| Becoming | the story of every man and every woman is the story of growing up, of becoming a person, of struggling to become one's own person. The kind of person you become has its roots in your childhood experiences—how much you were loved, how little you were loved; the people who were significant to you, the ones who were not; the places you've been, and those you did not go to; the things you had, and the things you did not get. Yet a person is always more than the totality of these experiences; the way a person organizes, understands, and relates to those experiences makes for individuality.
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| Categorizing literature | reviewers, educators, and curriculum makers often categorize books according to their content. It is a disservice to both book and reader if, in labeling a book, we imply that this is all the book is about. Readers with their own purposes and backgrounds will see many different aspects and strengths in a piece of literature.
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| Contemporary realism | contemporary realism focuses on the problems of living today.
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| Culturally conscious fiction | in recent years, more books have been published that accurately reflect the social and cultural traditions associated with growing up in a particular culture.
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| Extended family | the extended family of grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, and so on, often plays a significant role in a child's developing perception of the world.
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| Graphic | explicit description; controversy also centers on how much graphic detail may be included in a book for children. These are questions that no one would have asked thirty-five years ago. But there are new freedoms today. Childhood is not the innocent time we like to think it is. Although youth might not need protection, they do still need the perspective that literature can give. A well-written book makes the reader aware of the human suffering resulting from inhumane acts by others, whereas television and films are more apt to concentrate on the acts themselves.
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| Historical realism | historical fiction portrays life as it may have been lived in the past.
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| Identity books | most of the stories about physical maturing also suggest a kind of emotional growth or coming to terms with oneself. The process of becoming a mature person is a lifelong task that begins in the latter stages of childhood and continues for as long as a person lives. Many stories in children's literature chronicle the steps along the way to maturity.
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| Perspective of the book | the point of view presented in the book. Realistic fiction helps children enlarge their frames of reference while seeing the world from another perspective.
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| Realistic fiction | realistic fiction may be defined as imaginative writing that accurately reflects life as it was lived in the past or could be lived today. Everything in such a story can conceivably happen to real people living in our natural physical world, in contrast to fantasy, where impossible happenings are made to appear quite plausible even though they are not possible.
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| Regional fiction | fiction that is influenced by its setting, a particular geographic region.
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| Sexism | because feminists in the 1970s made us more aware of the subtle ways in which literature has perpetuated stereotypes, contemporary realistic fiction now does a much better job of portraying women in a variety of roles. Capable working mothers; caring female role models outside of a child's family; characters who fight sexism; intelligent, independent, and strong girls and women; and romance as a consequence of strong friendship are all found in realistic fiction of the present decade.
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| Stereotyping | children's books have always reflected the general social and human values of a society, so it is not surprising they are also scrutinized for implied attitudes or biases of that society. Contemporary realistic fiction is examined for racism, cultural inaccuracies, sexism, ageism, and treatment of people with physical or mental impairments. Because consciousness generally has been raised in the world of children's book publishing, there are now more books that present diverse populations positively and fairly.
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| Survival | survival stories have powerful appeal to children in middle grades. Numerous stories in all genres portray an individual child or a small group of children, without adults, in situations that call for ingenuity, quick thinking, mastery of tools and skills, and strength of character. Survivors return to civilization or their former lives knowing that they have changed as a result of their experiences.
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| Sympathetic character | a character that demonstrates understanding of others.
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