Focus on Genre: Personal Narrative

A personal narrative is nonfiction. It tells about a certain event in the life of a real person. The writer is also the narrator, or the person who tells the story.

Notice how the narrator compares two important things in her life.

Some days I still get homesick for Cuba, with its warm sea breezes and its mango trees. I live in Georgia now, far from the sea. There is winter here, when the days are short and cold. There is only one tree in my yard—a magnolia tree.

Illustration of Carmen looking up at a tree with both flowers (magnolias) and fruit (mangoes) on it.
Your Job as a Reader: Reading Strategy: Plan Your Reading

As you read, make and check your predictions.

YOU PREDICT

This story is about growing things.

THEN YOU READ

There is only one tree in my yard.

SO YOU DECIDE

The story is about that tree.

My prediction seems right.