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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278 Items found Print
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...and now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from Thomas Crowell
for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Kamil Lohták
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Akimbo and the Lions
by Alexander McCall Smith; illustrated by LeUyen Pham
from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
by Judith Viorst
from Atheneum
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Alexi's Secret Mission
by Anita Deyneka
from School of Tomorrow
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
All Aboard for Freedom
by Marie McSwigan, illustrated by E. Harper Johnson, with an introduction by Jan Papanek
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor; illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Follett Publishing Co.
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$34.00 (1 in stock)
Anastasia Again!
by Lois Lowry
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Anastasia Has the Answers
by Lois Lowry
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Anna All Year Round
by Mary Downing Hahn
from Clarion Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Anne of Avonlea
Courage Classics
by L. M. Montgomery
from Running Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles; illustrated by Peter Parnall
Reprint from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Annie and the Old One
by Miska Miles; illustrated by Peter Parnall
from Little, Brown & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
1972 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$7.50 (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)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Joe
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Marshall Saunders
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Joe
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Marshall Saunders
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Before I Was Born
by Harriet Ziefert, Illustrated by Rufus Coes
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (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)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant
by Patricia Beatty
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Beloved Bondage
by Elizabeth Yates
from People's Book Club
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Benjy and the Barking Bird
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Betsy and Joe
by Maud Hart Lovelace, illustrated by Vera Neville
15th Printing from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy's Play School
by Carolyn Haywood, illustrated by James Griffin
from William Morrow & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Big Doin's on Razorback Ridge
by Ellis Credle
1978th edition from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Houghton Mifflin
Christmas/Advent for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Walter Seaton
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
Everyman Children's Classics
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Lucy Kemp-Welch
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty (abridged)
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Chiara Fedele
from Miles Kelly Publishing
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Black Symbol
by Annabel & Edgar Johnson
from Harper & Row
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bobbsey Twins at Home
by Laura Lee Hope
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bobbsey Twins in the Country
by Laura Lee Hope
Undated from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
First Ed from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Delacorte Press
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
2000 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Bully of Barkham Street
by Mary Stolz, illustrated by Leonard Shortall
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Sky Top
Bunny Brown
by Laura Lee Hope, illustrated by Walter S. Rogers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-5th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$6.50 (1 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)
$18.99 $8.00 (2 in stock)
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Pictorial Cover)
Little House Series #5
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-6th grade
1940 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Caleb's Choice
from Lodestar Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Camel Caravan
by Arthur Catherall, illustrated by Joseph Papin
from Seabury Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Carrie's War
by Nina Bawden
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cartoonist
by Betsy Cromer Byars, illustrated by Richard Cuffari
from Viking Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cathie Stuart
by Nora Tully MacAlvay
1958 2nd Printing from Viking Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from The Folio Society
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Fox
by Jill Paton Walsh, illustrated by Robin Eaton
First American Edition from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the Northlights
by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire
1962 Reprint from Viking Press
for Preschool-4th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
Children of the River
by Linda Crew
from Delacorte Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Children's Stories from Dickens
by Charles Dickens, Mary Angela Dickens
from Gramercy Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cinchfoot
by Thomas C. Hinkle
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Clara and the Bookwagon
by Nancy Smiler Levinson
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-4th grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
Classic Library: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
from Smithmark Publishers
for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Clementine
by Sara Pennypacker & Marla Frazee
from Hyperion Books for Children
for 2nd-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (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)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Cornelli
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Louise Brooks
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Corner of the Universe
by Ann M. Martin
from Scholastic Press
for 5th-8th grade
2003 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Criss Cross
by Lynne Rae Perkins
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for 6th-9th grade
2006 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Daddy-Long-Legs
by Jean Webster
1st edition from Century Co.
Orphan Stories for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$40.00 (1 in stock)
David Copperfield
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Charles Dickens
from Reader's Digest
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Day the Fish Went Wild
by Elizabeth Baldwin Hazelton, illustrated by Joe Servello
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
from William Morrow & Company
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1984 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Design for Ann
by Darlene Geis
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Dipper of Copper Creek
by Jean Craighead George & John George
from Dutton Children's Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Doctor Like Papa
by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock, Illustrated by James Bernardin
First Edition from HarperCollins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Door in the Wall
by Marguerite De Angeli
from Doubleday & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Downright Dencey
by Caroline Dale Snedeker, illustrated by Maginel Wright Barney
from Doubleday & Company
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$22.00 (1 in stock)
Dragon, Hound of Honor
by Julie Andrews Edwards and Emma Walton Hamilton
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Eddie the Dog Holder
by Carolyn Haywood
from William Morrow & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Eight Cousins
by Louisa May Alcott
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Elijah Of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
from Scholastic Inc.
Nursery Rhymes for 4th-6th grade
2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner, 2008 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Eugenie Grandet
by Honore de Balzac, translated by Ellen Marriage, introduction by Richard Aldington, illustrations by Rene ben Sussan
from Heritage Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Everett Anderson's Goodbye
by Lucille Clifton, illustrated by Ann Grifalconi
from Henry Holt and Company
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
1984 Coretta Scott King Award
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
from Henry Holt and Company
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Explorer of Barkham Street
by Mary Stolz, illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Family Under the Bridge
by Natalie Savage Carlson
from Harper & Row
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Fifth Chinese Daughter
by Jade Snow Wong; illustrated by Kathryn Uhl
from Harper & Brothers
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
First Four Years
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction/Pioneers for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
First Four Years (Pictorial Cover)
by Laura Ingalls Wilder; illustrated by Garth Williams
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
by Margaret Sidney, illustrated by Anna Marie Magagna
1962, Second Printing from Macmillan
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg
37th printing from Atheneum
for 4th-6th grade
1968 Newbery Medal Winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
35th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Fry Bread
by Kevin Noble Maillard, illustrated by Juana Martinez-Neal
from Roaring Brook Press
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
2020 Robert F. Sibert Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Garram the Hunter
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Herbert Best, illustrated by Erick Berry
1939 Edition from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
1931 Newbery Honor Book, Junior Literary Guild
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$50.00 (1 in stock)
Gift from the Mikado
by Elizabeth P. Fleming
from Westminster John Knox Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Going to Town
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from Scholastic Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Age
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Ten Speed Press
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Gopher, Tanker, and the Admiral
by Shirley Climo, illustrated by Eileen McKeating
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Grapes of Wrath
by John Steinbeck
3rd printing from Viking Press
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Great Brain
by John D. Fitzgerald
from Dial Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Great Whale of Kansas
by Richard W. Jennings
from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Green Grass of Wyoming
Flicka #3
by Mary O'Hara
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Half-Crown House
by Helen Ashton
Book Club Edition from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Harriet the Spy
by Louise Fitzhugh
50th Anniversary from Delacorte Press
Humorous Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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