1. Realistic Fiction
Life as it is . . .

2. But first . . .
Just what is this fiction stuff?

3. Fiction
“Narrative writing drawn from the imagination of the author rather than from history or fact. The term is most frequently associated with novels and short stories and fables, parable, fairy tales, and folklore contain fictional elements.”
from Thrall, Hibbard, and Holman, A Handbook to Literature, 3rd ed., Indianapolis: Odyssey, 1972.

4. Narrative
A story—an account of events held together by a problem that needs solving (plot) and by the characters involved.

5. Most Popular Forms of Fiction
Novel
Short Story
and within our own subject area, the picture storybook

6. Main Genres of Children’s Fiction
Realistic
Fantasy
Historical
Multicultural

7. Defining “Realistic”
A realistic novel depicts characters and events that are consistent with the lives and activities of real people in our world.
needn’t be commonplace in any way
needn’t be anything like you or me
more than just “believable” (talking animals in Charlotte’s Web are very believable, in their own ways)

8. Benefits of Realistic Novels for Children
They often depict situations with direct equivalents in the lives of the students reading the books.
in fantasy, the protagonist and/or the main challenge will usually be only metaphorically connected with the challenges (and often the people) that children come into direct contact with

9. Benefits of Realistic Novels for Children
They often depict situations with direct equivalents in the lives of the students reading the books.
realistic novels can show children coping, not just with a problem, challenge, or embarrassing reality, but with the very same problem, challenge, or embarrassing reality that the reader might face

10. Benefits of Realistic Novels
They can empower students who read of others like themselves.
They can at least be consoling.
A realistic novel can serve some of the same purpose that a support group serves for adults (and sometimes for kids).

11. Warning:
We shouldn’t reduce realistic fiction to nothing more than therapy for children.
When a book is too obviously written to convey a certain message, it’s likely to fail as both literature and comfort.

12. Not just therapy
Plenty of realistic novels have little or nothing to do with the sorts of problems that we currently regard as commonplace and serious.
They work simply because they develop interesting characters, tell good stories, create an effective sense of place, and deal with matters that are important to many people.

13. Sources of Insight
Realistic fiction gives readers insight into the lives of people whom they may actually encounter.

14. Presenting the Unfamiliar
Realistic fiction can help students learn about and understand something they don’t know much about
how a Muslim family spends Ramadan
living in a family in which a grandparent has Alzheimer’s
living with very little money
life in a family with twelve children
etc.

15. Presenting the Unfamiliar
serves to humanize the people being described
readers see into the lives of such people more deeply and directly than they might do otherwise
they become less likely to brand what is different as being somehow bad or wrong

16. New Realism
deals with important issues that simply were overlooked or purposely ignored in children’s books forty or more years ago

17. New Realism sexism sexuality racism violence, including war
profanity (usually not the focus of a book but an element)
death
family problems:
divorce, remarriage, child abuse, alcoholism, poverty, etc.
growing up
peer groups and peer pressure
physical changes
emotional changes

18. New Realism may get yourself in trouble with such books
but they can help your children deal with a world that is highly complex and not entirely user friendly

19. How to approach realistic fiction in the classroom
don’t concentrate on its “realistic” qualities in the abstract
do help students distinguish among realistic fiction, non-fiction, fantasy, and other genres
pay close attention to character
can ask class what the writer does to make the story seem realistic

20. DONE