A book is considered realistic fiction if events in the story did not really happen but could have. Fantastic elements such as magic, aliens, talking animals, or ridiculous exaggerations move a book out of this category and into other genres. Biographies or true stories, even if written in novelized form, are considered non-fiction.

 Realistic fiction is usually divided into historical and contemporary fiction. Contemporary fiction takes place today or in the recent past; historical fiction takes place further in the past. This distinction seems simple enough, but the line between the two categories is somewhat blurred. Should a story such as Beverly Cleary's classic Henry Huggins be considered contemporary fiction even though the setting is America in 1950, the year it was written? Most sources put in into the contemporary category, yet the recent award-winning novel The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 is considered historical fiction even though it takes place over a decade later. Because of this issue, some authorities suggest that a book should expressly try to convey the everyday life and/or important events of a period in the past to be considered historical fiction. By this definition, both Henry and the Watsons can be put into their proper places with little debate.

 Most children don't really care how the experts label a book as long as it is a good read. Quality historical and contemporary realistic fiction books are populated with characters as real as people we meet every day. Main characters are usually children, so they should think, behave, and express themselves as children. Both historical and contemporary fiction deal with feelings and issues that children can relate to, such as friendships, family life, school, and growing up. Many books in these genres also deal with serious issues such as death, divorce, war, and other disruptions. If well written, these powerful books can help a child (or even an adult) deal with problems and feelings they are experiencing in their own lives.

 Historical fiction has the added burden of being historically accurate. If the author did not experience the time period themselves, they must carefully research their subject and try to correctly portray both historical events and everyday life. For example, no matter how poignant the tale of a boy and his dog, the mention of canned dog food in a book set in colonial America would seriously distract and detract from the story.

 Because kids feel a strong connection to characters dealing with familiar issues and feelings in a true to life world, realistic fiction accounts for far more books sold than any other kind of children's literature. Below are just a tiny sampling of the thousands of excellent titles in these genres.

Sounder by William Armstrong *Newbery 1970 ...African-American boy (and his dog) grow up in late 1800s deep south
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi  ...a teenage girl is a passenger on a sailing ship run by a tyrannical captain
Amistad by Joyce Annette barnes ...a junior novelization of the movie about a revolt on a slave ship
Charley Skedaddle by Patricia Beatty ...a young boy learns of true courage in the US Civil War
A Gathering of Days: A New England Girl's Journal by Joan Blos ...a diary of life in the 1830s
Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink *Newbery 1936 ...a headstrong girl grows up in 1860s Wisconsin
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln and Christopher Collier
A Letter to Mrs. Roosevelt by C. Coco De Young ...in the Depression, a girl tries to find a way to save her family's home
Prairie Songs by Pam Corned
The Watsons Go to Birmingham -- 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis ...a sometimes hillarious, sometimes tragic story of an African-American family from Detroit visiting Alabama during the height of the Civil Rights Movement
The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman *Newbery 1996
The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman *Newbery 1987 ...a spoiled prince and a street urchin run away into trouble
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes *Newbery 1944 ...classic set in US War of Independence
The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz
Homesick: My Own Story by Jean Fritz ...American girl growing up in China in 1925
Lily's Crossing by Patricia Reilly Giff ...a young girl deals with issues on the home front while her father fights in WWII
Thunder at Gettysburg by Patricia Gauch ...a girl living near the battle sees the horrors of war first hand
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson ...a boy and his dog on the western frontier
The Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
The Wind is Not a River by Arnold Griese ... recalls Japanese invasion of Alaskan islands during WWII
Westminster West by Jessie Haas  ... set in 1884 Vermont
Crutches by Peter Hartling (translated by Elizabeth Crawford) ...post WWII in Vienna
War Without Friends by Evert Hartman (translated by Patricia Crampton) ...WWII in Holland
Which Way Freedom? by Joyce Hansen ...set in the US Civil War
Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse *Newbery 1998
Across Five Aprils by Irene Hunt ...a boy experiences heartbreaking changes on the homefront during the Civil War
Up a Road Slowly by Irene Hunt *Newbery 1967 ...10 years in the life of an American girl
The Great Wheel by Robert Lawson ...an Irish immigrant helps construct the 1893 Chicago World's Fair
Journey to America by Sonia Levitin ...a Jewish family tries to escape 1930s Germany
In the Year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson by Bette Bao Lord ...a young Chinese girl adjusts to her new life in late 1940s Brooklyn
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry *Newbery 1990 ...a girl in Nazi occupied Denmark must save her friend
Moccasin Trail  by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan *Newbery 1986 ...a family on the frontier advertise for a mother
Hiroshima No Pika by Toshi Maruki
Treasures in the Dust by Tracey Porter ...a dirt poor family drives across the country to California during the Depression
The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare *Newbery 1959 ...a young girl is accused of being a witch in colonial Connecticut
Mississippi Bridge by Mildred Taylor ...short but powerful book about racism, honor, and a rain-swollen river
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor *Newbery 1977 ...a African-American family lives through the Depression in the South
The Bomb by Theodore Taylor
Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder ...family life on the western frontier (not starring Michael Landon)
Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates *Newbery 1951 ...a former king in Africa lives through slavery to freedom
 

The Bracelet by Yoshiko Uchida ...a Japanese-American child is sent to an internment camp during WWII
Michelangelo's Surprise by Tony Parillo ...a partially true story of the Renaissance genius
Shaker Boy by Mary Lyn Ray ...a boy is left to be raised by a Shaker community during the late 1700s
Thy Friend, Obadiah by Brinton Turkle...the life of a Quaker family on Nantucket in the early 1800s... *Caldecott Honor
Rachel and Obadiah by Brinton Turkle...continuing saga of the Quaker family from a little girl's point of view
Follow the Drinking Gourd by Jeanette Winter ...describes the Underground Railroad during the 1840s
Black Cowboy Wild Horses  A True Story by Julius Lester and Jerry Pinkney ...loosely based on the life of Bob Lemmons, a former slave whose tracking ability as a Texas cowboy was legendary.
Grandfather's Journey by Allen Say ...a family's cross-cultural experience through a grandfather's life in America and Japan
Watch the Stars Come Out by Diane Goodman immigrant family's story of the journey to Ellis Island
Working Cotton by Shirley Anne Williams ...the day of a migrant family working in a California cotton field
Bringing the Farmhouse Home by Gloria Whelan ...a family recalls rural American life when dividing the belongings of a recently deceased grandmother

Contemporary Realistic Fiction: Picture Books & Easy Readers

Smoky Night by Eve Bunting ...tells the story of an urban riot through the eyes of a child
Up North at the Cabin by Marsha Wilson Chall ...a girl recalls a magical summer vacation
Missing: One Stuffed Rabbit by Marian Cocca-Leffler ...a class searches for a lost mascot
Willie Jerome by Alice Faye Duncan ...a girl is the only person n the neighborhood who likes the rooftop jazz her brother plays on his trumpet
My Brother Sammy by Becky Edwards and David Armitage ...a story about a child with disabilities
The Old Cotton Blues by Linda England ...a boy uses music to reconnect with the father he lost
City Street by Douglas Florian ...a richly illustrated picture book showing urban scenes
My Cousin Katie by Michael Garland ...a girl visits relatives at their farm
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats ...a boy enjoys the winter weather in this poetic short tale
My Grandpa Retired Today by Elaine Knox-Wagner ...a boy helps his grandfather get used to retirement
Stevie by John Steptoe ...a boy dislikes and but then misses a younger playmate
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst ..."mom says some days are like that"
Alexander, Who's Not (Do you hear me? I mean it!) Going to Move by Judith Viorst ...Alexander copes with moving -- barely
The Very Best of Friends by Margaret Wild ...a touching story about losing a loved one
A Chair for My Mother by Vera Williams ...a single-parent family gets back on their feet after a house fire
Waiting for Baby by Harriet Ziefert ...a young boy anxiously awaits his new sister

Freckle Juice by Judy Blume;
Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume ...true to life tales of children's lives

Summer of the Swans by Betsy Byars ...a girl must care for her "special" brother
The Stories Julian Tells  by Ann Cameron ...young Jullian has quite an imagination
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary *Newbery 1984 ...a story told in letters about a boy trying to deal with his parent's divorce
Ramona the Pest by Beverly Cleary ...the 1st of many excellent books about a perky girl named Ramona
The Landry News by Andrew Clements ...a controversial story in a class newspaper gets a girl and her teacher in hot water
My Brother Stevie by Eleanor Clymer ...a sister must help take care of her brother after their mother dies
Amber Brown is Not a Crayon by Paula Danziger ...Amber's best friend is moving away
A Family Project by Sarah Ellis
Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh ...Harriet want to know all -- and usually does
Cousins by Virginia Hamilton
Anastasia at This Address by Lois Lowry
From the Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg *Newbery 1968 ...a runaway sister and brother hide out in a New York museum and get caught up in a mystery
Arthur for the Very First Time by Patricia MacLahlan ...a boy learns to really experience the world from his odd aunt and uncle
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor *Newbery 1992 ...a boy tries to save an abused dog
Skinnybones by Barbara Park
Jacob, I Have Loved by Katherine Paterson *Newbery 1981
Bridge to Terebithia by Katherine Paterson *Newbery 1978 ...teenage friends rule their own imaginary kingdom -- until tragedy strikes
Soup by Robert Newton Peck
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin *Newbery 1979 ...an eccentric tycoon gathers a group of heirs for a game of find the murderer
The Best School Year Ever by Barbara Robinson ...the terrible Herdman kids terrorize the neighborhood. (not for kids who try everything they read)
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant *Newbery 1993 ...Summer tries to contact her beloved but deceased Aunt May
Holes by Louis Sachar *Newbery 1999 ...semi-realistic tale of a "cursed" boy at a mysterious prison camp for kids
There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom by Louis Sachar ...an outcast boy learns to believe in himself and make friends
The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates by Susan Shreve ...Joshua must cope with being retained
Encyclopedia Brown Takes a Case by Steven Sobol ...one of the many cases of the boy-detective
Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli *Newbery 1991 ...an orphan boy runs away and re-invents himself in a new town
The Trouble with Tuck by Theodore Taylor ...a family tries to help when the family dog goes blind

 Since well-written historical fiction brings the past alive, many teachers use these books as cross-curricular tool to help teach history. The websites below can help you find books to use for studying different times and places.

Traveling Through History with Picture Books: It's not easy to find historical picture books to cover every persiod of US history, but this site gives you a fine chronological list.

Historical Fiction for Children and Young Adults: A huge list of links to all kinds of web resources on historical fiction. You can find man book lists, book reviews, official book award sites, plus lessons and units from here.

Historical Novel Society: Unlike the links above, this site is geared more towards adult book enthusiasts than teachers, but there's a lot of good stuff here. You can find book reviews, author sites, and articles on relevent history, all of which may be of use to high school teachers.

Steve & Cheryl's Help for Teachers: The page you are currently reading is part of a larger website we've put together to help teachers find inspiration on the web. There are links to all kinds of educational sites, including several foe teaching language arts. Please visit!

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