Genres in Literature

These are brief descriptions of the genres of literature and other resources. Please see the chapters for each genre in the Essentials of Children's Literature for complete descriptions and examples.

Autobiography

An autobiography is an informational book written about a person by that person him or herself.

Biography

A biography is an informational book written about a person (by someone else).

Fables

Fables are short stories that use animal characters to convey a moral or lesson.

Fairy Tales

Fairy tales are stories that have been passed down through the oral tradition that include magical elements.

Fantasy

Fantasy books have similiar elements to fairy tales, but are stories made up my their authors (not passed down from previous generations).

Folktales

Like fairy tales, folktales come from the oral traditon. They have simple, straight-forward plots with flat characters and often involve a contest between good and evil.

Historical Fiction

Made up fiction stories that include historically accurate aspects are called historical fiction. The definition once included a 50-year in the past criterion. Today, most educators consider history to be any time period before the current generation about which readers may not have background knowledge.

Informational Books

These books and other resources focus on the "facts." These titles often include text features such as tables of contents, headings and subheadings, bolded keywords, glossaries, indexes, time lines, illustrations with captions, and other supports that help readers locate information.

Legends

Legends are also from the oral tradition. A legend involves a larger-than-life main character.

Mysteries

Mysteries involve a plot that includes clues and a problem to solve. These can be realistic, fiction fantasy, or science fiction texts. For this course, identify these titles by the main genre with mystery in parentheses. Example: Realistic Fiction (Mystery)

Myths

Myths are also from the oral tradition. They are distinguished from legends in that they are situated in spiritual or religious contexts.

Poetry

Poetry is written with a distinct rhythm. Poets use figurative language to evoke an emotional response in readers. Poetry can be written in free verse or in rhyme.

Realistic Fiction

Realistic fiction involves "made up" stories that could actually happen in real life.

Science Fiction

"Made up" stories that involve plausible science and technology aspects are science fiction. Within this genre, there are sub-genres such as post-apocalyptic fiction (the end of civilization after a disaster).

Traditional Literature

This literature includes folk and fairy tales, fables, legends, and myths. Link to the features of traditional literature. Please see the description under each of these terms.