My Account Wish List Shopping Cart Log In
Store Location

Adapted or Abridged

So, first question: what exactly is the difference between "abridged" and "adapted"? They're similar in concept, but it's a straight-forward answer. If it's just shortened, but all the language is from the original, that's an abridgment. An adaptation is not merely abridged, but has been rewritten in different (often age-appropriate) language. 

We have a love-hate relationship with these sorts of books. While we don't generally encourage the reading of abridged editions, we do understand that some parents want to expose their kids to great stories before they're old enough to read the real thing. Sometimes, these can be brilliantly retold, good enough to be considered literature in their own right, and authors like Rosemary Sutcliff, Alfred Church, and Padraic Colum spent most of their careers creating books like this. William Shakespeare's plays have also often been adapted by authors like Charles & Mary Lamb or E. Nesbit. Because they don't usually have the same title as the originals, we often don't label them as adapted or abridged in our database entries; if they do share the title, we'll list it as "retold".

Many adapted books of today are NOT these books, often hastily-rewritten, mass-produced adaptations that really oughtn't use the title of the original. Sure, the main plot points are there, but classics are more than just bare bones plots; part of what makes a book great is the quality of the author's expression, the wit and grace he or she uses to tell their tale. An abridged or heavily edited version almost always demolishes the poetry of the original and presents classic stories as simple bullet-point collections of incidents. For us, if the book does not clearly state the name of the editor/adapter, we'll generally avoid carrying it.

That said, if you intend to have your kids read the original later on, these could provide a decent introduction to provide some familiarity before jumping into Great Expectations or The Iliad. Sometimes reading the classics can be confusing during the first few encounters, and having some knowledge of the general plot, characters, and theme beforehand can be useful (though remember that, in an adaptation, you're getting the editor's interpretation of the theme rather than the theme itself).

Abridgements can be a bit tricky, because they're not always labeled as such. Some huge books, like Les Misérables or Count of Monte Cristo, bear some cutting here and there and a good abridgement makes them more accessible. For others, like Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels, some publishers have elected to make editorial cuts that they chose not to declare as abridgments, but they're not the full originals. We do our best to make these cuts obvious (see a list here).

With all that said, most of the abridged and adapted classics we have in stock are listed below. Some of them are valuable for their illustrations alone (particularly the Little Unicorn books, with full-color pictures by the Brothers Hildebrandt) or their value as collector's items, but we would encourage you not to consider these your final exposure to the titles. There are riches that await!

Introduction by Eli Evans, with C. Hollis Crossman
Formerly home educated and now father of five, Eli loves discovering amazing books, new and old, and is an artistic curator at heart. The owner and manager of Exodus since 1998, his focus is on offering thoughtful and well-written books that inspire the imagination and promote creativity and diligence while living for God. Read more of his reviews here.
Did you find this review helpful?
Parent Categories
Adapted or Abridged
Subcategories
50 Items found Print
Filter
Active Filters: 9th grade (Ages 14-15)
Animal Farm Graphic Novel
by George Orwell, Adapted and Illustrated by Odyr
from Mariner Books
for 3rd-Adult
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
Beowulf
by Robert Nye
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 6th-10th grade
$5.99
Beowulf - A Graphic Novel Adaptation
by Gareth Hinds
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$14.99
Bounty Trilogy (School Edition)
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
from Globe Book Company
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Caesar's Gallic War
by Olivia Coolidge
from American Home-School Publishing
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Caesar's Gallic War
by Olivia Coolidge
from Linnet Books
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Caesar's Gallic War
by Olivia Coolidge
from Houghton Mifflin
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Canterbury Tales
Puffin Classics
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Puffin Books
Epic Poetry for 7th-9th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.99
Canterbury Tales
by A. Kent & Constance Hieatt, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren
from Golden Press
for 5th-9th grade
Canterbury Tales
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Geraldine McCaughrean and illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus
from Oxford University
Epic Poetry for 7th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Pop-Up Book
by Ian Fleming, abridged by Albert G. Miller, illustrated by Gwen Gordon and Dave Chambers
from Random House
for Kindergarten-Adult
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Comic Book Shakespeare - Henry V
by William Shakespeare
from Timber Frame
for 6th-9th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
Comic Book Shakespeare - Macbeth
by William Shakespeare & Simon Graves
Fir from Timber Frame
for 6th-9th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
Comic Book Shakespeare - Twelfth Night
by William Shakespeare & Simon Graves
Fir from Timber Frame
for 6th-9th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
Cortez & the Conquest of Mexico
by Bernal Diaz del Castillo
from William R. Scott Inc.
for 9th-12th grade
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
Count of Monte Cristo (adapted)
by Alexandre Dumas, adapted by Edward Robinson and illustrated by Hamilton Greene
from Simon and Schuster
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Dune: The Graphic Novel - Book 1
by Frank Herbert, adapted by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, illustrated by Raul Allen and Patricia Martin
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 9th-Adult
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$24.99
Dune: The Graphic Novel - Book 2
by Frank Herbert, adapted by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, illustrated by Raul Allen and Patricia Martin
from Abrams Books for Young Readers
for 9th-Adult
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$24.99
Eyewitness Classics: Hound of the Baskervilles (adapted & annotated)
by Arthur Conan Doyle
1st edition from DK Publishing
for 6th-10th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
Eyewitness Classics: Robinson Crusoe (adapted & annotated)
by Daniel Defoe
from DK Publishing
for 6th-12th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
Great Expectations (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Charles Dickens
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$7.99
Gulliver's Travels (Adapted)
by Jonathan Swift, adapted by Sarel Eimerl and illustrated by Maraja
from Golden Press
for 7th-10th grade
in 18th Century Literature (Location: LIT5-18)
Iliad and the Odyssey (retold)
by Jane Werner Watson, illustrated by Alice & Martin Provensen
from Golden Books
for 5th-9th grade
Lorna Doone (abridged)
by R. D. Blackmore, illustrated by Pauline D. Baynes
from American Education Publications
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Norse Mythology
by Neil Gaiman
for 8th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$15.95
Odyssey (retold)
by Robin Lister & Alan Baker
from Kingfisher
for 7th-9th grade
Odyssey (retold)
by Gillian Cross
from Candlewick Press
for 6th-9th grade
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan, retold by Cheryl Ford
from Tyndale House
Christian Prose Epic/Allegory for 9th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
Pride and Prejudice (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Jane Austen, Abridged by Linda Jennings
from Puffin Books
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 7th-12th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Robinson Crusoe (adapted)
by Anne T. White (retells Daniel Defoe's classic), illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky
from Golden Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
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)
Shakespeare Stories
by Leon Garfield
X from Sandpiper Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Shakespeare Stories
by Leon Garfield
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-12th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
Stories From Livy
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Stories From Livy
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
History for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Stories From The Faerie Queene
by Edmund Spenser, retold by Mary MacLeod
from Living Book Press
for 8th-10th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$12.99
Stories From the Greek Tragedians
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 6th-9th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
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)
Tale of Two Cities (adapted)
by Charles Dickens, adapted by Grace A. Benscotter & Merrill Howe and illustrated by Bernice Oehler
1923 printing from Longmans, Green & Co.
Victorian Novel for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Tales from Chaucer
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retold by Eleanor Farjeon and illustrated by Marjorie Walters
from Charles T. Branford Co.
for 8th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Tales from Shakespeare
by Richard Armour
from Penguin Classics
for 7th-12th grade
in Renaissance & Reformation Literature (Location: LIT3-REN)
$14.00 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Tales from Shakespeare
by Richard Armour
from Living Book Press
for 7th-12th grade
$12.99
The Story
Third Edition from Zondervan
for 7th-Adult
in Bibles (Location: BIBLES)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Three Musketeers
Books of Wonder
by Alexandre Dumas (illustrated by Tom Kidd)
from HarperCollins
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Three Musketeers (abridged)
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Alexandre Dumas
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Three Musketeers (abridged)
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Alexandre Dumas
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Three Musketeers (abridged)
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Alexandre Dumas
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Three Musketeers (abridged)
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Alexandre Dumas
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Sign Up!

Shop

Support

Hours & Directions

Learn more about our store location and hours

Connect

503.655.1951

hello@exodusbooks.com

19146 Molalla Ave,
Oregon City, OR 97045