Reading is a magical thing, especially when you find a book that you just can't put down. There is something for any reader to enjoy! Come and learn about some of the different literary genres in this lesson.
Literary Genres Lesson for Kids: Definition & Types
Table of Contents
ShowWhen you go to the movie theater, how do you decide which movie you want to see? It might depend on what kind of mood you are in. If you're in the mood to be scared, you might want to see a scary movie. If you're in the mood to laugh, you might want to see a comedy. Scary movies and comedies are just a couple examples of the many different genres of film. There are genres of literature, too. This means that they are many different kinds or categories of literature, each with their own unique tone and style.
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Many books and stories are fiction, meaning they are not factual. Fiction books are made-up stories that are often produced by the author's imagination. There are many different genres that fall within the genre of fiction, including (but not limited to):
- Fairy tales: Who doesn't love a good fairy tale? These stories are written for children and included magical characters, like fairies, elves and dragons. ''Cinderella'' and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland are examples of fairy tales.
- Mystery: If you enjoy reading books about detectives or unsolved crimes, then you are a fan of the mystery genre. These books deal with solving a crime or a secret, like the Encyclopedia Brown series.
- Horror: Just like there are scary movies, there are scary books. Horror books are written to scare or shock the reader, like the Goosebumps series or ghost stories you might tell around a campfire.
- Tall tales: These stories first began in America by the settlers who lived in the wilderness. They are told as if they are true, but they are fiction. Some tall tales are exaggerations of events that actually happened, like the story of Johnny Appleseed.
- Folklore: Has a grandparent ever told you a story that has been passed down through different generations? Folklore typically has cultural relevance, like the folktales of Paul Bunyan and Native American folktales.
- Realistic fiction: These books and stories may seem true, but they are actually fiction and have not occurred in real life. Examples include Diary of a Wimpy Kid and The Fault in Our Stars.
- Science fiction: Do you like stories about aliens or outer space? Then you will enjoy science fiction books because they typically take place in outer space or even in the future, like Star Wars or Animorphs books.
- Fable: You can normally learn a lesson from the moral of the story in a fable. Often time, the animals speak as humans, like ''The Lion and the Mouse'' or ''The Boy Who Cried Wolf.''
- Fantasy: These stories are 'off-the-wall,' with strange and unusual characters or settings. The Harry Potter series is an example of fantasy.
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Do you enjoy reading to learn? Sometimes, you read books that are based on truth and fact. This is known as the non-fiction genre. Here are some examples of categories within non-fiction:
- Autobiography: Have you ever written a book about your life? That's an autobiography! Many people have published autobiographies, such as Helen Keller and Rosa Parks.
- Biography: If you would rather write a book about someone else's life, you would write a biography. Many people have biographies, such as military heroes, political figures and celebrities in the entertainment industry.
- Speech: Sometimes, people will write down what they are going to say when addressing a large group of people, like the ''I Have a Dream'' speech by Martin Luther King Jr. and ''The Gettysburg Address'' by Abraham Lincoln.
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The wonderful thing about reading is that there is a genre out there for everyone. You might like fiction genres, such as fantasy, tall tales or science fiction. You also might like non-fiction genres, like biographies.
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Additional Activities
Exploring Your Favorite Genres:
In the lesson, you learned about different types of literary genres. Put on your explorer cap, and let's go!
What?
Pick your favorite story that is not mentioned in the lesson (it can be a movie, a book, or even a TV show).
Which?
Which genre is your favorite story?
Why?
Why do you think it is that genre? Write 50 words explaining why it fits that genre. For example, if you chose Harry Potter, you might say it is fantasy because it has a strange and unusual setting (a hidden school for magic). The characters are also unusual: witches, goblins, ghosts, and dragons.
How?
Now do some research on the genre of your favorite story. A word that might help you find information is "trope." A genre trope is something that commonly occurs among different works of the same genre. For example, a trope of fantasy literature is that it often has magical elements, which Harry Potter certainly has. Make a list of tropes common in your selected work's genre, and pick the ones that your selected story fits. Of note: your work will almost certainly not fit every trope of the genre.
Who? Where? When?
Lastly, do a little more research on your genre. Who are well-known writers in this genre, excluding the writer of your selected work (if it is written)? List three. When did this genre emerge and where? (Note: "where" may be "everywhere," as would be the case for fairy tales). Look at whether your genre has any "sub-genres," and decide if your selected work fits one of these. For example, fantasy has several sub-genres, and Harry Potter is what's known as low fantasy because it combines a magical world with our own.
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Literary Genres Lesson for Kids: Definition & Types
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