Realistic Fiction
Type of fantasy:
- Friendship stories
- Family Problems
- Coping with life
- Issues
- Animal stories
- School stories
- Sports stories
 |
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson The life of a ten-year-old boy in rural Virginia expands when he becomes friends with a newcomer who subsequently meets an untimely death trying to reach their hideaway, Terabithia, during a storm. A story of friendship and death set in Virginia. |
 |
Rules by Cynthia Lord Frustrated at life with an autistic brother, twelve-year-old Catherine longs for a normal existence but her world is further complicated by a friendship with an young paraplegic. |
 |
Love, Ruby Lavender by Deborah Wiles When her quirky grandmother goes to Hawaii for the summer, nine-year-old Ruby learns to survive on her own in Mississippi by writing letters, befriending chickens as well as the new girl in town, and finally coping with her grandfather's death. |
 |
Homecoming by Cynthia Voigt Abandoned by their mother, four children begin a search for a home and an identity. |
 |
Hoot by Carl Hiaasen Roy, who is new to his small Florida community, becomes involved in another boy's attempt to save a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site. |
 |
Flush by Carl Hiaasen With their father jailed for sinking a river boat, Noah Underwood and his younger sister, Abbey, must gather evidence that the owner of this floating casino is emptying his bilge tanks into the protected waters around their Florida Keys home. |
 |
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson Gilly, aneleven-year-old foster child, tries to cope with her longings and fears as she schemes against everyone who tries to be friendly. |
 |
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry In 1943, during the German occupation of Denmark, ten-year-old Annemarie learns how to be brave and courageous when she helps shelter her Jewish friend from the Nazis. (Also historical fiction) |
 |
The River by Gary Paulsen Because of his success surviving alone in the wilderness for fifty-four days, fifteen-year-old Brian, profoundly changed by his time in the wild, is asked to undergo a similar experience to help scientists learn more about the psychology of survival. Sequel to "Hatchet." |
 |
Junkyard Dog by Erika Tamar With the advice of her stepfather, eleven-year-old Katie takes on the job of feeding an abused junkyard dog and building it a doghouse for shelter during the hard winter. |
 |
Julie by Jean Craighead George When Julie returns to her father's Eskimo village, she struggles to find a way to save her beloved wolves in a changing Arctic world and she falls in love with a young Siberian man. |
 |
The Most Beautiful Place in the World by Ann Cameron Growing up with his grandmother in a small Central American town, seven year-old Juan discovers the value of hard work, the joy of learning, and the location of the most beautiful place in the world. |
 |
Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world. |