ENG 295 Week 5 Charlotte Huck’s Children’s Literature, Ch. 7: Contemporary Realistic Fiction

This week’s readings from the text discuss current issues in children’s literature. Ch. 7 discusses bias and stereotyping, demonstrating how modern-day children’s literature contends with these issues.

Hello All,

Realistic fiction sounds like an oxymoron.  But, Huck tries to explain this in the first part of this week’s reading.

When I was young, I didn’t like to read anything.  Reading was too difficult.  But, if I was forced to read, I picked realistic fiction.  I liked Judy Blume and other authors who wrote about kids my age with normal problems like schoolwork, friends and relationships, and parents.  Problems I could see myself having.  I didn’t care for sci-fi or fantasy at all.  I didn’t get it.  I didn’t want to have to work to imagine new worlds as read was hard enough without the extra hassle.

What realistic fiction and authors were your favorites and why?