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Agrarian Fantasy, Amnesia and Memory Loss Fiction, and Hockey Romance are three of the “Trending Micro Genres” Audible recently identified in an email blast to members. The idea of a Micro Genre got me thinking differently about the books that have been popular in my 5th grade classroom in the first month of school.
As a part of #classroombookaday (the amazing ritual of reading aloud a picture book every day), I have stumbled into these Micro Genres:
UNIQUE RESPONSE TO A PROBLEM
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
What Do You Do With a Problem? by Kobi Yamada
HUMOROUS NONFICTION
It’s All About Me-Ow by Hudson Talbot
The Disgusting Critters series by Elise Gravel
SAD BOOKS THAT END HAPPY
City Dog Country Frog by Mo Willems
Grandpa Green by Lane Smith
When I look at the books students have chosen for independent reading, these Micro Genres have appeared:
MYTHOLOGY GRAPHIC NOVELS (really a format and not a genre, but let's go with it)
George O’Connor Olympians series
REALISTIC FICTION/MEMOIR GRAPHIC NOVELS (another format, but students are starting to learn that every genre can be found in this most favorite of all formats!)
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
El Deafo by CeCe Bell
SURPRISING TRUE STORIES (biography and autobiography, but also historical fiction, because of that kernel of truth)
Growing Up Pedro by Matt Tavares
Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka
Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
When I was in middle school, my favorite Micro Genre was BOOKS THAT MAKE ME CRY. I read Love Story, Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grow, and Little Britches over and over and over again. Stretched out on my bed on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I could re-read one of those books between lunch and dinner, and I relish the tears rolling down my cheeks and into my ears as I read the saddest parts.
MYTHOLOGY GRAPHIC NOVELS (really a format and not a genre, but let's go with it)
George O’Connor Olympians series
REALISTIC FICTION/MEMOIR GRAPHIC NOVELS (another format, but students are starting to learn that every genre can be found in this most favorite of all formats!)
Ghosts by Raina Telgemeier
Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson
El Deafo by CeCe Bell
SURPRISING TRUE STORIES (biography and autobiography, but also historical fiction, because of that kernel of truth)
Growing Up Pedro by Matt Tavares
Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka
Stella by Starlight by Sharon Draper
The Friendship Doll by Kirby Larson
I’m realizing that when I have conversations with my students about genre, it will be important to help them stretch their definitions from the traditional but limited ways of looking at genre and format, help them to come up with narrower and more specific ways to think about categorizing stories, and help them identify the Micro Genres that will compel them to read and re-read.
What is (or was) YOUR favorite micro genre?
