This document examines different genres of literature to determine if they are examples of realistic fiction. It analyzes Bud, Not Buddy, Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, Cinderella, and How To Code based on components and criteria for realistic fiction such as historical accuracy, scientific plausibility, and inclusion of magic or fantasy elements. Most of the stories are determined to not be realistic fiction due to missing historical details, involving other genres like fantasy, fairy tales, or science fiction, or presenting informational materials rather than a narrative. Only Bud, Not Buddy fully meets the criteria to be considered realistic fiction.

1. Realistic Fiction?
Or not?
Investigating what books are Realistic Fiction

2. A Realistic
Fiction story
will have all of
these
components on
this check list
and it will be
very clear with
adequate proof
for each
component!

3. Bud, Not Buddy
 A Brief Summary…
 It's 1936, in Flint, Michigan. Ten-year-old Bud may be a motherless boy on the
run, but he's on a mission. His momma never told him who his father was, but
she left a clue: posters of Herman E. Calloway and his famous band, the Dusky
Devastators of the Depression! Bud's got an idea that those posters will lead
to his father. Once he decides to hit the road and find this mystery man,
nothing can stop him.
 From Scholastic.com
Fiction?RealisticIs it

4.  Historical Fiction – realistic stories that are set in the past. There are three types of historical fiction. In
one type, the author weaves a fictional story around actual events and people of the past. In another
type, 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. In
the third type, the story tells of the past through another genre, such as fantasy.
Missing This
Because

5. Harry Potter
 A brief summary…
 Harry Potter's life is miserable. His parents are dead and he's stuck with his
heartless relatives, who force him to live in a tiny closet under the stairs. But
his fortune changes when he receives a letter that tells him the truth about
himself: he's a wizard. A mysterious visitor rescues him from his relatives and
takes him to his new home, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
 After a lifetime of bottling up his magical powers, Harry finally feels like a
normal kid. But even within the Wizarding community, he is special. He is the
boy who lived: the only person to have ever survived a killing curse inflicted
by the evil Lord Voldemort, who launched a brutal takeover of the Wizarding
world, only to vanish after failing to kill Harry.
 Though Harry's first year at Hogwarts is the best of his life, not everything is
perfect. There is a dangerous secret object hidden within the castle walls,
and Harry believes it's his responsibility to prevent it from falling into evil
hands. But doing so will bring him into contact with forces more terrifying
than he ever could have imagined.
Fiction?RealisticIs it
Summary adapted from Scholastic.com

6.  Modern Fantasy – requires the willing suspension of disbelief. Fantasy creates another world for
characters and readers, asking that the reader believe this other world could exist. There are
two types of fantasy – fantastic stories and high fantasy.
Missing a lot!
Because

7. The Hunger Games
 A brief summary…
 In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem,
a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh
and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy
and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the
annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.
 Katniss is a 16-year-old girl living with her mother and younger sister in the
poorest district of Panem, the remains of what used be the United States.
Long ago the districts waged war on the Capitol and were defeated. As part of
the surrender terms, each district agreed to send one boy and one girl to
appear in an annual televised event called, "The Hunger Games." The terrain,
rules, and level of audience participation may change but one thing is
constant: kill or be killed. When Kat's sister is chosen by lottery, Kat steps up
to go in her place. Without really meaning to, Katniss becomes a contender.
But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival
against humanity and life against love.
Summary adapted from Scholastic.com
Fiction?RealisticIs it

8.  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 never could be, while the world presented in science fiction may
one day exist. Science fiction involves the interactions between humans and scientific laws.
Missing a lot!
Because

9. Cinderella
 A brief summary…
 Cinderella is the classic story of a beautiful girl, her evil stepmother and
stepsisters, and the fairy godmother who helps her meet the prince of her
dreams.
Fiction?RealisticIs it

10.  Fairy Tale – tales of magic and the supernatural; usually begin “Once upon a
time” and end “and they lived happily ever after.”
Missing a lot!
Because

11. How To Code
 A brief summary…
 Become a master coder, with these step-by-step
instructions and robot helpers too! How to Code
teaches you all the basic concepts, including Loops,
Variables, and Selection, and then develops your
skills further until you can create your own website .
. . and more! Learn how to use Logo, build games in
Scratch, program projects in Python, experiment
with HTML, and make interactive web pages with
JavaScript.
Fiction?RealisticIs it

12.  Informational Materials
 i. Concept Book – a book that describes various dimensions of an object (size,
shape, color), a class of objects (trucks, tools), or an abstract idea (over,
under, love). Counting books and alphabet books are examples.
Missing everything!
Because

14. Realistic Fiction –
Imaginative writing that
accurately reflects life
as it could be lived
today.
Everything is a realistic
fiction story could
conceivably happen to
real people living in
today’s natural physical
world. Realistic fiction
helps children move
toward a fuller
understanding of
themselves and others.
YUP!!