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
112 Items found Print
Active Filters: 9th grade (Ages 14-15), Used Books & Materials
Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
Hornblower Series #11
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Robin Hood
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Paul Creswick, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
1991 Edition from Reader's Digest
for 6th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (3 in stock)
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 Kamil Lohták
from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne, George M. Towle (Translator)
from Bantam Books
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$5.95 $3.00 (1 in stock)
Black Falcon
by Armstrong Sperry
from John C. Winston
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Black Rose
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Black Star, Bright Dawn
by Scott O'Dell
from Fawcett Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$1.50 (1 in stock)
Black Star, Bright Dawn
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Blue at the Mizzen
Aubrey/Maturin #20
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
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
Dover Thrift Editions
by Jack London
from Dover Publications
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$3.00 $2.00 (1 in stock)
Call of the Wild
by Jack London, Michael Clay Thompson
from Royal Fireworks Press
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts (Location: GRA-MCT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Camelot
by Jane Yolen
First Edition from Philomel Books
for 6th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Chasing Vermeer
by Blue Balliett
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Chokra and Tags
by John Michael
from Macmillan
for 6th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Adventures
by Sir H. Rider Haggard
from New Orchard Editions
for 8th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Commodore Hornblower
by C. S. Forester
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 9th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Cry From Egypt
by Hope Auer
from Great Waters Press
for 4th-9th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.50 (2 in stock)
Crying for a Vision
by Walter Wangerin Jr.
from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case
A Hercule Poirot Mystery #39
by Agatha Christie
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Darkness and the Dawn
by Thomas B. Costain
from Doubleday & Company
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Door in the Dragon's Throat
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #1
by Frank Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
ECL: Call of the Wild
Educator Classic Library #11
by Jack London, illustrated by Ron King
Complete and Unabridged Edition from Classic Press
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Endurance
by Alfred Lansing
from Tyndale House
for 9th-Adult
in 20th Century Exploration (Location: HISW-20EXP)
$16.99 $9.00 (1 in stock)
Escape from the Island of Aquarius
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #2
by Frank Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Flames of Rome
by Paul L. Maier
2nd edition from Kregel Publications
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$15.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Fortune of War
Aubrey/Maturin #6
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Gods and Generals
by Jeff Shaara
from Ballantine Books
Historical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Ocean
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$7.50 (2 in stock)
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)
Horse and His Boy
Chronicles of Narnia Book 3
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Horse and His Boy
Chronicles of Narnia Book 3
by Lewis, C. S.
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.99 $7.00 (4 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)
If We Survive
by Andrew Klavan
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 8th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Invaders
by John A. Flanagan
1st edition from Philomel Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (3 in stock)
Journey to the Center of the Earth
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Edouard Riou
from Dover Publications
Science Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$2.00 (6 in stock)
Jungle Books
Macmillan Classics
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Robert Shore
from Macmillan
Animal Stories for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Kidnapped
Windermere Readers #17
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated in color by Milo Winter & b/w by Paul Strayer
1954 edition from Rand McNally
for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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)
$8.99 $5.00 (5 in stock)
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)
$2.50 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Last Battle RUC
Chronicles of Narnia Book 7
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
1956 Carnegie Medal
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Life and Times of Horatio Hornblower
by C. S. Forester (based on the works of), C. Northcote Parkinson
from Sutton Publishing
for 9th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Lord Hornblower
by C. S. Forester
from Little, Brown & Company
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Lorna Doone (adapted)
by R. D. Blackmore, adapted by Jordan, Berglund & Washburne, illustrated by Alexander Key
Reprint from Scott, Foresman & Co.
for 7th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Lysbeth
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Master and Commander
Aubrey/Maturin #1
by Patrick O'Brian
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Midshipman Bolitho
by Alexander Kent
from McBooks Press
for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
by Ransom Riggs
Reprint from Quirk Books
for 7th-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Mockingjay
by Suzanne Collins
1st edition from Scholastic Press
for 7th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Pearl Maiden
by H. Rider Haggard
from Christian Liberty Press
Historical Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$16.75 $9.00 (2 in stock)
Prince and the Pauper
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Frank Merrill
from Reader's Digest
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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
1972 Printing from Collier Books
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine
by Mark Twain & Philip Stead
First Edition from Doubleday Book For Young Readers
for 4th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Red Badge of Courage
Puffin Classics
by Stephen Crane
from Puffin Books
for 7th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Riders of the Purple Sage
by Zane Grey
from Oxford University
Westerns for 8th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Robin Hood
by Henry Gilbert, illustrated by Frances Brundage
from Saalfield Publishing Co.
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Heritage Press
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Romance of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table (abridged)
by Sir Thomas Mallory, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Weathervane Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Scorpion
Tumbleweed Series
by Will James
from Mountain Press
for 8th-Adult
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Scottish Chiefs
by Jane Porter, edited by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 8th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Seek the Dark Gold
Land of the Free series
by Jo Evalin Lundy, illustrated by Edward Shenton
from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (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)
Shadow Puppets
by Orson Scott Card
1st edition from Tor Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea
by Gary Kinder
from Vintage Classics
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Silver Chair
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Silver Chair
by C. S. Lewis, illustrated by Pauline Baynes
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Silver Chair
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from Collier Books
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$3.00 (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)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Song of Hiawatha
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, illustrated by Frederic Remington
from Bounty Books
for 7th-Adult
in Poetry (Location: POET-GEN)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of Robin Hood & His Merry Men
"In Days of Old" series
by Henry Gilbert, illustrated by Walter Crane
from T.C. & E.C. Jack
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of the Old Dominion
by John Esten Cooke
from American Foundation Publications
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Story of King Arthur and His Knights & The Story of the Champions of the Round Table
by Howard Pyle
3rd Print from Fall River Press
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Submarine Spy
Mike Danford Adventure Series #01
by Arnold Ytreeide
from Jericho Quill Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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
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)
Tale of Troy
Puffin Classics
by Roger Green
from Puffin Books
Greek Mythology for 6th-9th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Tales of Mystery and Terror
Puffin Classics
by Edgar Allan Poe
from Puffin Books
Mystery/Horror for 8th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$7.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Tales of Real Survival
Usborne Reader's Library
by Paul Dowswell
from Usborne
for 6th-12th grade
in Modern History (Location: HISW-MOD)
$5.40 (1 in stock)
Three Musketeers
Windermere Readers #20
by Alexandre Dumas, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Tom Sawyer Abroad and Other Stories
by Mark Twain
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Tombs of Anak
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #3
by Frank Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Tracking Bigfoot
Mike Danford Adventure Series #02
by Arnold Ytreeide
from Jericho Quill Press
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Trails Plowed Under
by Charles M. Russell
from Doubleday & Company
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Trapped at the Bottom of the Sea
The Cooper Kids Adventure Series #4
by Frank Peretti
from Crossway Books
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price
from Grosset & Dunlap
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
Deluxe from Atheneum
for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by William Sharp
from Grosset & Dunlap
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by John Lawrence
from Candlewick Press
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Norman Price
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 5th-10th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated with stills from 1934 MGM film
from Grosset & Dunlap
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson, Michael Clay Thompson
from Royal Fireworks Press
Action/Adventure for 5th-9th grade
in Michael Clay Thompson Language Arts (Location: GRA-MCT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Treasure Island
Windermere Readers #16
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 5th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
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