Green Valley Elementary School Library: Genres

MYSTERY

• The story has a secret or puzzle to solve using clues.
• The characters might be detective or even spies.
• The author writes to entertain you.
• There will be clues along the way to help you solve the mystery with the characters.
• EXAMPLES:
  • Cam Jansen series
  • Nate the Great series
  • The Boxcar Children series
  • Ballpark Mysteries series
  • A to Z and Calendar Mysteries series
  • Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew series

HISTORICAL FICTION

• A fiction story that takes place in a real time in history (in the past).
• The author wants to entertain you and inform you about the past.
• Most of the characters are fictional (imaginary), but some of the characters might be real people from history.
• The setting is a real time in history.
• Some events in the story are based on real times in history, but some of the events are fictional.
• EXAMPLES:
  • Some Magic Tree House books - like Thanksgiving on Thursday and Tonight on the Titanic
  • Abe Lincoln's Hat
  • I Survived and Survivors series
  • Number the Stars

FAIRY TALES

• Fairy Tales are classic stories that sometimes have magical creatures.
• The author writes to entertain you.
• They could begin with works like "Once Upon a Time..." or "Long, long ago..."
• Sometimes, the characters are royalty - kings, queens, princes, princesses
• There are usually good and evil characters.  
• In the end of the story, good wins over evil.

FOLK TALES

• Folk Tales are stories that are old and from long ago.  
• The author writes to entertain you.
• These stories were once told or spoken aloud by people.  Over the years, people have told and retold these stories.
• The characters can have magical powers.
• The characters have a problem to solve.
• These stories usually try to teach you a lesson about good and evil or how to be a good person.
• EXAMPLES:
  • Mufaro's Beautiful Daughters
  • One Grain of Rice
  • Tony's Bread

*Find these books in the 398.2 section of the nonfiction books in our library.

SCARY or HORROR FICTION

• The story is written in a suspenseful and spooky style.
• The characters can be realistic or fantasy, like vampires, zombies, and mummies.
• The author writes to entertain you, specifically to make you feel scared.
• The setting can be realistic or fantasy, as long as it is dark or spooky and helps to makes the story scary.
• EXAMPLES:
  • The Last Kids on Earth series
  • Eerie Elementary series
  • Goosebumps series
  • Books by Mary Downing Hahn

BIOGRAPHY

• A nonfiction book that tells the story of a real person's life.
• The author wants to inform you.  If the author is the person, the book is called an autobiography.
• It gives facts about the person's life.
• The setting is when the person was living.
• The author has done research to find facts about the person's life.
• EXAMPLES:
  • Who Was and Who Is books
  • The Story of Ruby Bridges
  • Find these books in the Biography section of the library.

NON-FICTION or INFORMATIONAL

• Non-fiction books are written to share facts about a topic.
• The author writes to inform you, but could also want to entertain you.
• Non-fiction can be:
  • Narrative - told like a story
  • Expository - giving facts about a topic
  • Procedural - a HOW TO book to teach the steps to do something
• Non-fiction books have text features:
  • Table of Contents
  • Headings
  • Captions
  • Diagrams and labels
  • Maps, tables, illustrations, photos
  • Bold Words and Glossary
  • Index
• Find these books in the nonfiction section of the library - use the DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM.

POETRY

• Poetry books have words that make you think about your feelings and make pictures in your mind of the the author's words.
• The author writes to entertain you.
• Sometimes poetry uses rhyming words.
• Poetry usually has a rhythm as you read it.
• Find Poetry books in the 811 section of the nonfiction books in our library.
• EXAMPLE:
  • A Light in the Attic 
  • Something Big Has Been Here
  • It's Raining Pigs and Noodles

JOKES and RIDDLES

• Jokes and riddles are written to entertain you.
• Find these books in the 818 section of the nonfiction books in our library.

REALISTIC FICTION

• A story that could really happen in our present times now.
• The characters are regular people.
• The author wants to entertain you.
• The setting is realistic - not magical and not from another time in history.
• The events in the story did not really happen, but they COULD really happen.
• EXAMPLES: 
  • A Chair for My Mother
  • Amazing Grace
  • Wonder
  • Ramona series

HUMOR or FUNNY FICTION

• The story is written in a comical or amusing style.
• The characters act in ways that make the reader laugh.
• The author writes to entertain you, specifically to make you laugh.
• The setting can be realistic or fantasy, as long as it is funny or helps to make the story funny.
• EXAMPLES:
  • The 13 Story Treehouse series
  • My Weird School series
  • Wayside School series
  • Bink and Gollie series

Destiny Library Catalog

Destiny Discover allows you to search for books, DVDs, audiobooks, ebooks, and even digital media that the district provides through all 8 of the Wilson libraries.

  

 

FANTASY

• A fantasy story uses magic or things that could NOT happen in real life.
• The author writes to entertain you.
• The setting is an imaginary place where unrealistic things can happen.
• The characters may have special powers, like talking animals or people who can fly.
• There is usually lots of action.
• There is usually a battle between good and evil.
• EXAMPLES:
  • Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
  • Many Roald Dahl books
  • Harry Potter series

ACTION and ADVENTURE

• Action and Adventure stories tell about exciting experiences of the characters.
• The author writes to entertain or inform you.
• The characters usually are on a trip, journey, or adventure.
• There is lots of action.
• EXAMPLES:
  • Race the Wild series
  • Disaster Strikes series
  • Key Hunters series
  • Geronimo Stilton series
  • Some Magic Tree House books

GRAPHIC NOVELS

• Graphic novels tell a story using the comic book style.
• The author writes to entertain you.
• Graphic novels use:
  • speech bubbles or thought bubbles
  • mostly pictures and illustrations to show the action in the story
  • panels or squares that hold the pictures and text for each scene
• EXAMPLES:
  • Smile and Sisters
  • Bone series
  • Big Nate graphic novels series
  • Babymouse series
  • Lunch Lady series
  • Science Summer Camp Mysteries series
• Find these books in the Graphic Novels section of our library.