Realistic Fiction For Kids

The ups and downs mean you’re alive. Sometimes, life knocks you down and it gets harder to pick yourself back up. Whether it’s for family, friends or themselves, these realistic characters continue on. The rollercoaster of life is harsh to them, but they persevere in their own ways. Stories by Toni Mobley, Laura Ruth Loomis, Katie Kent, Douglas Allen Gohl, Deborah Henley, and J.E. Feldman.

Bea and her mom have always been a two-person team. But now her mom is marrying Wendell, and their team is growing by three boys, two dogs, and a cat. Finding her place in her new blended family may be tough, but when Bea finds out her school might not get the all-girls soccer team they'd been promised, she learns that the bigger the team, the stronger the fight—and that for the girls to get what they deserve, they're going to need a squad behind them.

How do you cope when the impossible happens? Poppy Parker's world is collapsing. Life was so safe and easy before her Grandma Beth had a stroke and ended up in a nursing home. Now she's desperately homesick and struggling to cope with life in a children's center. Worried her grandma may need help, Poppy runs away to visit her, never expecting to witness a serious crime that lands her under the temporary protection of the lead detective. Fearing that the police will return her to the children's center once she's no longer useful, Poppy hesitates to help them identify the suspect, focusing ...

Hi, whoever is reading this. I’m Zipporah Chava McConnell, but everyone calls me Zippy. Things used to be simple—until a few weeks ago. Now my best friend, Bea, is acting funny; everyone at school thinks I’m weird; and my mom is making me start preparing for my bat mitzvah, even though we barely ever go to synagogue. In fact, only thing that still seems to make sense is magic. See, the thing is, I’m a witch. I’ve been casting spells since I was little. And even if no one else wants to believe in magic anymore, it’s always made sense to me, always felt true.

Eight hundred seventy-eight dollars. That’s how much Ronny needs to make by January 4 to keep his family’s only car from getting repossessed. Since a workplace injury disabled his dad and forced the family to move from their home into the apartment complex across the street, Ronny’s been learning all sorts of things—like what letters marked with "Final Notice" means and that banks can take cars away for being behind on payments.

Skye Nickson’s world changed forever when her dad went on the run with her brother, Finn. It’s been four years without Finn’s jokes, four years without her father’s old soul music, and four years of Skye filling in as Rent-a-Finn on his MIA birthdays for their mom. Finn’s birthday is always difficult, but at least Skye has her best friends, Reece and Jax, to lean on, even if Reece has started acting too cool for them. But this year is different because after Finn’s birthday, they get a call that he’s finally been found.

It’s eighteen-year-old Gita Desai’s first year at Stanford, and the fact that she’s here and not already married off by her traditional Gujarati parents is a miracle. She’s determined to death-grip her good-girl, model student rep all the way to med school. Should be easy: If there’s one thing she’s learned from her family, it’s how to chup-re—to “shut up,” fade into the background. But when childhood memories of her aunt’s desertion and her then-uncle’s best friend resurface, Gita ends up ditching the books night after night in favor of partying and hooking up with strangers.

A homeless girl, a devoted dog, and the incredible risk they take to stay together. An unforgettable story of love, family, and bonds that can never be broken. Shannon O'Reilly's whole world is collapsing. Life was great before Mom died, before she ended up living in a car with her little dog Boone and her Aunt Junie. Now it's truck stop showers and soup kitchen meals and the crushing burden of keeping everything a secret. She's tried hard to be patient, but when a reckless act lands her aunt in jail and Boone is taken away, Shannon's had enough. Escaping her foster home, she springs Boone ...

Zoe is back in Ambler after living with her mom in Los Angeles, and she doesn't know what to feel about it. It's fun to be back with the Vet Volunteers, but Zoe misses her mom, who is filming a movie in Canada. Meanwhile, there seems to be a rash of animals being poisoned by antifreeze across the town, and Zoe fears that David's new adopted cat, Rover, might be one of them. So the gang works to raise awareness about antifreeze poisoning, and Zoe's mom has a special surprise in store for everyone.

After being awarded the Biggest Loser badges by the popular vote, Adam, Diego, and Jai are officially at the top of the Wall of Shame in their school, but does that mean they're going to sit around and whine about it? Well... maybe a bit, but not for long! The three friends are assigned an impossible mission by the school principal to convince their classmates to start eating healthy foods served in the cafeteria. Everybody knows fruits, veggies, and greens may be good for your body, but are disastrous for your image, and most teenagers would rather be caught dead than eating steamed ...

*A middle-schooler in a new country. A broken promise. A quest to save his dog before it’s too late.* Life in middle school can be rough, but it’s even worse if your family moves to a different continent where I don’t know the language, the culture, and how I’ll ever fit in with the other kids. Navigating a new town is one thing but trying to learn the lay of the land in a new school is another. First, there are the obvious barriers. Then there are the bullies. I miss living in America. I miss my friends. And now our trip home for a visit is cancelled. If I don’t find a ...

Check out "The Awesomely Fabulous Dog-Walking Society", a brand new series about mystery, friendship, love and drama. Book 1 of the Bex Carter Series: Thirteen-year-old Bex Carter has a lot on her plate. Her biggest challenge is living with her Aunt Jeanie. As much as Bex tries to please her aunt, they always seem to butt heads. Sometimes Bex feels as if Aunt Jeanie goes out of her way to make her life miserable. Aunt Jeanie enrolls Bex in a social group called the Silver Roses, a group that's supposed to teach young girls how to be proper ladies, however it turns out to be nothing more ...

This deeply felt children's book from Congresswoman Madeleine Dean and her son Harry - authors of the memoir Under Our Roof - reassures children that, even when the grown-ups in their life are absent, they are loved and enough as they are.

Clover O'Reilly is super psyched to run for class president. As the second oldest of five sisters, she struggles to be heard in her ginormous family. But when you are president of the seventh grade, everyone has listen to you! Comedy magician Mike the Unusual feels confident onstage. Offstage, life can be tricky. It's okay that his classmates don't understand him, but it bugs him when his dad suggests he needs more friends. Is he willing to give up his passion to win friends...and votes? Clover and Mike compete to rule their school in this uproariously funny sequel.

When Charlie hears that special buzz in his head, he knows it means one thing: An idea for a new invention. But Charlie's ideas tend to backfire - such as the flying feet that don't really fly. If only Charlie could make his inventions work, people might think he's as special as his older brother, Larry. Then the Zigzag afternoon center organizes a Come as a Character Day, and Charlie gets his chance to shine.