The narrative is probably the most common genre in children’s literature. Stories actually play a crucial function in a child’s life because they serve as their first introduction to literature and serve as a genuine cover letter. And it is because of this that even the most well-known stories, from the oldest to the most recent, are frequently updated, revised, and reissued.
Before the categories, let’s define the stories.
It is important to quickly define what a tale is before considering all the literary genres that fall under the category of literature for children and adolescents.
According to the definition’s precise interpretation, history is a succinct narrative written by one or more authors that can be about real or fictitious people, places, or events. The plot is typically rather straightforward and centers primarily on a small cast of individuals.
The structure that the stories must follow
The structure of children’s stories is typically quite straightforward, just like their plots. They typically consist of three sections: the introduction (exposition), the development (complication), and the end (resolution).
The introduction is the first section of the story, and its primary purpose is to introduce the characters and the goals they have for the plot. In order to prepare the reader for the knot, this section is crucial.
The turning point in the story, meanwhile, is when the customary “trouble” that defines them emerges.
In fact, it is in this section that the most significant events will occur, making up the majority of the work, where the thousand ups and downs involving our characters will follow one another.
Finally, we have the conclusion, which presents the solution to the knot’s problems, bringing our story to a close. This usually corresponds to the so-called “happy ending” in children’s books, which is the positive and decisive ending that concludes the events narrated in a novel.
Once the story’s structure has been established, it is time to define the various types of narration that exist in the literary world.
Folk tales are traditional, short narratives of fictional events that are told in multiple versions. That is, the story may take on different hues in different locations or geographic regions, but it always follows roughly the same plot. These stories are typically passed down orally, though written versions can be found on occasion. Because it was one of the first forms of literature to emerge and spread, the authors are frequently unknown.
Literary stories: correspond to written stories and thus have a specific structure, plot, and characters. This story has a specific author, who is the one who writes it. As a result of being written, the details in these literary tales do not change and the story remains consistent.
BABIDI-Bu has a large catalog with many different types of children’s stories written by our authors.
But where do we put the fairy tales? Where, for example, do we put fictional stories? These are sub-genres within these two types of stories, and we will analyze them in depth in the following sections.
The types of folk tales
These texts are divided into a variety of subgenres. The ten most important categories are highlighted below. The stories are divided into the following categories: horror, adventure, science fiction, historical, comic, detective, detective story, short, fantastic, and scientific children’s stories.
Fairy tales are the traditional stories that we are all familiar with. Those stories that have been passed down orally for decades or centuries and have been adapted into books and even films.
The three little pigs and the big bad wolf, the tortoise and the hare, and so on… These are all examples of the types of storytelling mentioned above, which have been used to teach children all over the world over the years.
However, not everyone is aware that these stories did not always have a happy ending; rather, they frequently had a dark and raw ending. They were only changed later by sweetening the ending to fit the needs of a children’s story.
According to the order, fables are stories about animals or inanimate objects that speak and behave like humans. They are written in prose or verse, and each has their own unique style of telling a story with serious consequences.
Finally, we have myths and legends that have come to our attention as a result of some authors’ decision to transcribe them in a book. They are stories about ancient heroes and Gods, stories that begin with reality and then add fantastic stylistic touches to achieve a significant impact.
The types of literary stories
These writings are divided into a variety of subgenres. The ten most important categories are highlighted below. The stories are divided into the following categories: horror, adventure, science fiction, historical, comic, detective, detective story, short, fantasy, and scientific children’s stories.
Fantasy: it is the narrative genre based mainly on fantasy elements, within which different sub-genres can be grouped, such as horror literature, science fiction or gothic literature. In this genre, supernatural and extraordinary phenomena appear such as magic or the intervention of fantastic creatures.
Fiction: texts characterized by an easy-to-understand linear narrative. His goal is to let the little one experience the pleasure of adventure by making him identify with the emotions experienced by the protagonist in all stages of the story. The themes, on the other hand, can be of various kinds. In this category, illustrations play a key role.
Horror: it is the literary genre defined by the sensation it causes: fear. The main goal of the genre is both to teach a lesson and to help children overcome their fears.
Short Story: as the name implies, they are stories told in a few lines. It is a recently appeared subgenre that presents a concise idea in a literary and poetic way. They try to express an idea in an original way.
Adventures: the recurring scenarios of this genre are journeys, mysteries and risks. One of its key features is the action that moves the story and the development of the plot.
Science fiction: speculative genre that tells possible events that follow one another in an almost imaginary framework, whose credibility is narratively based on the fields of physical, natural and social sciences. They are usually set in future times, although they can also make leaps to the past (think of time travel stories), in alternative or unrealistic worlds.
Legend: In this category the stories are related to myths and legends. Therefore, we start from a historical event that really happened to then develop the story that can also have fictitious evolutions in the plot.
Comedy: This type of fiction is intended to make the reader laugh or at least entertain. They usually represent defects or everyday situations that cause a laugh or otherwise a comic situation. Quotes often appear in the text.
Detective: the plot of this genre is characterized by mystery. Facts related to crime and justice are narrated, therefore the story evolves around attempts to resolve a crime.
Short stories for children: sub-genre dedicated to children’s fiction. The story can be based on real or fictional stories, it has few characters and its plot is relatively simple.
Bibliography
Wikipedia. History.
Elia Tabuenca, unprofesor.com. Types of stories: complete classification
Alberto Cajal, lifeder.com. The 11 most important types of stories