Name: _________________________________
Genre and Subgenre Worksheet 2

Directions: Choose the genre and subgenre in which the story most likely belongs. Then explain how you got your answer.

Fiction: science fiction, historical fiction, and realistic fiction
Nonfiction: autobiographies, biographies, informational writing, and essays
Folklore: myth, fairytale, legend, tall tale, and fable	

1. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne
The story of a German professor who believes there are volcanic tubes going toward the center of the Earth. He, his nephew Axel, and their guide Hans climb down a crater and have many wild adventures, encountering dinosaurs and prehistoric man. They eventually return to surface again in southern Italy.
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
2. Sleeping Beauty retold by Charles Perrault
A beautiful princess pricks her finger on a sewing needle, after being cursed by a wicked fairy. The princess falls into a deep sleep. One hundred years later, a prince fights his way through the enchanted forest and awakens the beautiful sleeping princess with a kiss.
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
3. The Reign of Attila the Hun by Ed Reaves 
Attila the Hun was the scourge of both the Eastern and Western Roman Empires in the 440s and 450s. . He invaded and conquered territory in what would now be considered France and Italy, terrorizing the countryside along the way. This text tells the story of Attila's life. 
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
4. No Way In by Patty Slate
High school student Darren Banks is sick of being a viewed as a nerd. Darren enlists the help of his older cousin Tyrone to help him learn to dress, walk, and talk. With Tyrone's help, Darren soon climbs to the peak of high school popularity, but in his quest to become someone else, will Darren forget who he was? Find out in this exciting novel.
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
5. The Big Book of Science, Grades 5-6 by Mortini School Publishing

This science book for grades 5 and 6 puts the "fun" in "fundamental." Students complete a variety of exercises to develop their science skills using materials that can be found at home. This version contains over 62 practice activities.
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
6. The Fox and the Grapes retold by Aesop

One day a fox came upon a grape orchard and found a bunch of beautiful grapes hanging from a high branch. "Boy those sure would be tasty," he thought to himself. He backed up and took a running start, and jumped. He did not get high enough. He went back to his starting spot and tried again. He almost got high enough this time, but he still could not reach the grapes. He tried again and again, but he just couldn't get high enough to reach the grapes. Finally, he gave up. As he walked away, he put his nose in the air and said: "I am sure those grapes are sour anyway." It is easy to hate what you cannot have.
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
7. Bump in the Night by John Fox

Fox tells the story of the fictional John Potter, a seasoned Union soldier who gets captured by Confederate forces during the American Civil War. Potter undergoes some of the most dreadful conditions imaginable while detained in a Confederate POW camp, but he soon makes friends with a Confederate guard who helps Potter survive as they realize that their differences are not as striking as their similarities. 
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
8. Paul Bunyan and the Seven Wonders of the World retold by Patrick Schuster

This text contains a handful of different stories about the world's largest lumberjack, Paul Bunyan, who is so big that he wrings out a handful of maple trees to make syrup for his giant waffles. He is so big that he made the Great Lakes when he couldn't find his spittoon. Read about how he met his giant blue ox, Babe, and how they became best friends and inseparable companions. Also read about how he dug the Grand Canyon by dragging his axe behind himself after a long day of work. 
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 

9. A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs 

When John Carter finds gold in Arizona, he makes enemies with some Apache warriors. While attempting to escape from these warriors, Carter hides in one of their sacred caves and is mysteriously transported to Mars. He finds that he has great strength and superhuman agility in this new environment as a result of its lesser gravity. He soon falls in with a nomadic tribe of Green Martians and thanks to his strength, speed, and fighting skills, Carter rises to a high position in the tribe. When the Green Martians capture Dejah Thoris, princess of the humanoid Red Martians, Carter can't help but to be taken with her beauty. He will have to make some tough decisions in the exciting novel.
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
10. The Reading Times published by the Mortini Group

This periodical contains strategies for teachers and students to improve reading comprehension skills. 
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
11. The Silver Cross by Steve Stark

This novel tells the story of a fictional American teenager named Henry Cross. Against his mother's wishes, Cross enlists in the fight against the Germans in World War II. At first he is frightened and ineffective in battle, but after making friends with an elite sniper, Cross learns to overcome his fear in battle and become a better solider. Soon Cross is a war machine, but sometimes soldiers have to make difficult decisions concerning the lives of others. Will Cross make the right decision when he runs into just such a situation? Is there a right choice for Cross to make?
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
12. African Creation Story by unknown

According to this Bakuba account of the world's creation, the Earth was once just darkness and water and it was ruled by the giant Mbombo. One day Mbombo felt some sharp pains in his stomach, which caused him to vomit the sun, moon, and stars. The sun's rays evaporated the water covering the Earth, which created clouds, and soon the dry hills emerged from the water. Still feeling some pains in his stomach, Mbombo vomited again, this time expelling the world's first man and woman, all of the animals, the trees, falling stars, the firmament, and lighting. 
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

13. Shooting for the Moon by Lance Legstrong
Lance tells the true story of his own adventure into outer space. Legstrong was once an underachiever with a troubled past, until one day a teacher influences him positively. Lance describes how he worked hard from that point on until getting accepted into an experimental NASA space program and going to the moon. Lance shares with readers the many life lessons he has learned in this exciting text. 
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
14. The Most Exciting Moment of My Life by Mr. Morton
Mr. Morton, in a five paragraph narrative, tells the true story of the most exciting moment in his life: when he went to a reading workshop near downtown Chicago.
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
15. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight by unknown
Sir Gawain is King Arthur's nephew, and this is the story of how Gawain met a challenge from a giant knight dressed in all green armor. The story is very serious and is told as though it was true; many people believe that King Arthur was a real person, but this story is probably not true. If it were true, it has been greatly exaggerated.
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
16. U.S. History by Mortini Publishing Group
This textbook tells the history of America, from the Revolutionary War to the Iraq War. 
  
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer

 
17. The Rising by Lindsay Logan
When Sheila moves to a new school in California, she has some trouble fitting in with the other kids. She cannot afford the expensive clothing that the other kids wear and she does not have the newest cell phone, but she does have a good heart. Will a chance run-in with a celebrity whom Sheila admires give Sheila the confidence she needs to adapt to her new environment? 
 
Genre: ___________________________________ 	Subgenre: _________________________________
 
Explain your Answer