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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Action & Adventure Stories
110 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Hardcover
"Why" Stories
by Edward W. Dolch & Marguerite P. Dolch
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
Adventures of Tommy Blake
by Brother Ernest
from St. Anthony Guild Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Alexi's Secret Mission
by Anita Deyneka
from School of Tomorrow
for 1st-4th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
All the Mowgli Stories
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Richard M. Powers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Arthur, High King of Britain
by Michael Morpurgo
from Harcourt
for 2nd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Big Kerplop!
by Bertrand R. Brinley, illustrated by Charles Geer
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$18.95
Bill Bergson Master Detective
by Astrid Lindgren
from Viking Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Occident
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$23.79
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Orient
by Richard Halliburton
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-12th grade
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$23.79
Brownie Scouts and Their Tree House
by MIldred A. Wirt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Series (Location: VIN-SER)
Brownie Scouts at Silver Beach
Brownie Scouts
by MIldred A. Wirt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Series (Location: VIN-SER)
Brownie Scouts at Snow Valley
by MIldred A. Wirt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Brownie Scouts at Windmill Farm
by MIldred A. Wirt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Series (Location: VIN-SER)
Brownie Scouts in the Cherry Festival
by MIldred A. Wirt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Series (Location: VIN-SER)
Brownie Scouts in the Circus
by MIldred A. Wirt
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Caddie Woodlawn
by Carol Ryrie Brink, illustrated by Kate Seredy
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)
$19.99
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)
Candymakers and the Great Chocolate Chase
by Wendy Mass
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.99
Canterbury Tales
by Barbara Cohen & Trina Schart Hyman
from William Morrow & Company
Medieval Literature for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$17.50 (1 in stock)
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang
by Ian Fleming
from Random House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Cowboy Boots
by Shannon Garst
from Abingdon-Cokesbury Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Danger on Shadow Mountain
by Marian Rumsey, Illustrated by Lydia Rosier
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Dangerous Journey
by Oliver Hunkin (abridger)
from Eerdmans
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$25.00
Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint
by Jay Williams & Raymond Abrashkin; illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine
by Jay Williams & Raymond Abrashkin, Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Danny Dunn and the Swamp Monster
by Jay Williams & Raymond Abrashkin; illustrated by Paul Sagsoorian
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Doctor Dolittle's Zoo
Doctor Dolittle #6
by Hugh Lofting
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
ECL: Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Don Irwin
for 3rd-8th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
ECL: Pinocchio
Educator Classic Library #3
by Carlo Collodi, translated by Joseph Walker and illustrated by William Dempster
Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
ECL: Swiss Family Robinson (abridged)
Educator Classic Library #4
by Johann Wyss, translated by William H. G. Kingston and illustrated by Don Irwin
from Classic Press
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
ECL: Virginian
Educator Classic Library #6
by Owen Wister, illustrated by Don Irwin
Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Edward and the Pirates
by David McPhail
from Little, Brown & Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Ember Rising
by S.D. Smith
from Story Warren Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Eyewitness Classics: Robin Hood
by Neil Philip
1st American ed from DK Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Hidden Peril
from Cupples & Leon
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Horse and His Boy
by C. S. Lewis
Reprint from HarperCollins
for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Horse and His Boy
Chronicles of Narnia Book 5
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Into the Jungle
by Katherine Rundell, Illustrated by Kristjana S. Williams
from Walker Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$24.99
Island of Adventure
Adventure #1
by Enid Blyton
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Jerry Todd and the Oak Island Treasure
Jerry Todd #03
by Leo Edwards, illustrated by Bert Salg
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Overlook Press
for 2nd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Just So Stories
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Safaya Salter
from Henry Holt and Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Kidnapped
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tom O'Sullivan
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Kidnapped
Rainbow Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by C. B. Falls
from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Sir Thomas Malory, edited by Sidney Lanier and illustrated by Florian
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Lancelot
by Christine Chaundler
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 3rd-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Last Battle
Chronicles of Narnia Book 7
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Legend of King Arthur
by Retold by Robin Lister, Illustrated by Alan Baker
from Kingfisher
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Magician's Nephew
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Magician's Nephew
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote
by Marcia Williams (adapted from Miguel de Cervantes)
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Miss Pickerell on the Trail
by Ellen MacGregor and Dora Pantell, Illustrated by Charles Geer
from McGraw-Hill
for 2nd-5th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Mistmantle Chronicles Book 1
by M. I. McAllister
from Hyperion/Madison Press
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Mistmantle Chronicles Book 5
by M. I. McAllister
from Hyperion/Madison Press
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game
Mr. Lemoncello's Library #4
by Chris Grabenstein
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game
Mr. Lemoncello's Library #4
by Chris Grabenstein
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
by Chris Grabenstein
1st edition from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
New Adventures of the Mad Scientists’ Club
by Bertrand R. Brinley, illustrated by Charles Geer
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$18.95
New York's Bravest
by Mary Pope Osborne
First Edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Pagemaster
by David Kirschner, Ernie Contreras
from Turner Publishing, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Peter Pan (abridged)
by J. M. Barrie, abridged by Vic Parker and illustrated by Claudia Venturini
from Viking Press
Fantasy for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Pilgrim's Progress (adapted)
by Written by Anna Trimiew, illustrated by Drew Rose
from Great Commission Publications
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 1st-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Pilgrim's Progress (retold)
by Written by Tim Dowley, Illustrated by Steve Smallman
from Candle Books
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 1st-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Prince Caspian
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Prince Caspian
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Prince Caspian
Chronicles of Narnia Book 2
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Robin Hood and His Merry Men
by Jane Louise Curry, illustrated by John Lytle
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Robinson Crusoe Written Anew for Children
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-4th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Rocky Point Campers
by Jane Rietveld
from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Sailor's Choice
by Natalie Savage Carlson
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Saturdays at Sea
Tuesdays at the Tower #5
by Jessica Day George
Reprint from Bloomsbury Publishing
for 2nd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99
Secret Journey of the Silver Reindeer
by Lee Kingman, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
by J. C. Mardrus (French rendering from the Arabic), translated by E. Powys Mathers and illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Heritage Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor
by John Yeoman (reteller), illustrated by Quentin Blake
from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Ship's Boy with Magellan
by Milton Lomask, illustrated by William Plummer
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Shirley Temple Edition of Captain January & The Little Colonel
by Laura E. Richards and Annie Fellows Johnston
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Silver Chair
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from Macmillan
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Spy Who Came in from the Sea
by Peggy Nolan
from Pineapple Press
Adventure Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$14.95
Swampfire
by Patricia Cecil Hass, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Swiss Twins
by Lucy Fitch Perkins
from Walker and Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (abridged)
by J. Walker McSpadden, Abridged by Christopher Stella, Illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt
from Courage Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
The Rescuers
by Margery Sharp
from New York Review of Books
for 3rd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Tim All Alone
by Edward Ardizzone
from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
1956 Kate Greenaway Medal
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Tintin 3-in-1 Complete Collection
by Herge
from Little, Brown & Company
Comic Book for 2nd-6th grade
in Adventures of Tintin (Location: COM-TIN)
$156.73
Toby Man
by Dick King-Smith
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Toby Tyler or, Ten Weeks with a Circus
by James Otis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Tom Swift and His Air Scout
Tom Swift #22 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout
Tom Swift #5 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Electronic Retroscope
Tom Swift Jr. #14
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Flying Lab
Tom Swift Jr. #1
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Jetmarine
Tom Swift Jr. #2
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Tom Swift and His Jetmarine
Tom Swift Jr. #2
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Tom Swift and His Sky Racer
Tom Swift #9 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Tom Swift and His Wireless Message
Tom Swift #6 (original series)
by Victor Appleton II
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Tom Swift (Location: VIN-SER)
Triple-Threat Patrol
Junior Literary Guild
by Kenneth Gilbert, illustrated by Ernest Norling
from Henry Holt and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Trixie Belden #13
by Kathryn Kenney
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 3rd-5th grade
in Trixie Belden Mysteries (Location: SER-TRIX)
True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi
from Orchard Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Tunnel of Hugsy Goode
by Eleanor Estes, Illustrated by Edward Ardizzone
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Two for Survival
by Arthur Roth
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
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