Genre Searching
Contemporary Realistic Fiction

Realistic fiction is a term used to describe stories that could actually have happened.  Contemporary realistic fiction means the book is set either “now” or in the recent past.  Books with talking animals or set in a place or time that do not exist (fantasy) or stories set in the past (historical fiction) are not contemporary realistic fiction.  Realistic fiction can be found in either picture storybooks (E) or in chapter books/novels (F).

The call number must begin with an E or an F.  Often the subheading “Fiction” follows the subject heading.  When viewing a brief record, click on “Display full record” to see a summary of the book, which may help you determine that the book is realistic fiction and not historical fiction or fantasy. 

TO FIND IN INFOHAWK (Curriculum Lab Database) 

Select search type:  Subject Heading  <enter the following words or phrases>


(Note:  Following are only a sampling of possibilities—there are hundreds)


Adventure and adventurers fiction
Baseball fiction

Brothers and sisters fiction

Bullies fiction

City and town life fiction

Death fiction

Divorce fiction

Drug abuse fiction

Family life fiction

Farm life fiction

Fathers and daughters fiction

Friendship fiction

Gangs fiction

Grandparents fiction

Homeless persons fiction

Humorous stories

Iowa fiction

Mentally ill fiction

Mexico fiction

Mothers and sons fiction

Moving household fiction

Mystery and detective stories

Pets fiction

Poverty fiction

Physically handicapped fiction

Poverty fiction

Race relations fiction

Schools fiction

Survival fiction

Teachers fiction

War fiction


Biographies | Contemporary Realistic Fiction | Early Childhood Picture Storybooks | Historical Fiction | Informational Books | Modern Fantasy | Multicultural | Poetry | Folklore/Traditional Literature | References and Sources



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