Narrator> This program is dedicated to E. Nesbit, an English author of children's books.

Described by George Bernard Shaw as an audaciously unconventional lady.

E. Nesbit was also a founder of the socialist group the Fabian Society.

In books like The Treasure Seekers and The Wouldbegoods, she often created realistic characters, including the six unforgettable Bastable children.

She once wrote, "When I was a little child, I used to pray fervently, tearfully that when I should be grown up, I might never forget what I thought and felt and suffered then."

♪ Oh I can believe ♪ ♪ in everything I read ♪ ♪ A little boy blue ♪ ♪ a lady with a shoe ♪ ♪ and a dish run off ♪ with a spoon ♪ ♪ Well Hickory Dickory Dock ♪ ♪ a scholar ♪ he's late to school ♪ ♪ And I like a cow ♪ ♪ I jump over the moon ♪ ♪ Rick> As you grow up figuring out what's real and true and worth believing can be a problem.

Eventually, however, children learn to distinguish between the possible and the impossible, between what's probable and what's unlikely.

In recent years, writers and artists have tried to help kids understand reality and its problems by creating works of fiction set in a realistic world.

Those are the books we're going to talk about today.

Picture books which feature stories that could really happen.

This genre of books is called contemporary realistic fiction or contemporary realism.

Not all experts agree on what constitutes contemporary realism.

For our purposes, these books are only those which include real people whose activities are possible in a realistic setting.

Some experts, however, do include in this category books featuring animal characters who seem to be living human lives.

For example, In Bread and Jam for Francis by Russell Hoban, with pictures by Lillian Hoban.

The family could be the family next door if they weren't badgers.

We are limiting our selection to only those books which include realistic human characters.

These books serve many purposes.

They help children to understand some of the more baffling aspects of life.

They sometimes introduce children to different kinds of real experiences, and other times they reassure children by presenting familiar images.

Books of contemporary realism may also help kids to cope with problems, by showing how other children have handled similar situations.

In her textbook Children's Literature in the Elementary School , Charlotte Huck states that "Books which honestly portray the realities of life may help children toward a fuller understanding of human problems and human relationships, and thus toward a fuller understanding of themselves and their own potential."

Understanding oneself and one's emotions can be a problem.

Look at Ivan Sherman's book, I Do Not Like It When My Friend Comes To Visit .

It's a good example of a simple work of contemporary realism.

The title explains the problem.

Sherman's simple, funny purple line drawings feature a pair of precocious little girls who are beset by the very real problems of petty jealousy, stinginess, and one upmanship.

Boys can be plagued by some of those same problems.

James and John are mad at each other in Janice May Udry's story called Let's Be Enemies .

Illustrated with pictures by Maurice Sendak.

The redhead John narrates and explains that James used to be my friend, but today he is my enemy.

The story shows how being friends can involve some confusing attitudes.

The boy's anger and resentment are intense but easily forgotten.

Picture books may also deal with more significant problems.

Ones with no easy solutions.

Consider My Friend Jacob by Lucille Clifton, with pictures by Thomas DiGrazia.

Without ever stating directly that Jacob is retarded.

The narrator, a boy named Sam, explains how his friend is not an ordinary big kid.

Jacob is a good basketball player, but he forgets a lot and Sam tries to help him however he can.

The problem almost doesn't exist when treated fairly and with friendship.

That seems to be one of the book's messages.

When selecting books of contemporary realism, it's important to keep in mind that the message or the lesson shouldn't interfere with or overwhelm the story.

Look at My Sister , written by Karen Hirsh and illustrated by Nancy Inderieden.

It's another sensitive handling of the difficulties caused by mental retardation.

Like many of these realistic books, My Sister is presented from a child's point of view.

The narrator here is a boy whose sister is retarded.

He explains how he and his family take care of her.

And how they have to deal with inconsiderate people who just don't understand.

It's not always easy to accept the reality of the situation or to define it.

John Warren Stewig grapples with the term realism in his textbook Children and Literature .

He remarks that "What is real varies for each of us depending on our sex, age, social class, ethnic group, and geographic location, among others."

Children especially, are often baffled by the conflict of fantasy and realism.

There are several books which try to deal with the relationship between the imaginary and the actual, and which try to show the importance of knowing the difference.

Evaline Ness wrote and illustrated just such a book.

One titled Sam, Bangs and Moonshine , which won the Caldecott Medal in 1967.

It's the story of an imaginative girl named Samantha, but always called Sam, who had the reckless habit of lying.

Reckless, yes, but not really malicious.

Her lying is like a game.

One day, her fisherman father warns her to "talk real, not moonshine," which is his term for her exaggerations and lies.

She soon learns how dangerous her stories can be.

When her friend Thomas and her cat Bangs, both nearly die because of her wild tales.

When considering the large variety of books that might be called contemporary realistic fiction, one also has to remember that contemporary in this case means modern or current.

There are undoubtedly many realistic books which are sadly outdated.

Claire Huchet Bishop wrote this book called Pancakes-Paris, about life in France after World War Two.

Georges Schreiber did the illustrations.

When Pancakes-Paris was first published in 1947, this tale about a hungry boy and some generous GIs was certainly contemporary and probably a bit startling, with its detailed descriptions of the hardships encountered by French children.

But today, it would have to be classified as historical fiction.

You might also want to take a quick look at Don Freeman's 1955 work, titled Mop Top .

This rambunctious redhead is called Moppy because he likes to wear his hair long.

After he's mistaken for an actual mop in a grocery store one day, he decides to get a trim.

When he dances out of the barber shop, he's supposed to look much better than before, but most kids today prefer the before over the after.

Changing styles have simply dated the book, and it can no longer be considered truly contemporary.

Some older books, however, haven't aged so rapidly.

Lynd Ward's book The Biggest Bear, first published in 1952, may still be considered as contemporary.

Its rural setting, simple story of a boy who befriends a baby bear have helped to create its timeless quality.

Lynd Ward's outstanding illustrations in this book won him the Caldecott Medal for 1953.

Even older yet, is Robert McCloskey's book titled Lentil , first published in May 1940.

But still read and enjoyed as modern by many kids today.

Set in the town of Alto, Ohio.

Lentil is the story of a barefoot boy who realizes that he has no talent for singing or whistling, so he learns to play the harmonica.

Acquiring a skill can be a major accomplishment in a child's life.

And whether it's playing the harmonica or making bird calls, a new skill can be an important way for a child to gain self-respect.

And it sometimes helps to read about other kids who've done the same.

In Whistle For Willie , the little boy named Peter, who appears in many books by Ezra Jack Keats, decides that he should know how to whistle so he can call to his dog, as other kids do.

Peter keeps trying until he manages to whistle, and he surprises his dog Willie, who stopped and looked around to see who it was.

Still, another similar story about acquiring a special talent but set in a very different locale can be found in Taro Yashima's Crow Boy , the realistic story of a shy Japanese boy, and what happens when he goes to school.

He is nicknamed Chibi, which means "tiny boy."

At his school's talent show, Chibi reveals an unusual ability.

He mimics the different intricate calls of crows that he has heard every day on his walks to and from school.

His classmates develop a new respect for him and dub him "Crow Boy."

While some works of contemporary realistic fiction may introduce the unfamiliar as Crow Boy does, others deal with the ordinary.

Situations and problems that might occur everyday or on a bad day.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day was written by Judith Viorst and illustrated by Ray Cruz.

Once again, this one is narrated by its main character, Alexander, who supplies very convincing and specific lists of all the things that go wrong for him on one especially unpleasant day.

After hours of troubles, Alexander reports, "My bath was too hot, I got soap in my eyes, my marble went down the drain and I had to wear my railroad train pajamas.

I hate my railroad train pajamas."

In bed finally, he comforts himself with this bit of wisdom.

"My mom says 'some days are like that'."

Alexander's complaints may allow other children to see that their pains and problems are not unique.

Charlotte Zolotow wrote the text for the Quarreling Book , which features pictures by Arnold Lobel.

In this book, a whole family has a bad day caused by a chain reaction of bad feelings.

One person's bad mood is passed on to another until the whole house is affected.

The vicious cycle is stopped by the dog, who thinks Little Eddie wants to play.

And then the good feelings prove to be equally infectious, making it not so bad a day after all.

These books of ordinary, though often confusing feelings, may help kids to understand themselves.

To gain some insights into human nature.

Human nature is one of the topics in The Quitting Deal by Tobi Tobias with illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman.

It's narrated by Jenny, who's too old to be sucking her thumb.

And it's about an agreement she makes with her mother, who wants to stop smoking cigarettes.

They decide to help each other.

The pictures are very contemporary and may soon be old fashioned, but now they add to and illuminate the text.

Jenny and her mother find out that bad habits are hard to break.

There are no simple truths when it comes to a child's relationship with his family.

Dependence, love, frustration, and pride are just a few of the emotional issues which seem to affect us all.

The popularity of realistic storybooks in recent years has allowed publishers to cover a considerable variety of subjects, including many controversial topics which previously were avoided or ignored, including many family problems.

Now, more than ever before in history, kids have to learn to deal with divorce and separated parents.

Joan M. Lexau wrote this book titled Me Day , which was illustrated by Robert Weaver.

It's the story of a boy named Rafer, whose parents are divorced.

He lives with his mother and brother.

He expects a birthday letter from his dad.

When none arrives, the great merry-mellow me day turned sour.

Then his mother sends him to the fruit store by the bus stop, and when he gets there, he sees his father, who's arranged this whole surprise.

Some critics of contemporary realistic books frown upon such happy endings, pointing out that they may encourage unrealistic expectations.

A more suitable ending might be found in this book, My Daddy Don't Go To Work written by Madeena Spray Nolan and illustrated by Jim LaMarche.

The girl who narrates this story has to face the problem of her father's unemployment.

It's not an easy situation, and tension flares up quickly.

At the end, the father hasn't found a job, but there is a note of simple hope, and the family gathers together around the dinner table.

Children in modern families often must deal with a variety of predicaments.

The narrator of The Terrible Thing That Happened At Our House explains about the changes, which occurred when her mother decided to go back to work.

This little girl doesn't like the new life without her mother at home.

But she doesn't say much until she explodes with frustration, one night at dinner.

After she airs her complaints, her parents make some changes for the better.

It turns out that the terrible thing might not be so terrible after all.

Having a working mother is a common situation which many kids have to deal with today.

This book by Marge Blaine, with pictures by John C. Wallner may help kids to cope with what seems difficult at first.

Learning to live with one's brothers and sisters is another family problem, which is often treated in works of contemporary realism.

Sibling relationships often seem insignificant to adults, while they seem insurmountable to children.

Books can help bring such problems into perspective.

Peter's Chair is another work by as Ezra Jack Keats, which features the little boy Peter.

In this volume, he has to deal with the arrival of his new baby sister, Susie.

When his father starts to paint Peter's old furniture pink, Peter decides to grab what he can and run away.

He doesn't get very far, however, before he realizes that he's not as small as he once was and he decides to return.

He even agrees to help his father with the painting.

Kids who find their world invaded by a new baby may also enjoy reading about the adventures of Oliver Applebaum in Martha Alexander's book Nobody Asked Me If I Wanted a Baby Sister .

Smaller children, especially, may enjoy this one because some of the story is told simply with pictures in a wordless style.

The text comprises only dialog, no narration.

It's plain to see that Oliver is distressed by all the fuss over the new baby, so he loads his sister into his wagon to see if he can give her away.

When he realizes that the baby wants him, even if he doesn't want her, he sees a certain wisdom in that and takes her home again.

Looking forward to when she'll be big enough to pull him around.

Obviously, some kids have to end up on the other end of the deal.

Older brothers and sisters can be aggravating too.

Keep Running Allen!

by Clyde Robert Bulla, with beautiful illustrations by Satomi Ichikawa, deals with the frustrations of being the youngest member of a family.

This small boy named Allen has an older sister and two older brothers, all of whom move so fast that Allen has trouble keeping up with them.

Once, when he is trying to catch up, he trips on his shoelace and ends up lying down in the grass.

He enjoys the stillness.

Eventually, the others come back and when they can't beat him, join him.

Just lying and looking at the sky.

In this book, Monnie Hates Lydia by Susan Pearson with pictures by Diane Patterson.

The heroine Monnie works hard to prepare a special birthday celebration for her older sister Lydia, who's ten and who nearly spoils the whole affair by ignoring and irritating Monnie.

Their father, who's apparently a single parent, admits that Lydia's been a real stinker and Monnie tries to be a good sport.

Lydia gets her just desserts in the end.

John Steptoe wrote and illustrated this book called Stevie , featuring a contemporary variation on the sibling relationship theme.

In this story, Robert, who narrates, is upset and jealous when his mother decides to take care of another boy, Stevie.

Whose mother works during the week and who goes home only on weekends.

Everything about Stevie seems to bother Robert, until one Saturday, when Stevie's parents announced that they're moving away and Stevie won't be back.

Then Robert realizes all that Stevie meant to him.

Robert ends with this admission, "He was a nice little guy.

He was kinda like a little brother.

Little Stevie."

As children grow older and as their world expands beyond the family, many new problems may arise.

Coping with the change of schools is the subject of Judy Dalton's book, The New Girl at School , with pictures by Lillian Hoban.

It's written simply in the first person, by a girl named Marsha, who's confronted with a number of awkward situations.

She learns that adjustment isn't always immediate.

Other problems caused by starting at a new school are handled smartly in this book titled Nice Little Girls by Elizabeth Levy with saucy pictures by Mordicai Gerstein.

The heroine of this realistic tale is a girl named Jackie, who happens to look like a boy and who is mistaken for one at her new school, where the teacher has some old fashioned traditional ideas about what girls and boys can and can't do.

Jackie's parents help her to gain self-confidence, to capitalize on her talents.

And to handle her problems with a sense of dignity, as well as a sense of humor.

There are many other realistic books which try to promote acceptance and understanding of alternative views on the subject of traditional sex roles.

According to the dust jacket of Oliver Button Is a Sissy, Tomie de Paola based some of the incidents in that book on his own childhood experiences.

Oliver is a nonconformist who just doesn't like to do things that boys are supposed to do.

Instead, he likes to read books and draw pictures.

He also learns how to tap dance, and after a performance in a local talent show, he gained some new respect from his classmates.

The manly art of dancing is also the subject of Max , in which Rachel Isadora presents a funny and wise look at a crack baseball player named Max, who discovers that he enjoys working out with his sister's dancing class.

William's Doll by Charlotte Zolotow, with pictures by William Pene du Bois is another book which tries to dispel sexist stereotypes.

William is a boy who simply wants a doll to play with.

Instead, he gets a basketball and a train.

Neither of which satisfy him.

It's his grandmother who finally buys him a doll, pointing out that it will only help him to practice being a father.

The special relationships that can form between the young and the old are also frequent subjects for realistic books.

In Now One foot, Now the Other also by Tomie de Paola, a boy named Bobby has a deep attachment to his grandfather, whom the boy calls Bob.

The grandfather had helped the small boy to learn to walk, and now the kid likes to hear about how that was done.

After grandfather Bob has a stroke, the roles are reversed and Bobby has to help the old man to learn to walk again.

A very similar story is told in A Special Trade by author Sally Wittman and illustrator Karen Gundersheimer.

In their book, an old man called old Bartholomew often takes care of Nelly, a little girl in his neighborhood.

Old Bartholomew used to push Nelly around in a stroller, and as she grew, he continued to spend a lot of time with her.

After an unfortunate accident, Bartholomew was confined to a wheelchair, and Nelly ends up pushing him around, as he once did for her.

These stories can help children understand some of the problems involved in growing old.

In The Hundred Penny Box , Sharon Bell Mathis has written a careful study of a very old woman, not a grandmother, but a great-great aunt of a boy named Michael, who loves her deeply.

The title comes from the central item in the story, an old, cracked up, wacky-dacky box with the top broken.

Aunt Dew, the old woman keeps 100 pennies in the box, one for each year of her life.

Michael seems to understand why the box is so important to the old woman, even though his mother would rather throw it away and get a newer one.

The striking dark watercolor paintings were done by Leo and Diane Dillon.

One of the most difficult concepts that children must confront is the concept of death.

And in recent years, several books of contemporary realistic fiction for children have tried to show how death is a part of life.

Usually, these books show how the death of a pet or an older person affects a child.

Few books deal with the death of children themselves.

The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst, with illustrations by Erik Blegvad, is narrated by a boy whose cat, Barney, died last Friday.

The boy tries to explain how he felt and what he did, and how he tried to think of ten good things about Barney so he could tell them at the little funeral which the family held in the backyard.

The natural cycle of death and renewal is introduced through the idea that Barney will soon become part of the garden, and will help the flowers to grow.

The difficult idea of the permanence of death is introduced in Tomie de Paola's book Nana Upstairs and Nana Downstairs .

In this book, a boy named Tommy has both a grandmother who he calls Nana Downstairs, and a great grandmother, whom he calls Nana Upstairs.

It's Nana Upstairs who dies first, and Tommy, who learns to recognize the reality and permanence of death.

Miska Miles has also written a book about dying, this one titled Annie And The Old One, illustrated by Peter Parnall.

Annie, a Navajo girl, is distressed when her grandmother, the old one, announces to her family, "my children, when the new rug is taken from the loom, I will go to Mother Earth."

Annie tries desperately to think of ways to delay the weaving of the new rug, so that her grandmother may live.

The old woman eventually has to explain to Annie that you cannot hold back time.

The book ends not with the death of the old one, but with Annie's acceptance of its inevitability.

In their text book, Now Upon a Time , A Contemporary View of Children's Literature , Myra Pollack Sadker and David Miller Sadker comment on these recent books about death and their merits.

They write, "As the characters in these books confront the deaths of people who are dear to them, the child who reads about them experiencing their emotions vicariously may grow in understanding and in acceptance of the meaning of death."

Not all realistic books are so weighty and so serious.

Not all deal with problem situations.

Some merely provide a description of everyday life.

For instance, look at The Walking Coat , a story by Pauline Watson, illustrated by Tomie de Paola.

It's the simple story of a boy named Scott who gets his cousin Charlie's old hunting coat, when Charlie gets a new one.

When Scott wears the big old coat, he disappears from sight and the coat seems to walk by itself.

When Scott shares it with his friend Ray, the coat seems to have four feet.

There are no problems involved.

Maybe an unlikely incident or two, but basically it's just a silly story of a real life experience.

Likewise, Umbrella by Taro Yashima presents no dire situations or emotional upsets.

It's just the realistic story of a Japanese girl named Momo, who gets red rubber boots and an umbrella for her third birthday.

In The Moon Jumpers, Author Janice May Udry and illustrator Maurice Sendak provide an almost mystic vision of four children playing on a summer night.

The text is narrated in the first person plural by all four kids, who dance and frolic on the grass.

Later, they jump and jump over and over and higher and higher to try to touch the moon.

There are many more books that fall easily into the category of contemporary realistic fiction.

Including real life animal stories, hundreds of mysteries and sports stories, as well as humorous and adventuresome tales.

We can't possibly cover them all.

We would like to look at one more before we end, however.

This is Ira Sleeps Over by Bernard Waber.

Typically, it's narrated by a boy, Ira, and he's excited about going to his friend Reggie's house for the night.

There's one minor problem, and it's brought up by Ira's sister.

She asks if Ira will take his teddy bear Tah Tah to Reggie's house.

Ira is confused, but decides to go without his bear.

When he finds out that Reggie has one too with an equally silly name, Ira goes home, which is just next door, and gets his bear.

Learning that his friend has similar weaknesses helps Ira to deal with his insignificant but important problems.

Obviously, the real world can be a troublesome place to live in.

Reading about how others survive is often a lot of help.

And that's what these books may be able to offer.

The writer James Baldwin once described what he remembered about being a kid with a problem.

He wrote, "you think your pain and your heartbreak are unprecedented in the history of the world, but then you read.

It was books that taught me that the things that tormented me the most were the very things that connected me with all the people who were alive or who had ever been alive."

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