© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Chapter 9 Contemporary Realistic Fiction

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Contemporary Realistic Fiction  Realism in Contemporary Children's Literature  Becoming One’s Own Person  Coping with Problems of the Human Condition  Living in a Diverse World  Popular Types of Realistic Fiction

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Realism in Contemporary Children’s Literature  The Value of Contemporary Fiction  Issues Relating to Realistic Fiction  What is Real?  How Real May a Children’s Book Be?  Bias and Stereotyping  The Author’s Background  Categorizing Literature

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Contemporary Realistic Fiction  Does the book honestly portray the realities of life for today’s children?  Does the book illuminate problems and issues of growing up in today’s world?  Does the story transcend the contemporary setting and have universal implications?

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Contemporary Realistic Fiction (cont.)  Are the characters convincing and credible to today’s child?  Are controversial topics such as sexuality dealt with in an open and forthright way?  If violence or other negative behavior is part of the story, does the author provide motivations and show aftereffects?

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Evaluating Contemporary Realistic Fiction (cont.)  Does the author avoid stereotyping?  Does the book truly represent the experience of the culture depicted?  Does the book help children enlarge their personal points of view and develop appreciation for our ever- changing pluralistic society?

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Becoming One’s Own Person  Living in a Family  Family Relationships  Extended Families  Families in Transition  Living with Others  Finding Peer Acceptance  Making Friends

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Becoming One’s Own Person (cont.)  Growing Toward Maturity  Developing Sexuality  Finding Oneself  Survival Stories

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Coping with Problems of the Human Condition  Physical Disabilities  Developmental and Learning Disabilities  Mental Illness  Aging and Death  Aging  Death and Dying

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Living in a Diverse World  African American Experiences in Books for Children  Books About Other Cultures  Understanding Various World Cultures

© 2004 The McGraw-Hill Companies. All rights reserved. Popular Types of Realistic Fiction  Humorous Stories  Animal Stories  Sports Stories  School Stories  Mysteries