ABSTRACT
This chapter explores those books and materials for children sometimes referred to as ‘genre fiction’. I include in these genres detective and mystery stories, science fiction, ghost and horror stories and have looked too at cartoon and graphic stories. All the texts gathered here have readily recognizable structures, events, characters and settings. Some are ‘popular culture’ texts, which link children’s literacy experiences at home and school; others, like the science fiction stories of H.G. Wells, have become classics. The illustrations in these texts, now often digital artwork, generally have distinctive, recognizable qualities which help identify them with the genre or sub-genre. I also look at some of the different formats used, including comic strip and moving image media.
