Literary Genres Genre means a category, or type of literature. All books can be divided into two categories

• Literary Genres

• Genre means a category, or type of literature.

• All books can be divided into two categories:

• fiction nonfiction

• a made up story
• can tell about things that could happen
• is read for fun
• characters may be like real people or imaginary

• facts that can be checked and proven
• the author is an expert on this information
• it IS TRUE!

Categories of Genre

• There are many genres of books. Here are some of the common ones:

• Realistic fiction
• Historical fiction
• Science fiction
• Adventure
• Mystery
• Fantasy
• Myths

• Folktales
• Fables
• Fairy tales
• Tall tales
• Informational
• Poetry
• Biography

Realistic Fiction

• Stories are set in the real world.
• Contains characters who seem believable.
• The reader believes that the story could “really happen.”

Examples of Realistic Fiction

• Because of Winn Dixie
• Crash
• Owl Moon
• Shiloh
• Summer of the Swans
• Babysitter Club series

Historical Fiction

• Stories set in times past.
• Blends history with fiction.
• Historical fiction helps us understand what life might have been like during a particular time period.

Examples of Historical Fiction

• A Boy at War
• Across Five Aprils
• Ben and Me
• The Butterfly
• Charlie Skedaddle
• Sign of the Beaver
• Titanic Crossing
• Dear America Series

Science fiction

• Stories that blend fact and fiction with futuristic technology
• May involve magic or time travel.

Examples of Science Fiction

• Aliens for Breakfast
• A Wrinkle in Time
• My Best Friend is Invisible
• Star Wars
• The Time Machine

Adventure

• Setting many times in the wild.
• Main character must make decisions that will determine if he or she will survive.
• Main character usually grows and finds strength of character in the situation.
• Exciting plots.

Examples of Adventure

Mystery

• Deals with a problem that must be solved.
• Something or someone is missing.
• Strange events keep happening.
• A detective or main character looks for clues in order to solve the mystery.

Examples of Mystery

• The House of Dies Drear
• Never Say Die
• The Treehouse Mystery
• Mystery of the Midnight Message
• The Hardy Boys Series
• Boxcar Children Mysteries

Fantasy

• The reader must suspend belief.
• Many times the story takes place in another world.
• May involve magic or time travel.
• Sometimes animals can talk or have human characteristics.

Examples of Fantasy

Myths, Folk Tales, Fables, Fairy Tales, and Tall tales

• Myth

• A story that usually explains something about the world and involves gods and other superhuman beings.

Examples of Myths

• Baucis and Philemon
• Medusa’s Head
• Quetzalcoatl
• Daedalus and Icarus

Folk Tale

• A folk tale is a story with no known author. Folk tales are passed down from one generation to another by word of mouth.

Examples of Folk Tales

• Johnny Appleseed
• Yellowhammer
• Seventh Sister
• How the Snake Got Poison
• John Henry

Fable

• A fable is a very brief story in prose or in verse that teaches a moral or a practical lesson about how to succeed in life.

Examples of Fables

• The Crow and the Jar
• The Wolf and the House Dog
• The Fox and the Crow
• The Country Mouse and the City Mouse
• The Maid and the Milk Pail

Fairy tale

• A fairy tale is a type of imaginative writing that carries the reader into an invented world where the laws of nature, as we know them, do not operate.

Examples of Fairy Tales

• Cinderella
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• Ella Enchanted
• Cinder Edna

• Photo from:
• http://www.jlmatrix.co.uk/joanna/images/enchanted1.jpg

• Tall Tale

• A fictional story that stretches the truth.
• The heroes or sheroes are "larger than life.“
• Characters are given exaggerated characteristics

• Some classic tall tale heroes and sheroes are Paul Bunyan, Davy Crockett, Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind Crockett, Pecos Bill, and Slue-Foot Sue.

Informational

• Tells facts that can be looked-up or proven
• tells about real events
• characters have really lived
• may have maps, diagrams and illustrations to explain the facts
• author is an expert on the subject

Examples of Informational Writing

• Dirt Bikes
• Flying Animals
• Danger! Earthquakes
• Newspapers
• Encyclopedias

Poetry

• Poetry is verse written to inspire thoughts and feelings in the reader.
• It often uses rhyme and rhythm, or it can be written in free verse.

Examples of Poetry

• Where the Sidewalk Ends
• New Kid on the Block
• Chocolate Dreams: Poems
• Mammalabilia
• A Pizza the Size of the Sun
• Love That Dog

Biography

• The true story of a real person’s life from the past or present.

Examples of Biography

• Tiger Woods: An American Master
• The HomerunKings: BabeRuth and
• Henry Aaron
• Clara Barton, a Red Cross Pioneer
• Sacagawea