Unit 6

Realistic and Holistic Fiction

Topics
• Definition and Description
• Evaluation and Selection of Realistic Fiction
• Types of Realistic Fiction
• Historical Fiction: Definition and Description
• Evaluation and Selection of Historical Fiction

Overview
Children’s lives are sometimes sad and harsh. Realistic stories of today openly address these situations
as well as the happy and humorous situations in life. These realistic fiction stories have appealed to
children for many years and continue to do so today. Historical fiction brings history to life by placing
appealing child characters in accurately described historical settings.

Learning Objectives:
After a successful completion of the lesson, the students should be able to:
• identify a good realistic fiction
• reflect on your own experiences as you read through realistic and holistic fiction
• cite ways to make fiction realistic and holistic for students

Realistic Fiction Definition and Description

Realistic fiction attempts to portray the world as it is. It contains no fantasy, no supernatural elements,
and it usually depicts ordinary people going about the business of daily living, with all its joys, sorrow,
successes, and failures.
Over the past 150 years, children's literature has gradually moved from a romantic view of the world
toward a more realistic view (*Note: "Romance" refers to the fiction portraying a world that seems
happier than the one we live in). Subjects that were once taboo in realistic fiction are now
commonplace, and language and character development are presented with greater candor and
boldness.

In good realistic fiction,

• the characters are engaging and believable.
• the dialogue is believable.
• the plot is fresh and original.
• the setting is true to life.
• the problems faced by the characters are honestly portrayed.
• the resolution makes sense.
• the theme grows naturally out of the action and characters - the writer does not preach at us.

Evaluation and Selection of Realistic Fiction

When evaluating a contemporary realistic fiction novel, ask these questions:
• Are they engaging, true-to-life, well-rounded characters, who are both wise and foolish while they are
growing and changing?
• Is there an accurate reflection of the human condition and contemporary life, without stereotyping?
• Is there a sensitivity to all people regardless of sex or sexual orientation, race, religion, age,
socioeconomic level, social group, or culture?
• Does the plot appeal to young adults? Address the challenges, hopes, and fears as well as the
problems faced by contemporary adolescents? Offer hope for the future?
• Does the plot ask young adults to consider or reconsider their own values and beliefs, inspire without
providing pat resolutions, and avoid talking down to readers or telling them what to think?
• Is the setting believable?
• Is there an appropriate treatment of violence that never glamorizes it, records it more graphically than
necessary, or includes it gratuitously?
• Does the language accurately reflect the characters as well as their educational status, social class,
culture, and the place where they live?
Consider the following when evaluating realistic fiction:
• Does the book honestly portray the realities of life for today’s children?
• Does the book illuminate problems and issues of growing up in today’s world?
• Does the story transcend the contemporary setting and have universal implications?
• Are the characters convincing and credible to today’s child?
• Are controversial topics such as sexuality dealt with in an open and forthright way?
• If violence or other negative behavior is part of the story, does the author provide motivations and
show aftereffects?
• Does the author avoid stereotyping?
• Does the book truly represent the experience of the culture depicted?
• Does the book help children enlarge their personal points of view and develop appreciation for our
ever-changing pluralistic society?

Types of Realistic Fiction

Family Stories (domestic stories)
Family stories have been around since Victorian days when they were the mainstay of a girl's reading.
Family stories frequently rely on episodic plots, since they are built around the daily details and
activities, the squabblings, the schemings, the reconciliations, in which families are normally engaged.

Many of the early family stories plumbed the depths of Victorian sentimentalism. For example, the
family is portrayed destitute but virtuous, the self-sacrificing and dutiful children always ready to do
more than their fair share for the family's well-being, and their widowed mother draws strength from
their unfailing togetherness.

In early family stories, the family was a haven from the troubles of the world, whereas modern family
stories often portray the family as the source of trouble. Today's family is characterized by working
parents, single parents, neglectful parents, ungrateful children, sibling rivalry, and a general breakdown
in communications.

Classic examples:
Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women" (1867), presenting a realistic portrayal of mid-19th-century
American family life with all its ups and downs.
Lucy Maud Montgomery's "Anne of Green Gables" (1908), an early family story about an orphan and her
new family.

Stories of Social Realism

This type of stories deals with friendship, self-identity, racial prejudice, child abuse, sexual abuse,
homosexuality, and other social issues that may involve in human growth and development.
The authors of this type of stories believe that it is better for young readers to learn about the harsh
subjects of life from a capable and sensitive writer than from ill-informed friends or a bad experience.
Classis example: Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (1884), depicting young people
struggling with unlikely friendships and dealing with a troubled society.

Adventure and Survival Stories

Adventure stories, often romantic, have long been popular with children. Many adventure stories are, in
fact, survival stories, which depict individuals pitted against the forces of nature or, in many modern
works, the forces of a cruel, insensitive society. They are usually coming-of-age stories depicting
individuals rising above adversity, facing forces that are greater and more formidable than they are, and
discovering themselves.
One key element in survival stories is their detailing of the means of survival - the protagonist's locating
food, providing shelter from the elements, and securing protection from threatening forces.
Classic examples:
Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" (1883), the classic pirate tale with an exotic setting,
mysterious characters, and an action-packed plot.
Daniel Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe" (1719), the classic survival story depicting an individual taming the
wild tropical paradise.
Scott O'Dell's "Island of the Blue Dolphins", one of the first modern survival stories conveying the
message that in real life survival means sacrifice, suffering, adaptation, and often loneliness.

Mystery or Detective Stories

The mystery or detective story is a form of romance, escapist fiction creating a world more exciting,
more dangerous, and more beautiful than we imagine our own to be.
The mystery first popularized in the early 19th century by Edgar Allan Poe. It always involves the solving
of a puzzle - usually a crime. The success of a mystery depends on the clever planting of clues and the
ingenuity of the puzzle and its solution. The mystery writer must keep a delicate balance, knowing just
how much to reveal and when.
Animal Stories
This type of stories hinges on the premise that animal characters share certain human traits - the
capacity for love, loyalty, jealousy, fear, etc.
Realistic animal stories first appeared in the late 19th century and early 20th century and they were
most popular in North America. The animals in these stories live as animals, behave as animals, and do
not talk.
Animal stories often portray the relationship between an animal and a youthful human companion. One
serious theme recurring in many animal stories is that of animals falling prey to the savage insensitivity
of human beings.
Animal stories have proved to be among the most enduring of modern children's literature and are the
frequent inspirations for the cinema. However, animal stories also have the reputation for being
tearjerkers and lack appeal for older readers who like to go beyond such sentimentality.
Classic examples: Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" (1877), Jack London's "White Fang" and "Call of the
Wild" (1903).

Sports Stories
Sport stories originated in the boys' magazines of the 19th century, but they became full-blown books in
the 20th century.
Sport stories promote high moral character and good sportsmanship. They are usually coming-of-age
stories, particularly when the protagonist gains self-knowledge through participation in sports.
Most sports stories hinge on the excitement of the game, the necessity for teamwork and fair
sportsmanship, and the interpersonal problems that develop between the players. They are popular
because of their subject matter, although too often the plots are predictable, the characters are
stereotyped, and the dialogue is trite.

Historical Fiction
Historical fiction transports readers to another time and place, either real or imagined. Writing historical
fiction requires a balance of research and creativity, and while it often includes real people and events,
the genre offers a fiction writer many opportunities to tell a wholly unique story.
Historical fiction brings history to life for young readers through the inclusion of story about historical
events. Most often, historical fiction features a child as the main character, allowing the child reader to
identify with a historical event through a similar perspective. Historical fiction can:
• Increase curiosity about historical events.
• Support young readers in understanding a historical event through narrative
• Encourage multiple interpretations of an event.
• Extend the school curriculum through reading beyond a textbook
Integrate curricula (Gamble & Yates, 2008)."

Suggestions for Evaluating Historical Fiction

(from Literature for Today's Young Adults, p. 258)
A good historical novel usually has:
• A setting that is integral to the story.
• An authentic rendition of the time, place, and people being featured.
• An author who is so thoroughly steeped in the history of the period that he or she can be comfortably
creative without making mistakes.
• Believable characters with whom young readers can identify.
• Evidence that even across great time spans people share similar emotions.
• References to well-known events or people, or other clues through which the reader can place the
happenings in their correct historical framework.
• Readers who come away with the feeling that they know a time or place better. It is as if they have
lived in it for at least a few hours.
Quality Characteristics of historical fiction
• There is a mixture of real and fictional events. Significant historical events are historically accurate, but
minor events and/or characters may be added or modified.
• Characters are involved in a conflict or problem that is real (or mirrors life) for that time period
• Uses descriptive writing that digs into characters making them interesting and are easy to identify
with.
• Intriguing plot that creates some sort of suspense.
• Plot makes sense and has a solution.
• Historically authentic setting that sets the tone for the story.
• Is in a real place and a definite period of time in history that the reader wants to know more about.
The Best Historical Fiction Books for Children

BIRCHBARK HOUSE BY LOUISE ERDRICH

This is the book I hand kids and parents who tell me they love Little House on the Prairie. Set in the
1840s, it’s about an Ojibway family living near Lake Superior. Erdrich’s book (the first in a series) is an
important perspective on history and a great way for kids to learn about the past from a Native
perspective.

TURTLE IN PARADISE BY JENNIFER L. HOLM

Jobs are scarce in the 1930s, so when Turtle’s mama gets a job as a housekeeper for a lady who doesn’t
like children, she’s sent to live with family she’s never met in Key West, Florida. Key West is full of
adventure, cousins and family secrets that Turtle is quick to uncover.

ONE CRAZY SUMMER BY RITA WILLIAMS-GARCIA

When sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern are sent to stay with their mother, Cecile, in Oakland,
California, for the summer, they’re excited for Disneyland and reconnecting with their mother. But
Cecile isn’t the mother they expect, and puts them into a day camp run by the Black Panthers, opening
their eyes to their family history and futures.

THE INQUISITOR’S TALE BY ADAM GIDWTIZ

Set in 1242 France, this book with multiple stories is like a Canterbury Tales for kids. The tales of
William, Jacob, Jeanne, and her dog Gwenforte all wind together to tell an extraordinary story about
escaping prejudice and justice.

FINDING LANGSTON BY LESA CLINE-RANSOME

Set during the Great Migration in the 1940s, this book tells the story of Langston, who moves from
Alabama to Chicago. Once in Chicago, Langston discovers the library, which is open to everyone, and
another Langston—the poet Langston Hughes.

ANNE OF GREEN GABLES: A GRAPHIC NOVEL BY MARIAH MARSDEN AND BRENNA THUMMLER
If your kid doesn’t quite have the reading stamina for Anne of Green Gables, or is just wild for graphic
novels, then this gorgeous adaptation of the L.M. Montgomery classic is perfect. Orphan Anne is
accidentally sent to live on a farm on Prince Edward Island with two elderly siblings who wanted a boy,
but is able to charm her way into their hearts with her vivid imagination and passionate loyalty.