Introduce: 

Be sure to read Chapter 6, pp. 60-63 in our text, in addition to working through this lesson. You can click here for a printable version of this lesson.

Near my house is a wonderful children's bookstore called Linden Tree.What started as a one-room source for children's music tapes has blossomed into a store offering 50,000 children's books, author visits, storytellers, book-related toys AND children's tapes and CDs. 

Every time I cross the threshold of this store on the corner of State and Third in Los Altos, I'm transported back to every bookstore and library and comfy reading corner I've known and loved. The smell of new paper, bindery glue and cellophane covers which seems to waft from any collection of books seems to evoke images of my favorite reading experiences ranging over the broad territory which is the genres of children's literature. 

At Linden Tree I know I will find my favorite traditional fantasy, The Rough-faced Girl, my favorite modern fantasy, The Indian in the Cupboard, the historical fiction I loved as a pre-teen--The Loon Feather, the moving Julie of the Wolves in the Contemporary Realistic Fiction genre, Shel Silverstein's Where the Sidewalk Ends in poetry, any of the Informational Eyewitness books, now for adults and children, the Biography of Julia Morgan I gave to my architecture-loving daughter, and all the hundreds of wonderful picture books I want to add to my collection. 

These books define the boundaries of children's literature and you will be delighted to explore the characteristics of each genre since you'll gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the complex world of children's literature. 

Here's what you can expect to learn: 

• the definition of a genre
• the different genres of children's literature
• the distinguishing characteristics of each genre
• examples of each genre 

Goals:

• recognize the breadth of categories in children's literature 
• define genre 
• differentiate between fiction and nonfiction
• identify the distinguishing characteristics of each genre 
• find a book in each genre 

Study Questions:

1. What is genre?
2. What are the genres of children's literature?
3. What are the distinguishing characteristics of each genre?
4. What is  a good example of each genre? 

Books Referenced in this Lesson:

Task for this Lesson:

• Task 4: Genre Exploration: First Pass

What Next?

Now go on to the Learn section of this lesson and read more about the genres and how they fill out the landscape of children's literature. To get there, click the Next button below or the Learn link at the top of the page.