Caleb's Reviews

C. Hollis Crossman, who was raised by wolves, wrote a staggering amount for the website during his first stint at Exodus Books, writing most of the curriculum overviews and category intro essays, along with reviewing 700+ unique titles. Below you'll find links to his book reviews; this link will take you to an incomplete list of the category descriptions.

As our used book buyer and product reviewer for eight years, Caleb did much to shape the character of the store. He left Exodus in December 2014 for contract work on behalf of the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, where he researched and wrote about open source software. He also pursued graduate studies in theology.

In March 2017, an array of unforeseen circumstances brought C. Hollis back to Exodus Books as we prepared for an intended move, then shifted towards a close later that year; although we reopened, he had moved on. Again in August 2021, he came back for a short stint, before moving his family out of our crazy state. He remains dearly missed in our day-to-day work; however, we keep in contact and plan to continue having him write reviews and essays for us on an occasional basis.

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Caleb's Reviews
48 Items found Print
Active Filters: 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Mass market paperback
Adam of the Road
Puffin Newbery Library
by Elizabeth Gray
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1943 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Penguin Classics
by Lewis Carroll
from Penguin Classics
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$11.00
Amos Fortune, Free Man
by Elizabeth Yates, illustrated by Nora S. Unwin
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1951 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1984 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39
Frankenstein
Dover Thrift Editions
by Mary Shelley
from Dover Publications
for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$6.00
Giver
by Lois Lowry
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$11.99
Hitty
by Rachel Field
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Personification story for 4th-8th grade
1930 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Invisible Man
by H. G. Wells
from Signet Classics
Science Fiction for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
Anv from Sandpiper Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
It's Like This, Cat
by Emily Neville
from Dover Publications
for 7th-9th grade
1964 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.95
Jacob Have I Loved
by Katherine Paterson
from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 7th-10th grade
1981 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Johnny Tremain
by Esther Forbes
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
1944 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 7th-10th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99
Jungle Books
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Signet Classics
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
King Solomon's Mines
by H. Rider Haggard
from Dover Publications
Adventure for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.00
M. C. Higgins, the Great
by Virginia Hamilton
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 6th-10th grade
1975 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Maniac Magee
by Jerry Spinelli
from Little, Brown & Company
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1991 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
1996 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Missing May
by Cynthia Rylant
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
1993 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Once and Future King
by T. H. White
from ACE Publishing
for 7th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Onion John
by Joseph Krumgold
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
1960 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Painless Writing
by Jeffrey Strausser
2nd edition from Barron's
for 6th-10th grade
in Writing Instruction (Location: WRI-INS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster
from Yearling
Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jules Feiffer, appreciation by Maurice Sendak
from Random House
Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Rifles for Watie
by Harold Keith
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1958 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
Puffin Modern Classics
by Mildred Taylor
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1977 Newbery Medal winner
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Roller Skates
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ruth Sawyer
from Puffin Books
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Roller Skates
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ruth Sawyer
from Yearling
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Shadow of a Bull
by Maia Wojciechowska
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1965 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Shiloh
Shiloh #1
by Phyllis R. Naylor
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 5th-8th grade
1992 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$8.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Single Shard
by Linda Sue Park
from Sandpiper Books
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
2002 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
1970 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $4.00 (2 in stock)
Summer of the Swans
by Betsy Byars
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1971 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Time Machine
by H. G. Wells
from Signet Classics
Science Fiction/Dystopian Literature for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95
Treasure Island
by Sir Robert Louis Stevenson
from Bantam Books
for 6th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.95
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric P. Kelly
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Up a Road Slowly
by Irene Hunt
from Berkley Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1967 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.99
Walk Two Moons
by Sharon Creech
from HarperCollins
for 7th-10th grade
1995 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Westing Game
Puffin Modern Classics
by Ellen Raskin
from Puffin Books
Mystery/Suspense for 5th-8th grade
1979 Newbery Medal winner
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Wheel on the School
by Meindert DeJong
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Wheel on the School
by Meindert DeJong
from Inheritance Publications
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$21.90
Whipping Boy
by Sid Fleischman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1987 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.99 $3.00 (3 in stock)
Witch of Blackbird Pond
by Elizabeth George Speare
Reissue from Sandpiper Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1959 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$9.99
Yearling
by Marjorie Rawlings
from Simon Pulse
Realistic Animal Stories for 6th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$9.99
Young Fu of the Upper Yangtze
by Elizabeth Foreman Lewis, illustrated by William Low
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1933 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99