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.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Action & Adventure Stories
149 Items found Print
Active Filters: Realistic Fiction, 4th grade (Ages 9-10)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Donald McKay
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alexi's Secret Mission
by Anita Deyneka
from School of Tomorrow
for 1st-4th grade
in Clearance: Fiction (Location: ZCLE-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Banner in the Sky
by James Ramsey Ullman
from HarperCollins
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Banner in the Sky
by James Ramsey Ullman
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1955 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Big Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Holiday House
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Big Red
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Jim Kjelgaard, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Big Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Holiday House
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$15.29
Big Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Holiday House
for 4th-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Big Red
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Jim Kjelgaard, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Beauty
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Black Stallion
by Walter Farley
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Black Stallion
by Walter Farley
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Buddy's Crazy True-Life Adventures
Buddy Davis Amazing Adventures
by Buddy Davis
from Answers in Genesis
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Buffalo Knife
from Clarion Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
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)
$7.64
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Kate Seredy
Book Club Edition from Macmillan
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$16.99
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Kate Seredy
1st edition, from Macmillan
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
1936 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Caddie Woodlawn's Family
by Carol Ryrie Brink
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Realistic Family Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64
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)
$5.94
Call it Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
1941 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$1.60 (1 in stock)
Call it Courage
by Armstrong Sperry
from Simon Pulse
for 4th-6th grade
1941 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Camel Caravan
by Arthur Catherall, illustrated by Joseph Papin
from Seabury Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Cay
by Theodore Taylor
from Yearling
Realistic Fiction for 2nd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Conquista!
by Clyde Robert Bulla, Michael Syson
1st edition from Thomas Crowell
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Drumbeats in Williamsburg
by Isabelle Lawrence
from Rand McNally
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
ECL: Jungle Book
Educators Classic Library #5
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by William Dempster
from Classic Press
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
Edward Eager's Tales of Magic
by Edward M. Eager
from Harcourt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
El Guero
by Elizabeth Borton de Treviño
from Hampton-Brown
Historical Fiction for 3rd-7th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Emil and the Detectives
by Erich Kästner
1st edition from Barnes & Noble
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Frightful's Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
from Puffin Books
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.49
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)
$7.64
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E.L. Konigsburg
37th printing from Atheneum
for 4th-6th grade
1968 Newbery Medal Winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
by E. L. Konigsburg
35th Anniversary Edition from Atheneum
Mystery/Suspense for 4th-7th grade
1968 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Gaudenzia, Pride of the Palio
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Lynd Ward
Reissue from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$7.64
General Butterfingers
by John Reynolds Gardiner
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.76 $3.60 (2 in stock)
Gentle Ben
by Walt Morey
from Puffin Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.79
Girl Named Disaster
by Nancy Farmer
First Printing Dec.2011 from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Goblet
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1962 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Gone Crazy in Alabama
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
Coretta Scott King Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$7.64
Guts
by Gary Paulsen
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$8.00 (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)
Harriet the Spy, Double Agent
by Maya Gold (based on Louise Fitzhugh)
Reprint from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.94
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-8th grade
1988 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.64 $3.60 (1 in stock)
Hatchet
by Gary Paulsen
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
1988 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Hold Fast
by Blue Balliett
Reprint from Scholastic Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Hoot
by Carl Hiaasen
from Ember
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Hoot
by Carl Hiaasen
from Yearling
for 4th-6th grade
2003 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
I Am David
by Anne Holm
from Harcourt
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Indian Captive
by Lois Lenski
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction for 4th-9th grade
1942 Newbery Honor Book
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Irish Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Yearling
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.79
It's a Jungle Out There!
Rani Adventures #1
by Ron Snell
from Hannibal Books
for 4th-8th Grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Julie
"Julie" Trilogy Book 2
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Julie
"Julie" Trilogy Book 2
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.79
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Julie of the Wolves
"Julie" Trilogy Book 1
by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by John Schoenherr
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
1973 Newbery Medal winner
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Julie's Wolf Pack
"Julie" Trilogy Book 3
by Jean Craighead George
from HarperCollins
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Julie's Wolf Pack
by Jean Craighead George
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Jungle Book
Whole Story Series
by Rudyard Kipling
from Viking Press
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
Puffin Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Puffin Books
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.64
Jungle Book
Sterling Classics
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Jungle Book
Books of Wonder
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Earl Mayan
from Grosset & Dunlap
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
Calla Editions
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Maurice and Edward Detmold
from Dover Publications
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Nicola Bayley
from Candlewick Press
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Jungle Book
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Eric Kincaid
from Brimax Books
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Jungle Book (Permabound)
Books of Wonder
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
from William Morrow & Company
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Jungle Books
Signet Classics
by Rudyard Kipling
from Signet Classics
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.06
Kaya and Lone Dog
American Girl: Kaya #4
by Janet Shaw
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Kaya's Hero
American Girl
by Janet Shaw
from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Kensuke's Kingdom
by Michael Morpurgo
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.09 $2.40 (1 in stock)
Kings Mountain
by G. Clifton Wisler
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Landslide!
by Veronique Day; illustrated by Margot Tomes, translated by Margaret Morgan
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Long Secret
Harriet the Spy
by Louise Fitzhugh
Reprint from Yearling
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.94
Lost On A Mountain In Maine
by Donn Fendler
from Beech Tree Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.49 $3.60 (2 in stock)
Meet Kaya
American Girl
by Janet Shaw
1st edition from American Girl
for 2nd-5th grade
in American Girl (Location: SER-AMGIRL)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Moccasin Trail
Puffin Newbery Library
by Eloise J. McGraw
from Puffin Books
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.64 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Moccasin Trail
by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$1.20 (1 in stock)
Moccasin Trail
Puffin Newbery Library
by Eloise J. McGraw
9th impression from Coward McCann
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$28.00 (1 in stock)
My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
from Puffin Books
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
1960 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.64
My Side of the Mountain Series
by Jean Craighead George
from Puffin Books
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$23.77
Night Journey
by Kathryn Lasky
from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
On the Edge of the Fjord
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.19
On the Far Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
from Puffin Books
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.64
On the Far Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George
from Dutton Children's Books
Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
One Crazy Summer
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
2011 Newbery Honor Book, National Book Award, Coretta Scott King Award, Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Outlaw Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Yearling
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Outlaw Red
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Jim Kjelgaard
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Outlaw Red
by Jim Kjelgaard
1986 printing from Bantam-Skylark
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
P.S. Be Eleven
by Rita Williams-Garcia
Reprint from Amistad Press
for 4th-7th grade
Coretta Scott King Award
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.49
Peak
by Roland Smith
1st edition from Harcourt Children's Books
for 4th-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.49
Pelts & Promises
by Nancy Lohr
from Bob Jones University Press
for 2nd-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Prisoners in the Snow
by Arthur Catherall
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Puppies, Dogs, and Blue Northers
by Gary Paulsen
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
Red Sails to Capri
by Ann Weil
from Puffin Books
for 4th-8th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$5.94
12