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
80 Items found Print
Filter
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), In-Stock Books & Materials
Action Bible Expanded Edition
by Sergio Cariello
from David C. Cook
for 2nd-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$32.99
Adventures of Ulysses
by Bernard Evslin
from Scholastic Inc.
Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$6.99
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)
$19.99
Around the World in 80 Days (abridged)
by Jules Verne, abridged by Hilda Young, illustrated by Gianni Demo
from World Distributors (Manchester)
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
by Edith Nesbit
from Yesterday's Classics
Shakespeare/Drama for Children for 4th-8th grade
$13.95
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare
by Edith Nesbit
from Living Book Press
Shakespeare/Drama for Children for 4th-8th grade
$16.99
Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children
by E. Nesbit, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Racehorse for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$14.99
Beowulf (retold)
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Beowulf - A Graphic Novel Adaptation
by Gareth Hinds
from Candlewick Press
for 5th-9th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$16.99
Beowulf the Warrior
by Ian Serraillier
from Bethlehem Books
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$11.95
Beowulf: A New Telling
by Robert Nye
from Laurel-Leaf Books
for 6th-10th grade
$5.99
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$24.99
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
$8.99
Caesar's Gallic War
by Olivia Coolidge
from American Home-School Publishing
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$18.99
Chaucer for Children
by Mrs. H.R. (Mary) Haweis
from Cheapest Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.74
Chaucer for Children
by Mrs. H.R. (Mary) Haweis
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$21.95
Chaucer for Children
by Mrs. H.R. (Mary) Haweis
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$9.99
Chaucer Story Book
by Geoffrey Chaucer, retpld by Eva March Tappan
Ill from CreateSpace
for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.95
Chaucer's Stories Simply Told
by Mary Seymour, illustrated by E.M. Scannell
from Hillside Education
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$14.95
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Greeks
by F. J. Gould
from Yesterday's Classics
Greek History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans
by F. J. Gould, Reteller
from Yesterday's Classics
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
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)
Christy - Young Readers Edition
by Catherine Marshall, adapted by Anna Wilson Fishel
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (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 $15.00 (2 in stock)
David Copperfield (adapted)
by Charles Dickens; retold by Clare West
from Oxford University
for 3rd-6th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Doctor Dolittle and His Friends
by Hugh Lofting; adapted by Polly B. Berends, Leslie Bricusse
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Father Brown Reader
by G. K. Chesterton adapted by Nancy Carpenter Brown
1st edition from Hillside Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$10.36
Father Brown Reader II
by G. K. Chesterton adapted by Nancy Carpenter Brown
fir from Hillside Education
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.96
Favorite Tales from Shakespeare
by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Donald Lynch
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Gilgamesh (retold)
by Bernarda Bryson
from CreateSpace
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$26.87
Gilgamesh the Hero
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Eerdmans
for 4th-8th grade
$20.00 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Key Graphic Novel
by George MacDonald, adapted and illustrated by Stephen Hesselman
from Rabbit Room Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$29.99
Hiding Place - Young Reader's Edition
by Corrie Ten Boom, abridged by Lonnie Hull DuPont, illustrated by Tim Foley
from Chosen Books
Biography for 3rd-6th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
Iliad Graphic Novel
by Homer, adapted by Gareth Hinds
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$17.99
Little Pilgrim's Progress
by Helen Taylor
from Moody Press
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$12.99 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Little Pilgrim's Progress
by Helen Taylor, illustrated by Joe Sutphin
from Moody Press
Allegorical and Moral Stories for 4th-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$34.99
Lost Prince of Samavia (abridged)
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
from Bob Jones University Press
Action Adventure for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$6.50
Odyssey (retold)
Puffin Classics
by Geraldine McCaughrean retells Homer
Puffin Classics from Puffin Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$6.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
$11.95
Odyssey for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
for 5th-8th grade
$7.99
Odyssey Graphic Novel
by Homer, adapted by Gareth Hinds
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$18.99
Odyssey of Homer
by Alfred J. Church (reteller), illustrated by John Flaxman
from Macmillan
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods
by Rick Riordan
from Disney-Hyperion
for 4th-8th grade
$12.99
Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes
by Rick Riordan
from Disney-Hyperion
for 4th-8th grade
$12.99
Picture Bible
by Iva Hoth & Andre Le Blanc
from Cook Communications
for 4th-6th grade
in Bible Stories for Kids (Location: BIBR-STO)
$24.99
Pilgrim's Progress (retold)
by John Bunyan (retold by Gary D. Schmidt)
from Eerdmans
Christian Prose Epic/Allegory for 5th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls
by W.H. Weston (reteller), Plutarch
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$17.95
Romeo and Juliet - The Young Reader's Shakespeare
by Adam McKeown (Retold by), illustrated by Peter Fiore
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Shakespeare Stories - 4 in 1
by William Shakespeare (original stories), retold by Andrew Matthews, illustrated by Tony Ross
from Silver Dolphin
for 3rd-6th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Shakespeare Stories - Boxed Set
by William Shakespeare, Andrew Matthews (reteller), illustrated by Tony Ross
from Parfait Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Stand Up, Mr. Dickens
by Charles Dickens, edited and abridged by Edward Blishen, illustrated by Jill Bennett
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-8th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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 the Faerie Queene
by Edmund Spenser, retold by Jeanie Lang and illustrated by Rose Le Quesne
from CreateSpace
for 3rd-6th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$7.50
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
Stories of Don Quixote
by James Baldwin, retold from Miguel de Cervantes
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-7th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$12.95
Stories of Don Quixote
by James Baldwin, retold from Miguel de Cervantes
from Living Book Press
for 5th-7th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$9.99
Stories of Siegfried Told to the Children
by Mary MacGregor
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.95
Stories of the East from Herodotus
by Alfred J. Church
Ill from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$12.95
Story of the Iliad
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$9.99
Story of the Odyssey
by Alfred J. Church
from Living Book Press
Greek Mythology for 5th-8th grade
$8.99
Student's Constitution (adapted and abridged)
from Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness (FLA
for 3rd-6th grade
in Government & Civics Resources (Location: GOV-REF)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Student's Declaration of Independence (adapted and abridged)
from Foundation for Liberty and American Greatness (FLA
for 3rd-6th grade
in Government & Civics Resources (Location: GOV-REF)
$3.00 (1 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
Tales from Shakespeare
by Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
from Wordsworth Classics
Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$5.99
Tales from Shakespeare
Puffin Classics
by Charles & Mary Lamb
from Puffin Books
Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade
in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF)
$8.99
Tales from Shakespeare
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Tales from Shakespeare
by Tina Packer & Co.
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Tales from Shakespeare
by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
Book Club Edition from Quality Paperback Book Club
for 3rd-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Three Greek Children
by Alfred J. Church
from Yesterday's Classics
for 5th-8th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.95
Twelfth Night for Kids
Shakespeare Can Be Fun
by Christine Coburn, Lois Burdett
from Firefly Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (abridged)
Puffin Classics
by Jules Verne
from Puffin Books
Science Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
$6.99
Usborne Complete Jane Austen
by Jane Austen (originals), adapted by Anna Milbourne, Mary Sebag-Montefiore, and Rachel Firth, illustrated by Simona Bursi
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Wanderings of Odysseus
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99
Watership Down Graphic Novel
by Richard Adams, adapted and illustrated by Joe Sutphin
from Ten Speed Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$35.00
Watership Down Graphic Novel
by Richard Adams, adapted and illustrated by Joe Sutphin
from Ten Speed Press
for 5th-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$26.99
Wrinkle in Time Graphic Novel
by Madeleine L'Engle, Adapted and Illustrated by Hope Larson
from Square Fish Publishing
for 2nd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
$16.99
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