Identifying Genres

Freedom Summer

Joe and John Henry are a lot alike. They both like shooting marbles, they both want to be firemen, and they both love to swim. But there's one important way they're different: Joe is white and John Henry is black, and in the South in 1964, that means John Henry isn't allowed to do everything his best friend is. Then a law is passed that forbids segregation and opens the town pool to everyone. Joe and John Henry are so excited that they race each other there...only to discover that it takes more than a new law to change people's hearts.

• biographical nonfiction

• poetry

• historical fiction

Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone

On his 11^th birthday, a boy discovers that his deceased parents were wizards and that he, himself, has magical powers.

• fantasy

• science fiction

• traditional literature

I Am Malala

The true story of a girl who risked her life in order to stand up for her right to go to school

• historical fiction

• realistic fiction

• biographical nonfiction

An Autumn Greeting

"Come," said the Wind to the Leaves one day.

"Come over the meadow and we will play.

Put on your dresses of red and gold.

For summer is gone and the days grow cold."

• poetry

• mystery

• narrative nonfiction

A Wrinkle in Time

A girl named Meg is transported, along with her brother and her friend, on an adventure through time and space to rescue her father who is being held prisoner on another planet.

• narrative nonfiction

• science fiction

• fantasy

Volcanoes

This book discusses volcanoes and the impact of their eruptions on the Earth's environment.

• mystery

• realistic fiction

• informational nonfiction

14 Cows for America

Although it reads like fiction, this book tells the true story of a touching gift given to the United States by a tribe of Maasai Warriors in Kenya after the September 11th attacks.

• historical fiction

• narrative nonfiction

• informational nonfiction

The Secret of the Caves

Two boys are searching for a missing professor. First, they go to Kenworthy College, where they find a puzzling message on an examination paper. At that point, a new clue is unearthed that sends the boys to the Honeycomb Caves. By the end of the story, the startling secret of the caves is dramatically revealed.

• mystery

• realistic fiction

• traditional literature

The Woman Who Outshone the Sun

A beautiful woman mysteriously arrives in a village in the mountains near a flowing river. All of the wildlife and animals are drawn to her, but the villagers fear her supernatural powers. The villagers decide to drive the woman from the mountains, but the river follows her, leaving barren land behind. What can the villagers do to get back their only water supply?

This is a retelling of a Zapotec legend from Mexico.

• poetry

• traditional literature

• fantasy

The Year of the Dog

When Pacy's family celebrates Chinese New Year, ringing in the Year of the Dog, her relatives explain that the Year of the Dog is traditionally the year when people "find themselves," discovering their values and what they want to do with their lives. With big expectations and lots of questions, Pacy moves through the next 12 months struggling to find her talent, dealing with disappointment, making a new best friend, and discovering just why the Year of the Dog is a lucky one for her after all.

• traditional literature

• biographical nonfiction

• realistic fiction