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
49 Items found Print
Active Filters: 5th grade (Ages 10-11), 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
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon Pulse
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99
Call it Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
1941 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.99 $3.00 (2 in stock)
Cat Who Went to Heaven
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Eastern Fairy Tale for 3rd-6th grade
1931 Newbery Medal winner
$6.99 $4.00 (3 in stock)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. White
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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
Door in the Wall
by Marguerite de Angeli
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
1950 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.99
Fantastic Mr. Fox
by Roald Dahl
from Puffin Books
Animal Fantasy for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Gathering of Days
by Joan Blos
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Historical Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1980 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.99
Grey King
Dark Is Rising Sequence #4
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1976 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Grey King
Dark Is Rising Sequence #4
by Susan Cooper
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1976 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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
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)
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
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 of the Wind
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Wesley Dennis
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-7th grade
1949 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.39
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)
Miss Hickory
by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
from Puffin Books
Personification story for 3rd-7th grade
1947 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$2.50 (3 in stock)
Missing May
by Cynthia Rylant
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
1993 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
by Robert O'Brien; illustrated by Zena Bernstein
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Animal Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
1972 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
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)
Rabbit Hill
Puffin Newbery Library
by Robert Lawson
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.99
Rabbit Hill
Puffin Modern Classics
by Robert Lawson
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-6th grade
1945 Newbery Medal winner
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
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)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
by Patricia MacLachlan
30th Anniversary from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
1986 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $3.50 (1 in stock)
Secret of the Andes
Puffin Newbery Library
by Ann Nolan Clark
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-7th grade
1953 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $4.00 (2 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
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)
Strawberry Girl
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Realistic fiction for 4th-6th grade
1946 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
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)
The Crossover
by Kwame Alexander
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 5th-7th grade
2015 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Thimble Summer
by Elizabeth Enright
from Square Fish Publishing
Realistic Fiction for 4th-6th grade
1939 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.99 $5.00 (2 in stock)
Twenty-One Balloons
by William Pene du Bois
from Puffin Books
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
1948 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$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)
White Stag
Puffin Newbery Library
by Kate Seredy
from Puffin Books
Heroic Legend for 4th-6th grade
1938 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.99 $3.00 (1 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
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