GENRES: TYPES AND DEFINITIONS

1- FICTION
Stories from an authors imagination usually with an emphasis on character
development. Fiction may be realistic or no realistic
a- Realistic fiction: imaginative writing that accurately reflects life as it could be
today (true to life). Everything in a realistic fiction story could conceivably
happen to real people living in todays natural physical world. Realistic fiction
helps children move toward a fuller understanding of themselves and others:
Realistic characters with possible problems
Outcomes are reasonable and plausible
Settings can be contemporary or historical
Family stories, school stories, animal stories, mysteries could all be
included in this genre
b- Historical fiction: realistic or imaginative stories with fictional characters and
events in a historical setting (set in the past). There are three types of historical
fiction:
The author weaves a fictional story around actual events and people of
the past.
The story has little or no reference to recorded historical events or real
persons, but how the characters live and make their living and the
conflicts they must resolve are true to the time period.
The story tells of the past through another genre, such as fantasy
Characteristics of historical fiction:
May be based upon dates, people, or events that really happened
Major historical event may be essential
Accuracy of the historical detail is evident
May include author notes on research
Categories of historical fiction are based upon the time period
or historical area
Characters and time periods are lifelike
Conflict allows children to compare the past with the present in
order to better understand our world

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c- Modern fantasy: fiction with strange or otherworldly settings or characters,
that invites suspension of reality and disbelief, that depends on magic or the
impossible or inexplicable. Fantasy creates another world for characters and
readers, asking that the reader believes this other world could exist. There are
two types of fantasy:
Low fantasy (or Fantastic stories): are realistic in most details but still
require the reader to willingly suspend disbelief. They contain fantastic
elements, such as talking animals, eccentric characters in preposterous
situations, anthropomorphism, or extraordinary worlds. Usually a
world governed by the laws of this world but where inexplicable things
occur
Examples: Charlottes Web (White) Tuck Everlasting (Babbit)
High fantasy: takes place in a created world or imaginary kingdom.
Serious in tone, the story primarily focuses on the conflict between
opposing forces, and concerns itself with cosmic questions and ultimate
values, such as goodness, truth, courage, or wisdom. Usually set in a
secondary world of magic and inhabited by supernatural beings or
creatures
Examples: The Book of Three (Alexander) The Chronicles of Narnia
(Lewis) The Hobbit (Tolkien)
d- Mystery: imaginative stories dealing with the solution of a secret, problem or
crime, and involving suspense or intrigue. It usually presents a puzzle or riddle
to be solved. Mysteries contain a character who acts as the detective, and
contain clues to help the reader solve the puzzle. Mysteries written for older
students have a suspenseful mood and contain foreshadowing. Characteristics:
Suspense
Cliff hangers
Foreshadowing
Detective stories and spy novels
Often are available in series
e- Science fiction: speculates on a world that, given what we know of science,
might one day be possible. It stresses the scientific laws and technological
inventions, scientific plausibility, and future history. What distinguishes
science fiction from fantasy is that fantasy presents a world that never was and

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 never could be, while the world presented in science fiction may one day exists.
Science fiction involves the interactions between humans and scientific laws:
In one approach the story usually takes place in outer space where the
technology of the future is predicted
In the other approach future societies are portrayed, usually on earth,
with or without the presence of aliens
Themes frequently deal with good or evil, often involving technology
Science fantasy uses science to explain the existence of the world and
magic is used thereafter
2- TRADITIONAL LITERATURE
Traditional literature can be defined as all forms of narrative, written or oral, which
have come to be handed down through the years. The time period of traditional
literature is not defined, but it occurs in the past. All forms have plots and
problems, often with a clear conflict between good and evil. The tales and stories
usually have happy endings:
a- Fables: narration demonstrating a useful truth, especially in which animals
speak as humans, that point clearly to a moral or lesson:
Fables are legendary
Supernatural tales
Morals or lessons are revealed and stated at the end
Characters often have generic names such as Dog, Rooster, Boy
Fable adaptations are now being published
Examples: Aesops Fables The Ant and the Grasshopper
b- Fairy tales: tales of magic and the supernatural, with fairies or other magical
creatures, usually for children. Modern fairy tales are written in a traditional
style with the elements of folklore but with a contemporary twist
Stories include fantasy, make believe and often magic
Usually begin with Once upon the time, Long, long ago and end
with happily ever after
Characters include royalty or a kingdom setting
Incidents may come in threes
Characters or events may be found in sevens
Characters are clearly defined as good and evil
Good conquers evil

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 Magical devices such as wands, swords, or horses assist the resolution
of the story
Examples: Cinderella Armadilly Chili.
c- Folk tales: songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a people as handed down
orally before they were ever written down
Narrative story handed down within a culture
Stories created by adults for the entertainment of other adults
Frequently involve trickery
There are different types of folk tales:
Beast tales: tales in which animals talk and act like human
beings
Cumulative tales: tales that sequentially repeat actions,
characters, or speeches until a climax is reached
Noodle head stories: humorous stories that involve ridiculous,
absurd happenings
Pour quoi stories: stories that answer a question or explain how
animals, plants, or humans were created and why they have
certain characteristics
Trickster tales: tales featuring a character who plays tricks or
cheats. Most well-known trickster may be coyote or native
American tales
d- Legends: stories that are similar to myth but are based on more historical truth
and less upon the supernatural, sometimes of a national or folk hero, which
have a basis in fact but also include imaginative material
Legends often explain the reason for a natural occurrence
Native American legends are available in picture book format
Examples: Trojan War Robin Hood King Arthur - The Story of
Jumping Mouse: A Native American Legend
e- Mother goose and Nursery rhymes: rhymes, including counting-out rhymes,
finger plays, and alphabet verses, which originated in the spoken language of
both common folk and royalty
f- Myths: legend or traditional narrative, often based in part on historical events
that reveal human behaviour and natural phenomena by its symbolism. They

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 contain fanciful or supernatural incidents intended to explain nature of tell
about gods and demons of early people
Creation myths depict the struggle to form the earth
Hero myths describe how people who begin life at a low status are
elevated to high status through a good deed
Myths often pertain to the actions of the gods
Examples: Theres a Monster in the Alphabet
g- Tall tales: stories with a definite setting in fairly modern times that exaggerate
or are based on the traits of a person who may have actually existed. American
tall tales are a combination of history, myth, and fact
Stories are humorous with blatant exaggerations
Exaggeration is humorous
Main characters skills, size, strength is greatly exaggerated
(hyperbole). Characters are swaggering heroes who do the impossible
with nonchalance
Problems and solutions may involve trickery
Examples: Paul Bunyan: Twentieth Anniversary Edition
Widdermaker
h- Proverbs: a one-sentence that holds the conventional wisdom of the ages
Examples: A World to the Wise and Other Proverbs
3- POETRY
Poetry includes written literature that is not prose. It expresses how the poet feels,
makes the reader see something ordinary in a new way, and tends to be rhythmic.
It includes a variety of forms and styles:
a- Ballad: narrative poems that have been adapted for singing or that give the
effect of song. Ballads usually deal with heroic deeds
b- Concrete: picture poems that make the reader see what the poet is saying. The
message of the poem is presented not only in words but in the arrangement of
the words. Meaning is reinforced or even carried by the shape of the poem
c- Free verse: poetry characterized by lack of rhyme and less predictable rhythm
d- Haiku: (beginning verse) 17-syllable, delicate, unrhymed Japanese verse,
usually about nature

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 e- Limerick: 5-line poems in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme and
the third and fourth lines rhyme. Oddities and humorous twists characterize
this form of poetry
f- Lyrical: poems emphasizing sound and picture imagery rather than narrative
or dramatic movement. Lyrical poems emphasize musical, pictorial, and
emotional qualities
g- Narrative: story poems that relate a particular event or tell a long tale. They
make take different forms, the one requirement is that they tell a story
h- Diamante: literary work in metrical form or verse, with seven lines. The form
is written about two opposite subjects and makes a comparison between them
by moving from one to the other. Subjects may include was-peace, fire-ice,
hot-cold, etc.
Form:
Line 1: one noun that names the first subject
Line 2: two adjectives that describe the first subject
Line 3: three ing words that are related to the first subject
Line 4: four nouns: the first two related to the first subject (line 1) and
the second two relate to the second subject (line 7)
Line 5: three ing words that are related to the second subject
Line 6: two adjectives that describe the second subject
Line 7: one noun that names the second subject
Example:
Dogs,
Playful, active
Running, playing, growing
Fast, fun, soft, nice
Sleeping, meowing, eating
Furry, whiskery
Cats
i- Nursery rhymes: (see traditional literature)
4- DRAMA
Unlike a short story or a novel, a play is a work of storytelling in which the
characters are represented by the actors and acted out on a stage before an audience.
Plays typically include an introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and

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 resolution. The action speaks for itself as it unfolds. Important features of plays are
set, stage, lighting, gesture, and oral interpretation
5- NON-FICTION
a- Informational materials:
Concept book: a book that describes various dimensions of an object
(size, shape, colour), a class of objects (trucks, tools), or an abstract
idea (over, under, love).
Examples: counting books and alphabet books
Experiment and Activity books: books that provide children with
scientific experiments and activities
How-to books: books that present an array of crafts and directions to
guide the reader in performing an activity
Identification books: naming books
Examples: Guide to Birds (Peterson)
Informational picture books: information books published in picture
book format, mayor may not have words
Life-cycle books: books that are structured around the life span of an
animal or plant
Photographic essays: books that rely on the camera to particularize
information, to document emotion, or to assure the reader of truth in an
essentially journalistic way
Survey books: books that give an overall view of a substantial topic and
furnish a representative sampling of facts, principles, or issues
Reference materials: materials that allow for rapid access to
information.
Examples: Dictionaries, encyclopaedias, periodicals, and electronic
media
b- Biography and autobiography: biography and autobiography provide a
history of the life of an individual, with information about the time period in
which the person lived. They bring a person to life in a way that is true to reality
c- Essay: essays are non-fiction prose that advance a thesis and illustrate or
defend it by means of various methods of development, including definition,
comparison/ contrast, example and illustration, cause and effect, analysis, and

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 argument. A good essay expresses the voice of its author while communicating
its message simply, clearly, and logically
6- OTHER
a- Wordless picture books: books with many pictures where the story depends
upon the pictures. There can be picture books of almost any genre:
Alphabet and counting books are presented in alphabetical or numeric
order often linked by an identifying theme. These make excellent
participation stories and patterns for writing.
Concept books attempt to define an abstract idea
Wordless picture books contain few or no words as the pictures tell the
story
Predictable books are designed to help children to learn to read by use
of repetition of language, story patterns or sequences. They are often
excellent models for writing patterns
Cumulative stories are imaginative narratives that have a series of
additions. After each edition the previous phrases are then repeated in
reverse order
b- Pattern books: patterns might be based on word/ sentence structure, opposites,
days of the week, shapes, etc.
c- Graphic novels: a narrative related through a combination of text and art, often
complex and presented in a comic-book format