GENRE

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GENRE
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GENRE

• From the French word, generis which means type,
  sort, or kind
• Group of books that can be distinguished from
  other books by some common characteristic.
• There is not an exact number of genres.

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Major Genre Divisions

• Fiction
• Nonfiction

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FICTION

• Fiction books are made up in the mind of the
  author. They are make-believe or imaginary.
  The stories are not true although they may be
  based on the truth.
• Major subdivisions of fiction are realistic
  fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy.

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REALISTIC FICTION

• Realistic fiction includes stories that seem
  like real life and stories that could happen in
  todays world. The situations are true to life
  or could be true, but the characters are made up.

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Types of Realistic Fiction

• Adventure stories are exciting stories which have
  an aspect of peril, threat, or danger
• Mystery stories include an element of suspense
  and secrecy. Something puzzling usually needs
  solving and a crime is frequently involved.
  There are typically good guys and bad guys.
• Humorous stories refer to stories that primarily
  intend to entertain and amuse. Events are
  usually exaggerated.

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HISTORICAL FICTION

• Historical fiction includes stories that take
  place in the past and that are based on
  historical fact. Usually the setting and the
  events in the story are close to the facts and
  the characters are made up. Historical fiction
  may, however, include real people as characters.

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Types of Historical Fiction

• War stories are historical fiction books set
  during a period of war and conflict.
• Biographical fiction includes stories in which
  the main character is one who really lived in an
  earlier period of history. It is usually written
  in journal or diary style.

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FANTASY

• Fantasy books are make-believe stories that are
  so fantastic that they cannot possibly be true.

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Types of Fantasy Stories

• Fantasy animal stories are stories in which
  animals are given human characteristics, such as
  wearing clothing, speaking, or making decisions.
• Ghost stories or supernatural fiction are stories
  in which one or more of the characters may be
  visitors from the spirit world.
• Time fantasy and space fiction are fantasy
  stories in which the characters travel back and
  /or forward in time.

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More Types of Fantasy Stories

• Science fiction includes stories that are based
  on scientific fact. It can include space fiction
  and time travel. The author tries to make the
  facts as realistic as possible so the reader
  believes the event could actually take place.
  Although fantastic, science fiction contains
  elements within the realm of possibility because
  of scientific discovery.
• High fantasy series are stories that are epic in
  nature, usually include a quest of some sort that
  contains over many volumes.

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NON-FICTION

• Non-fiction books are factual books and are
  usually classified with Dewey Decimal numbers.
• The specific genres within the nonfiction
  category include biographies, poetry, and drama.

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Types of Non-fiction Books

• Biographies are factual, authentic depictions of
  a persons real life.
• Collective biographies are books that group short
  chapter-length biographies together around a
  theme.
• Poetry includes single, illustrated poems and
  collections of poetry by one poet or collections
  of many poets works compiled by an editor.

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More Types of Non-fiction

• Drama includes works written in dramatic form and
  include collections of short plays or book-length
  plays.
• Folk literature or traditional literature
  includes stories that have been passed down from
  generation to generation. They include myths
  (stories of gods and heroes of ancient times and
  are sometimes classified in the religion section
  of the Dewey classification). Folk tales, folk
  riddles, nursery rhymes, and Mother Goose contain
  elements of cultural identity such as traditions
  an rituals. Epics are long stories that
  originate as poetry or song and celebrate a
  national hero. Hero stories and legends include
  the American tall tales and stories of Robin Hood
  and King Arthur.

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CROSS-GENRE

• Cross-genre books are books that fall into more
  than one category. It may be a mystery fantasy,
  a historical fiction time travel, or humorous
  fantasy.