Genres in Children's Literature

Broad Genre: TRADITIONAL LITERATURE: Literature that comes from the oral tradition, collected and written down. Traditional literature generally has a limited or backdrop setting, stock characters, and a plot that often has episodic elements. Sometimes in rhyme.				Broad Genre: MODERN LITERATURE: Literature by a known author that is not a strict retelling of the original oral tale or is an evolution of the oral tradition. This is a literary tradition rather than an oral tradition. Stories that in their original form (inception) were literary (written).
Genre	Description	Examples		Genre	Description	Examples
Myth	Stories of the relationships of the gods with one another and of the often metaphorical explanations for the creation of the world and its inhabitants and starry companions. *Literal:* Apollo is the Sun god *Metaphor:* Apollo is the Sun *Conceptual:* Apollo is the god of light, beauty, truth, healing		Kimmel, Eric and Monserrat, Pep. McElderry Book of Greek Myths. M. K. McElderry, 2008. Marzollo, Jean. Let’s Go Pegasus. Little Brown, 2006. Phillip, Neil. The illustrated book of myths, tales & legends. DK Children’s, 1995.	*Fiction: Fantasy* Mythological characters, settings, plots, themes	Amplifications and incorporations of the myths into modern fiction style.	The Trouble with Wishes by Diane Stanley Juliet Dove, Queen of Love by Bruce Coville
Religious story	Story concerning relationship between God and His/Her people.	Judeo/Christian Adam and Eve (1450 BC) Jonah and the Whale Noah’s Ark		Fiction: Religious story Historical Fiction: Set in Biblical times, often with Biblical characters playing minor roles. Religious themes and stories connected to Biblical stories through allusion, reference, and retelling.	Amplifications of Biblical and religious stories	Let My People Go: Bible Stories Told by a Freeman of Color to his Daughter Charlotte, in Charleston, South Carolina, 1806-1815 by Patricia McKissack
Epic	Story is told in many episodes, often over a long period of time. Hero exemplifies all the ideal characteristics of a human in that culture Hero is superhuman Often in poetic form.	The Epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian, 2600 BC) The Odyssey (Greek – 700s BC) attributed to HOMER (POEM) The Iliad 700s BC(Greek) attributed to HOMER (POEM) The Aeneid (Roman) 1^st century AD VIRGIL (POEM) tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Romans. The Epic of Beowulf (English- 8^th -11^th century AD)		Fiction: Epic Style Novel Heroic characters	Retellings of the ancient stories from new perspectives and using the style of modern novels. OR Any novel that spans a long period of time and includes many episodes. It may tell stories about different people or follow a family or a culture or even one individual. Usually with lofty or heroic themes.	Ithaka by Adele Geras Troy by Adele Geras The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer The Land of the Silver Apples by Nancy Farmer
Saga	Long stories of Icelandic heroes and communities.	Icelandic Sagas (Edda) 12^th and 13^th centuries AD		Saga Style	Long novels often of trials and tribulations of an individual or a family.

Folktale	Broad category: A story from the oral tradition. Usually a pattern of sequenced episodes. Backdrop setting; characters are flat—one or two characteristics, often not developed beyond all good or all bad.	Stone Soup (France) Tikki-Tikki-Tembo (China) COLLECTORS Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm (Germany) Asbjørnsen and Moe (Norway) Joseph Jacobs (England) Richard Chase (United States) Charles Perrault (France) Alexander Afanasyev (Russia)		Folktale Style	Stories that use the format of the folktale to tell an original story. Or retell the stories in such original and distinctive ways that the stories become forever associated with their names.	Beauty and the Beast. by Madame Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. Uncle Remus by Joel Chandler Harris. Millions of Cats by Wanda Gag Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina (Based on folklore from Africa (Mali) conceptually “Monkey see; monkey do”

Legend	A legend is a traditional story belonging to one specific people. The story is a depiction of real facts or characters accepted by almost everyone but distorted or amplified by imagination or biases. It is about someone who probably did exist and is rooted in a kernel of truth for that culture. Realistic in setting and conversational in tone. Often retold and written down in book form Often conversational in tone Human hero/heroine who may do extraordinary things but actions are usually not outside of natural occurrences including miracles...which are believed by the culture to actually have happened.	Legend of Old Befana retold and illus. by Tomie DePaola Legend of William Tell The Legend of the Poinsettia; retold and illus. by Tomie DePaolo The Legend of the Bluebonnet; ; retold and illus. by Tomie DePaolo The Legend of John Henry; retold by Julius Lester and illus. by Brian Pinckney The Legend of Johnny Appleseed King Arthur retold by Howard Pyle Robin Hood retold by Howard Pyle Hiawatha; excerpt from Longfellow’s epic poem; illus. by Susan Jeffers. The Pied Piper of Hamelin Dick Whittington and his Cat		Legend Style	New stories told in the style of a legend.	Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving illus. by Will Moses. Legend of the Worst Boy in the World. By Eoin Colfer. Linda J. Altman. (2000)

Tall Tale	A tall tale is a story that exaggerates the truth. ..usually to impossible and unbelievable lengths. The tone of the story is conversational. Outrageous events are made to sound factual. A cornerstone of American folklore; they came from bragging contests of the rough and tumble pioneers of the American West. EXAMPLES Pecos Bill - legendary cowboy who "tamed the wild west" John Henry - A mighty steel-driving African American Johnny Appleseed - A friendly folk-hero whom traveled the West planting apple trees because he felt his guardian angel told him to. Alfred Bulltop Stormalong - An immense sailor whose ship was so big it scraped the moon Tony Beaver - A West Virginia lumberjack and cousin of Paul Bunyan	Aylett C. (Strap) Buckner - A Native American-fighter of colonial Texas Davy Crockett - A pioneer and U.S. Congressman from Tennessee who later died at the Battle of the Alamo. Calamity Jane - A tough Wild West woman Febold Feboldson - A Nebraska farmer who could fight a drought Joe Magarac - A Pittsburgh steelworker made of steel Paul Bunyan - huge lumberjack who eats 50 pancakes in one minute Mike Fink - The toughest boatman of the Mississippi and is rival of Davy Crockett. Also known as the King of the Mississippi River Keelboatmen Molly Pitcher - A heroine of the American Revolutionary War		Tall Tale Style	Modern fiction with characteristics of a tall tale: exaggerated truth; outlandish actions; humor ous; told in dead-pan or conversational style.	Sid Fleischman McBroom Tells the Truth Carl Sandburg The Huckabuck Family and How They Raised Popcorn in Nebraska and Quit and Came Back from Rootabaga Stories Johnny Appleseed; illus. by Will Moses.

Cumulative Tales and Songs	Stories that repeat and add episodes.	The Fat Cat (Denmark) The House that Jack Built (England) The Old Woman and her Pig There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed A Fly		Cumulative tale style	Repetitive and cumulative stories using the pattern of the old folktales.	The Napping House by Audrey Wood. The Enormous Turnip by Alexei Tolstoy Mice and Beans by Pam Munoz Ryan

Talking Beast Tales	Talking animals; anthropomorphized Joseph Jacobs (England) Household Stories	The Fat Cat (Denmark) The Three Bears (England) The Little Red Hen (England) The Three Little Pigs (England) Chicken Little (England) Little Red Riding Hood (German) One Fine Day Nonny Hogrogian (Armenia)		Fiction: Animal Fantasy	Modern novels of animals that talk.	Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien. Watership Down by Richard Adams.
	POURQUOI Stories Animals and natural elements are anthropomorphic. Explains a how or why of nature. Many come from Native American and African cultures.	Why the Sun and the Moon Live in the Sky (Africa) Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears (East Africa) The Story of the Milky Way (A Cherokee Tale)		Fiction: Pourquoi stories		Rudyard Kipling Just So Stories. “How the Elephant Got his Trunk” “How the Whale Got his Throat” “How the Camel Got his Hump”

	Fables: A short highly didactic story in which animals , and sometimes the elements speak as human beings. The story has a moral: usually explicitly stated at the end of the story.	Fables of Aesop (Greece) Fables of La Fontaine (many based on Aesop tales) (France) Jataka Tales about previous lives of the Buddha.		Fables	Fables: A short highly didactic story in which animals , and sometimes the elements speak as human beings. The story has a moral: usually explicitly stated at the end of the story.	Arnold Lobel: Fables Leo Lionni: The Fables of Frederick

Wonder or Magic Tales Also called fairy tales – no fairies	Involves magic and transformation.	Cinderella illus. by Susan Jeffers Rapunzel; adapted (from the Brothers Grimm) illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky Rumpelstiltskin illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky Hansel and Gretel illus. by Anthony Browne Bony_Legs retold by Joanna Cole from Russian Fairy Tales by Aleksandr Afanasav (Baba-Yaga) ; illus. by Dirk Zimmer. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs;* retold from the Brothers Grimm by Randall Jarrell; illus. by Susan Ekholm Burkert.		Fiction: Fantasy *Modern Fairy Tales*	Modern fairy tales have a contemporary structure for fiction: Character development, integrated setting, plot structure with rising action to a climax, then a dénouement. Stories are longer and more complex.	Hans Christian Andersen: The Snow Queen; Thumbelina; The Steadfast Tin Soldier; The Ugly Duckling; The Princess and the Pea William Steig: The Amazing Bone; Brave Irene; Shrek; Sylvester and the Magic Pebble Gail Carson Levine: Ella Enchanted; The Fairy’s Mistake; The Fairy’s Return; Princess Sonora and the Long Sleep; The Wish Donna Jo Napoli Pinocchio Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll Beauty and the Beast by Marianna Mayer.

Suspense and supernatural tales	Ghost stories	"The Bony Finger" Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark retold by Alvin Schwartz illus. by Stephen Gammell. "There Was an Old Woman All Skin and Bones"		Suspense or Supernatural Mysteries Ghost stories		Sid Fleischman The 13^th Floor a Ghost Story Mary Downing Hawn Ruth Brown A Dark Dark Room