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Miracles on Maple Hill
by Virginia Sorensen, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
2003 edition from Harcourt
Family Stories for 4th-7th grade
1957 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $5.00 (4 in stock)
My Father's Daughter
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
No Children, No Pets
by Marion Holland
from Avyx, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
No Talking
by Andrew Clements
Reprint from Atheneum
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Operation Yes
by Sara Lewis Holmes
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Our Only May Amelia
by Jennifer L. Holm
from HarperCollins
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Paper Wishes
from Square Fish Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Peanut Butter Friends in a Chop Suey World
by Deb Brammer
from Bob Jones University Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Penny's Worth of Character
by Jesse Stuart
2001 Printing from Jesse Stuart Foundation
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Pictures of Hollis Woods
by Patricia Reilly Giff
2nd edition from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Place in the Sun
by Jill Rubalcaba
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Plain Girl
by Virginia Sorensen
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.00 $4.50 (3 in stock)
Ramona's World
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Rickshaw Girl
by Mitali Perkins
from Charlesbridge
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.95 $4.50 (1 in stock)
School Story
by Andrew Clements
from Atheneum
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Scottish Seas
by Doug Jones
from Canon Press
Historical Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Sea Star
by Marguerite Henry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 2nd-5th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Secret of the Golden Cowrie
by Gloria Repp
from Bob Jones University Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Secret School
by Avi
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Seeds of America - Boxed Set
by Laurie Halse Anderson
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$26.99 $17.00 (1 in stock)
Shakespeare Stealer
Shakespeare Stealer #1
by Gary Blackwood
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Shakespeare's Scribe
Shakespeare Stealer #2
by Gary Blackwood
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Skippack School
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Herald Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Stories Julian Tells
by Ann Cameron
Reprint from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Summer of Sundays
by Lindsay Eland
Reprint from Egmont
for 3rd-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Swift Rivers
by Cornelia Meigs
from Walker and Company
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1933 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Talented Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker & Marla Frazee
from Scholastic Inc.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Tarantula in My Purse
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Three Months Under the Snow
by J. J. Porchat
from Prism Productions
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Toothpaste Millionaire
by Jean Merrill
from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Toothpaste Millionaire
by Jean Merrill
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Trails to Poosey
by Olive R. Cook
from Misty Hill Press
Pioneer Fiction for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Travels With my Family
by Marie-Louise Gay and David Homel
from Groundwood Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Treasure in an Oatmeal Box
by Ken Gire
from Cook Communications
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Treasures of the Snow (adapted)
by Patricia St. John, adapted by Mary Mills
2nd edition from Moody Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Violet Mackerel's Brilliant Plot
Violet Mackerel
by Anna Bradford, Illustrated by Elanna Allen
from Simon and Schuster
for 1st-4th grade
in Series Books (Location: SER-MISC)
$5.99 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
Wanderer
by Sharon Creech
First Scholastic Printing from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
War Comes to Willy Freeman
by James Lincoln Collier, Christopher Collier
Reissue from Yearling
for 4th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
War Within
by Carol Matas
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.00 (2 in stock)
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