Chapter 11: Realistic Fiction

 Realistic Fiction is "believable" fiction. These stories have characters, events, and settings that are real and are set in contemporary, or modern times. Everything in a realistic fiction work should be consistent with the real world in which modern children live. This includes speech, behavior, and every element within. Special consideration should be made to gender and cultural elements and you should avoid stories with stereotypes. Good realistic fiction for children should also have themes that slowly emerge naturally and consistently in the story. The topic or subject matter of the book should relate to modern readers. Many times realistic fiction tackles tough topics such as death and loss, sexuality, family conflicts, etc. so be aware of age-appropriate material. 

Realistic fiction is definitely a favorite subgenre for my 6th graders. They enjoy reading books in which they can relate and read about children like themselves. Some of their favorite authors this past year have been Jason Reynolds, Walter Dean Myers, and Pam Munoz Ryan.