Action & Adventure Stories

If pirates, jousting and horseback chases no longer appeal to you, you're too old or too boring. Adventure stories fell out of vogue among 20th century literary types who thought serious fiction had to be boring and depressing, but to those born with fire in their bones, adventure stories are deeply serious.

Not serious like existentialism or keeping a stiff upper lip, but serious like Robin Hood—devoted to protecting the downtrodden, committed to Maid Marian, sworn to fight injustice as long as a soul is in his body, always laughing and ready for a fight or a feast.

G. K. Chesterton wrote adventure stories because they best expressed the eternal joy that supported his generous frame. For those raised on Modern Adventure Stories, joy may seem an inappropriate word for an increasingly dark genre, but the fault lies with those who think adventures are forays into evil rather than romps with Gilbert Keith.

There's nothing evil about a good adventure. There may be bad guys (there ought to be), but if the Good Guy does his job there'll be more of his exploits to talk about than theirs. Because, should he be doing his job, the Hero will be sword-fighting, being clever, wooing, chasing and laughing to the detriment of his enemies on every page.

Average people don't have the adventures Heroes in Books have—they have the adventures of Modern Men in Books. But the way through the prosaic troubles of life isn't to immerse yourself in them, it's to let the Good Guys show The Way Out of Problems, and do your best to imitate them when you meet the less dramatic, but no less real, dangers of everyday existence.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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Parent Categories
Action & Adventure Stories
73 Items found Print
Active Filters: Realistic Fiction, 9th grade (Ages 14-15)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Puffin Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Books of Wonder
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Steven Kellogg
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 Paperback
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
1987 Printing from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Troy Howell
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
from International Collectors Library
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Norman Rockwell
from Heritage Press
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Puffin Classics
by Mark Twain
from Penguin Classics
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$10.00
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Books of Wonder
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Barry Moser
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Ted Lewin
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Kamil Lohták
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Worth Brehm
from Harper & Brothers
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer / Tom Sawyer Abroad / Tom Sawyer, Detective
by Mark Twain
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Al Capone Does My Shirts
by Gennifer Choldenko
Reprint from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
2005 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.99
Bert Breen's Barn
by Walter D. Edmonds
from Little, Brown & Company
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Brethren
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Call of the Wild
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Jack London
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Captains Courageous
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Lawrence Beall Smith
from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 5th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Captains Courageous
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Living Book Press
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
Carlota
by Scott O'Dell
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Realistic Fiction for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Classic Library: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by Mark Twain
from Smithmark Publishers
for 6th-10th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Door to the North
by Elizabeth Coatsworth
from Bethlehem Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Fiddler's Gun
by A. S. Peterson
1st edition from Rabbit Room Press
for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.99
Gift of the Golden Cup
by Isabelle Lawrence, illustrated by Charles V. John
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 7th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hans Brinker
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Hans Brinker
Windermere Readers #7
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Hans Brinker
Windermere Series 4
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Lost in the Barrens
by Farley Mowat
from Starfire
for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.99
Mysterious Edge of the Heroic World
by E. L. Konigsburg
1st edition from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Nine Man Tree
by Robert Newton Peck
from Random House
for 6th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Peter Duck
Swallows and Amazons #3
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.95
Rising Tide
by Jeff Shaara
from Ballantine Books
Historical Non-fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Daniel Defoe
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-12th grade
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Daughters and Seven Sons
by Barbara Cohen & Bahija Lovejoy
1st Beech Tree ed from HarperTeen
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Swallows and Amazons
by Arthur Ransome
from David R. Godine
Family stories/boating for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.95
Swallows and Amazons
Swallows and Amazons #1
by Arthur Ransome
from Overlook Press
Family stories/boating for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swallows and Amazons for Ever!
by Arthur Ransome
from Red Fox
Family stories/boating for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Swiss Family Robinson
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston and illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Stories/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss
New edition from Yearling
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann David Wyss, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swiss Family Robinson
Rainbow Classics
by Johann David Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston and illustrated by Jeanne Edwards
from World Publishing Company
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swiss Family Robinson
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston and illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swiss Family Robinson
Children's Classics
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swiss Family Robinson
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston and illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swiss Family Robinson
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston and illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Stories/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss, illustrated by Louis Rhead
200th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Stories/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss, Illustrated by T.H. Robinson
from Barnes & Noble
for 4th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Swiss Family Robinson
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston and illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-9th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Swiss Family Robinson
Everyman Children's Classics
by Johann Wyss, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Stories/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss, illustrated by David Gentleman
from Heritage Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss
ca 1920 from Hurst Publishing
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss, translated by Mary Godwin, introduction and notes by John Seelye
from Penguin Classics
for 5th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$15.00
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss
New edition from Signet Classics
for 5th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.99
Swiss Family Robinson
by Johann Wyss, translated by David Clarke and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Readers #9
by Johann Wyss, frontispiece by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 1
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 2
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
1921 Printing from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 3
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 4
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Theft of the Golden Ring
by Isabelle Lawrence, illustrated by Charles V. John
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 7th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Treasure Island
Whole Story Series
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Francois Place
from Viking Press
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
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
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric P. Kelly, illustrated by Angela Pruszynska
from Macmillan
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Winter Room
by Gary Paulsen
from Scholastic Press
Action/Adventure for 6th-9th grade
1990 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.39