Literary Genres

The Ladder to Heaven by unknown

According to the Basotho people of South Africa, Huveane was the creator of the heavens, earth, and life itself. After creating the planet and all of its features and inhabitants, Huveane wanted to get some rest while admiring his work. He went by a river, but it was too loud. He went in the forest, but it was too noisy with birds, insects, and animals. Finally, Huveane got sick of it and drove pegs into the sky. He used these pegs as a ladder and climbed into the heavens, removing each peg as he climbed so that no one could follow him.

Genre: Folklore Subgenre:___________

• Fairy tale

• Tall tale

• Myth

• Legend

War Bride: The Gloria Rose Story by Donald Morton

The year is 1941 and America has just declared war on Germany. Gloria Rose is a young Australian girl who falls for a dashing American service man named Robert Mallon. Robert was only temporarily stationed in Australia, and when he is called off to duty, Gloria marries him so that they can maintain their relationship. After the war is ends, Robert seeks to bring Gloria back to America as a citizen, but guess what? She's not the only war bride. Tens of thousands of GIs were married to foreigners during World War II and the State Department had to carefully screen each of them. Follow Gloria as she embarks on the journey of a lifetime.

Genre ________ Subgenre: Historical Fiction

• Fiction

• Nonfiction

• Drama

• Folklore

The History Behind World War II by Matt Penning

To really cover the history of World War II, you need to start before World War I, and that's just what Penning does. With a knack for bringing dry historical facts to life, Penning presents his findings about one of the most complicated, consumptive, and expensive efforts in all of human history: World War II.

Genre: ________ Subgenre: Informational

• Fiction

• Nonfiction

• Drama

• Poetry

• Folklore

Super Soldier Squadron by Patrick Witherspoon

The year is 3030 and Wolf is the leader of a rouge squadron of freedom fighters called the Wolf Pack. Soldiers in the Wolf Pack wear sophisticated robot armor that gives them the abilities of animals. Leopard can climb trees, run fast, leap far, and he's got some wicked robot jaws and claws. Hawk can fly and use his robot talons to carry large weight and to drop heavy things on his targets. The Republic has long outlawed the anamorphic suits that the Wolf Pack wears, but they're turning up the hunt. Now newer, stronger hunting bots have been released. Can the Wolf Pack survive or are they doomed to extinction?

Genre: Fiction Subgenre: ______

• Historical Fiction

• Legend

• Sci-fi

• Realistic Fiction

• Fantasy

The Dog and the Shadow retold by Aesop

A Dog was crossing a bridge over a stream with a piece of flesh in his mouth when he saw his own shadow in the water. The Dog mistook this shadow for another Dog with a piece of meat twice the size of his own. The Dog let go of his own piece of meat and fiercely attacked the other Dog to get the larger piece from him. And so he lost both pieces of meat: that which he grasped at in the water, because it was a shadow; and his own, because the stream carried it away. The moral is that you should not give up what you hold to chase shadows.

• Folklore

• Fiction

• Myth

• Legend

• Fable

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

In this play Macbeth is a loyal soldier until he meets three witches in the forest. They prophesied that he will become king and that no man born of woman can harm him. Urged along by his wicked wife, Macbeth performs many treacherous acts. He does in fact become king, but is shortly thereafter killed by a person who was removed from his mother's womb by C-section. This play ends in death and sadness.

• Fiction

• Drama

• Folklore

• Tragedy

• Comedy

Out of this World: My Life as an Astronaut by Charles Powers

Charles Powers may not have been the first man on the Moon, but he did go to space. In this real life story written in his own words, Charles Powers describes his childhood, his college education, his time spent at NASA, and his big break which took him farther than he ever thought that he would go.

• Fiction

• Nonfiction

• Autobiography

• Biography

• Persuasive

Buy Andy's Insurance by Andy's Insurance Inc.

In this billboard located alongside the interstate, readers and viewers are encouraged to buy their insurance from Andy because, "You get big name protection for a little name price." Andy also prompts readers to "Call now or visit us at andysinsurance.org".

• Fiction

• Nonfiction

• Persuasive

• Informational

• Biography

The Fountain of Youth by Juan de León

According to many tales passed down over the ages, there is a fountain that supposedly restores the youth of anyone who drinks or bathes in its waters. In this text Juan de León discusses many accounts of the waters of life and theorizes as to the location of such a spring.

• Nonfiction

• Folklore

• Informational

• Persuasive

• Autobiography

A story that is made up but could happen in real life.

• Fantasy

• Realistic Fiction

• Science Fiction

• Horror