TEXTBOOK REFLECTION

Genres and Formats

I.                 Genres – Only two types, the rest are considered sub-genres

a.      Fiction

                                                    i.     Realism

1.      Realistic: Modern Contemporary

2.      Historical

                                                   ii.     Fantasy

1.      Modern

a.      Hard Science Fiction

                                                                                                                i.     Science is the main part of the story

b.      Soft Science Fiction

                                                                                                                i.     Science is involved but character is a big part of the story

c.      High Fantasy

                                                                                                                i.     World and languages have been created

1.      Game of Thrones

2.      Lord of the Rings

d.      Low Fantasy

                                                                                                                i.     Down to Earth

                                                                                                               ii.     Take place on a world that we can identify more but have some fantasy, i.e., Talking animals

2.      Traditional

a.      Folktale

b.      Ballad

c.      Fable

d.      Legend

e.      Myth

f.       Fairy Tale

b.      Nonfiction

                                                    i.     Informational

1.      Biography

a.      Autobiography

                                                                                                                i.     Covers the entire span of a person’s life

b.      Memoir

                                                                                                                i.     Covers a certain time of a person’s life

2.      Narrative Nonfiction

a.      Written in a way that it is more like a story

3.      Expository Nonfiction

a.      Facts, gives information

c.      Question

                                                    i.     What about?

1.      Chick Lit, Mystery, Guy Reads, Horror, Sports Fiction, Action/Adventure, Paranormal, War, Classics, Humor, Dystopia

                                                   ii.     These are CATEGORIES, AND SUBJECTS AND NOT GENRES

II.                Formats

a.      Poetry

b.      Drama

c.      Novels

d.      Chapter Books

e.      Short Stories

f.       Picture Books

g.      Graphic Novels

III.              Examples of Genres and Formats

a.      Narrative Nonfiction in Graphic Novel Format

                                                    i.     Drowned City: Hurricane Katrina & New Orleans by Don Brown

b.      Low Fantasy in Picture Book Format

                                                    i.     Meet the Dullards by Sara Pennypacker and Daniel Salmieri

c.      Soft Science Fiction in Novel Format

                                                    i.     Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card

Reflection:  I need to make sure that I do not confuse Genre with categories.  I can see where one might make a mistake; but it’s a mistake that can cause heated debate.  My library is thinking about gentrifying the library this coming year; and I think more than anything we need to make sure that we are not just creating categories, instead of separating them by genres.