Realistic fiction offers students the opportunity to learn about people and cultures from around the world. The web provides the connection between students and people from around the world. Using these two resources, lessons can be created that engage and challenge your students to read more and with greater understanding. We will share classroom examples of books used with students and how we connected fiction to the real world. We will focus on literature appropriate for grade 5 - 9. The concepts can be adapted for all grades.