Vintage Fiction & Literature

The definition of vintage from Merriam- Webster states, “denoting something of high quality, especially something from the past or characteristic of the best period of a person’s work.” This means vintage is an older item that was designed or manufactured in its prime time. A real leather jacket from the 1940s would be considered vintage clothing. Dictionary.com offers several definitions of the word antique: “of or belonging to the past; not modern;” “dating from a period long ago;” and  “noting or pertaining to automobiles approximately 25 years old or more.” This means antique represents an item that is significantly older of date. It’s understandable why people interchange these two phrases so much, they seem very similar! However, certain items are differentiated between these definitions.

We've purposely used the word "vintage" for this section, and for our purposes are defining that as 50 years or older. As of 2024, that means we include books here from 1974 or before. We would describe books that were printed 100 years or more ago as antique and want to make it clear that you won't find many of those here (though you may find a few). 

Children's literature is said to have had a "Golden Age" starting in the 1860s and lasting until about WWI. It was during this time that perennial favorites like Alice in Wonderland, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Pinocchio, Treasure Island, and Tom Sawyer were published. The latter part of this period coincided with the establishment of Howard Pyle's "Brandywine School" of Illustration, out of which came such artists as N.C. Wyeth, Jessie Willcox Smith, Ethel Franklin Betts, Frank Schoonover, Edward A. Wilson, and numerous others. These artists in turn influenced further generations of illustrators. 

During this period and into the sixties, numerous collections of children's literature were published: Scribners Illustrated Library, Junior Deluxe Editions, Rainbow Classics, Windermere Series and Illustrated Junior Library were among them. Mystery series like Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twins proliferated. Anthology collections like Best In Children's Books, My Book House, Collier's Junior Classics, and the Children's Hour became popular. The Newbery and Caldecott Medals were established. And for adults, the Heritage Press volumes (which later became Easton/Franklin) filled many a spot in their libraries. There are, of course, many others, but these are the sorts of books you'll generally find in thus section.

We primarily offer copies in generally good condition here. They're usually hardcover but won't always (or even often) have their original dust jackets. We love to find a range of printings and illustrators, so sometimes you'll have a few options!

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189 Items found Print
Active Filters: 2nd grade (Ages 7-8)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn / Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Samuel Clemens
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
by Thornton W. Burgess, illustrated by Harrison Cady
1920 Printing from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Robin Hood / Pinocchio (adapted)
by Eleanor Graham Vance, illustrated by Jay Hyde Barnum
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold by Anne Terry White, illustrated by Helen Siegl
from California State Department of Education
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by W. Kirtman Plummer
1970 printing from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-3rd grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
All About Story Book
by Watty Piper (editor), illustrated by Symeon Shimin
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor; illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Follett Publishing Co.
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$34.00 (1 in stock)
Andersen's Fairy Tales / Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, Brothers Grimm
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Animal Stories
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Apple Blossoms and Other Stories
by Edmund Stanley and A. R. Taylor
from Scott, Foresman & Co.
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Arthur and the Super Chimp Contest
An I Can Read Book
by Lillian Hoban
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Arthur's Christmas Cookies
I Can Read! Level 2
by Lilian Hoban
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Atlantic Treasury of Childhood Stories
by Mary D. Huchinson Hodgkins (selector and editor), illustrated by Beatrice Stevens
from Atlantic Monthly Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Augustus Drives a Jeep
by Le Grand Henderson
from Hale-Cadmus
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag
by Louisa May Alcott
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Be Nice to Spiders
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Bears, Pirates and Silver Lace
by Anne B. Fisher; illustrated by Phil Nesbitt
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Becky and Her Brave Cat, Bluegrass
by Miriam E. Mason, illustrated by Robert MacLean
from Macmillan
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
Benito
by Clyde Robert Bulla, Illustrated by Valenti Angelo
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beno, the Riverburg Mayor
from Henry Holt and Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy and the Boys
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Betsy's Play School
by Carolyn Haywood, illustrated by James Griffin
from William Morrow & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Bible Stories for Young Readers
Junior Deluxe Editions
by April Oursler Armstrong, illustrated by Jules Gotlieb
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Binky Brothers and the Fearless Four
I Can Read books
by James Lawrence; illustrated by Leonard Kessler
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Call it Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
1963 printing from Macmillan
for 2nd-6th grade
1941 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Carmen of the Golden Coast
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Curious Critters
by Patricia Lauber, illustrated by Don Madden
from Garrard Publishing Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$36.00 (1 in stock)
Double Birthday Present
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
by P. C. Asbjornsen & Jorgen E. Moe, illustrated by Tom Vroman
from Macmillan
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
ECL: Sleeping Beauty and other Tales
by Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Wayne Brown
from Classic Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
Enchantment Tales for Children
by Margaret Evans Price (reteller & illustrator)
from Rand McNally
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Czechoslovakia
by Virginia Haviland, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Favorite Fairy Tales Told in Poland
by Virginia Haviland, illustrated by Felix Hoffman
from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Fireside Stories
by Veronica S. Hutchinson, illustrated by Lois Lenski
from Minton, Balch & CO.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Folk Tales of Latin America
by Shirlee Newman, illustrated by Dorothy Rosenwasser and J. Correas Flores
1st edition from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Follow That Ghost
by Dale Fife, illustrated by Joan Drescher
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
George the Babysitter
by Shirley Hughes
from Prentice Hall
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gift from the Mikado
by Elizabeth P. Fleming
from Westminster John Knox Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Name Day
by Jennie D. Lindquist, illustrated by Garth Williams
from HarperCollins
for 2nd-6th grade
1956 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends
by Anne Terry White; illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen
from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gollywhopper Egg
by Anne Rockwell
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Good Neighbors
by Diane Redfield Massie
from American Education Publications
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$11.00 (2 in stock)
Great Big Elephant & the Very Small Elephant
by Barbara Seuling
from Crown Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Great Brain Reforms
Great Brain #5
by John Dennis Fitzgerald
from Dell Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gregory, the Terrible Eater
by Mitchell Sharmat, illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Gus and the Baby Ghost
by Jane Thayer, illustrated by Seymour Fleishman
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Gus Loved His Happy Home
by Jane Thayer, illustrated by Seymour Fleishman
from Linnet Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Hans Brinker
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Hans Brinker
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Hans Brinker
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Hans Brinker
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Cyrus Le Roy Baldridge
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Jiri Trnka
5th Impression, 1965 from Paul Hamlyn
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hansi
by Ludwig Bemelmans
Ninth Printing 1969 from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill, illustrated by Decie Merwin
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Harry the Dirty Dog
by Gene Zion, illustrated by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Clara M. Burd
from John C. Winston
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hercules and Other Tales from Greek Myths
by Olivia Coolidge, illustrated by David Lockhart
from Scholastic Inc.
Greek Mythology for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
High Wind for Kansas
by Mary Calhoun, illustrated by W. T. Mars
from William Morrow & Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
How to Scare a Lion
by Dorothy Stephenson, illustrated by John E. Johnson
from Follett
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Iguana's Tail
by Sir Philip M. Sherlock, illustrated by Gioia Fiammenghi
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Impunity Jane
by Rumer Godden, illustrated by Adrienne Adams
from Viking Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Indian Hill
by Clyde Robert Bulla, illustrated by James Spanfeller
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Indian Sleep-Man Tales
by Bernice Anderson, illustrated by Sears Frank
from Bramhall House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Jiggy Likes Nantucket
by Jane Quigg, illustrated by Zhenya Gay
from Oxford University
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Joey Runs Away
by Jack Kent
from Prentice Hall
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
John Hancock
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Revolution
by Susan & John Lee, illustrated by Chuck Mitchell
from Children's Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in American Revolution (1765-1783) (Location: HISA-18REV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny-Up and Johnny-Down
by Mabel Leigh Hunt, Illustrated by Harold Berson
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Johnny-Up and Johnny-Down
by Mabel Leigh Hunt, Illustrated by Harold Berson
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Journey Cake, Ho!
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1954 Caldecott Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Junket
by Anne H. White, illustrated by Robert McCloskey
2nd printing from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
King of the Golden River
Rainbow Classics
by John Ruskin, illustrator
from World Publishing Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Kiya the Gull
by Fen H. Lasell
from Addison Wesley
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lassie Come-Home
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Eric Knight
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Letter on the Tree
by Natalie Savage Carlson, illustrated by John Kaufmann
from Harper & Row
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop
from Macmillan
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Light Princess
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Craig Yoe
from William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Anne of Canada
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Blacknose
by Hildegarde H. Swift, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
1930 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Dog Lost
Weekly Reader
by René Guillot, illustrated by Wallace Tripp
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Little Dutch Tulip Girl
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Erik of Sweden
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Farmer of the Middle West
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Greta of Denmark
Children of All Lands Stories
by Bernadine Bailey
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Indian Weaver
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Jeanne of France
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little John of New England
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Lame Prince
by Dinah Maria Craik, illustrated by Colleen Browning
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-5th grade
Little Lauri of Finland
Children of All Lands Stories
by Bernadine Bailey
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Maverick Cow
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Little Mexican Donkey Boy
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Pepito of Central America
Children of All Lands Stories
by Gladys Shaw Erskine
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Philippe of Belgium
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
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