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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.
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Adapted or Abridged
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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 Mr. Toad
Disney's Wonderful World of Reading
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Aeneid for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church, illustrated by Eugene Karlin
1st Printing from Macmillan
Roman Mythology for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (adapted)
by Adapted by David Blair and illustrated by John Bradley, Original by Lewis Carroll
1st.Edition from Courage Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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 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
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Beowulf: A Hero's Tale Retold
by James Rumford
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
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 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
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)
Canterbury Tales
by A. Kent & Constance Hieatt, illustrated by Gustaf Tenggren
from Golden Press
for 5th-9th grade
Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio (adapted)
by Marianna Mayer (translator and adapter), illustrated by Gerald McDermott
from Four Winds Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Shakespeare
by E. Nesbit
from Henry Altemus Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Christmas Carol (abridged)
by Charles Dickens, abridged and illustrated by Mercer Mayer
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
Classic Tales of Brer Rabbit (adapted)
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Don Daily
from Running Press
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
CS: The Story of King Arthur and His Knights
by Howard Pyle
Abridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Sterling Classic Starts (Location: SER-SCS)
$3.00 (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
Deer in the Wood
My First Little House
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Defoe's Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
Eclectic English Classics
by Daniel Defoe, edited by Kate Stephens
from American Book Co.
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (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)
Doctor Dolittle and the Pirates
by Al Perkins
from Random House
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Don Quixote (retold)
by Michael Harrison (reteller), illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus
from Oxford University
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Don Quixote and the Windmills
by Miguel Cervantes, retold by Eric Kimmel, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 2nd-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Don Quixote for Young People
by James Baldwin (adapted from Miguel de Cervantes)
from American Book Co.
for 5th-7th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
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
ECL: Gulliver's Travels (abridged)
by Jonathan Swift, illustrated by Don Irwin
for 3rd-8th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
El Cid (retold)
by Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by Victor Ambrus
from Oxford University
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Eyewitness Classics: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (adapted & annotated)
by Jules Verne
from DK Publishing
for 4th-6th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
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: Odyssey (adapted & annotated)
by Homer
1st edition from DK Children
for 3rd-8th 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)
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)
First Book of Tales of Ancient Araby
First Books
by Charles Mozley
from Franklin Watts
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Flying to Neverland with Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie, Betty Comden, Adolph Green and Carolyn Leigh
from Blue Apple
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Gift of the Magi: Collectors Edition
by O. Henry, illustrated by Robert Sauber
from Unicorn Publishing House
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
Gilgamesh the Hero
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Eerdmans
for 4th-8th grade
$20.00
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)
Hear It Read It: Treasure Island
from Sourcebooks
for 1st-4th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi's Friends (adapted)
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Sergio Leone
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Iliad and the Odyssey (retold)
by Jane Werner Watson, illustrated by Alice & Martin Provensen
from Golden Books
for 5th-9th grade
Iliad for Boys and Girls
by Alfred J. Church
from Macmillan
for 5th-8th grade
Illustrated Stories from Shakespeare
by Willam Shakespeare, retold by Rosie Dickens and illustrated by Christa Unzer
from Usborne
for 2nd-5th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Overlook Press
for 2nd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Jungle Book (adapted)
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Don Daily
from Applesauce Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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
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)
Man in the Iron Mask Graphic Novel
by Roy Thomas, Hugo Petrus (penciler), Tom Palmer (inker), June Chung (colorist)
from Marvel Publishing
for 3rd-8th grade
in Comic Books & Graphic Novels (Location: FIC-COMIC)
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)
Moby-Dick (retold)
by Herman Melville, presented by Jane Needle, illustrated by Patrick Benson
1st edition from Candlewick Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Nutcracker
by E. T. A. Hoffmann
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Odyssey (retold)
by Gillian Cross
from Candlewick Press
for 6th-9th grade
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Oliver Twist (abridged)
by Charles Dickens, abridged by Leslie Baxter and illustrated by Christian Birmingham
from Dial Books for Young Readers
for 4th-8th grade
in Adapted or Abridged (Location: SER-ABR)
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
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)
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
by John Bunyan, retold by Cheryl Ford
from Tyndale House
Christian Prose Epic/Allegory for 9th-Adult
in 17th Century Literature (Location: LIT4-17)
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 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)
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)
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)
$17.50
Robin of Sherwood
by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
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 Written Anew for Children
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-4th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$11.95
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)
Saint George and the Dragon
by Margaret Hodges & Trina Schart Hyman
Fir from Little, Brown & Company
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 2nd-3rd grade
1985 Caldecott Medal winner
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$18.99
Secret Garden (adapted)
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, adapted by James Howe and illustrated by Thomas B. Allen
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
Shakespeare Stories
by Leon Garfield
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-12th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (retold)
by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-6th grade
Stage full of Shakespeare Stories
by William Shakespeare, Retold by Angela McAllister, Illustrated by Alice Lindstrom
from Quarto Knows
for 2nd-6th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
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 Shakespeare
by Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by Antony Maitland
First Edition from Margaret K. McElderry Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Stories from Shakespeare
by Retold by Nicola Baxter, Illustrated by Jenny Thorne
from Barnes & Noble
for 2nd-4th grade
in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA)
Stories from Shakespeare
by Marchette Chute
from World Publishing Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Sugar Snow
My First Little House
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Swiss Family Robinson in Words of One Syllable
by I. F. M.
from Mcloughlin Bros. Inc
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Tale of Benjamin Bunny (abridged) - Pop-up Book
by Beatrix Potter (based on the story and art of)
from Paradise Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck (abridged) - Pop-up Book
by Beatrix Potter (based on the story and art of)
from Paradise Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Tale of Tom Kitten (abridged) - Pop-up Book
by Beatrix Potter (based on the story and art of)
from Paradise Press
for Preschool-1st grade
in Peter Rabbit & Friends (Location: FIC-PETER)
$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 Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
from Tiger Books International
for 3rd-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Tales from Shakespeare
Macmillan Classics
by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Richard Powers
from Macmillan
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Tales from Shakespeare
Calla Editions
by Charles Lamb, Mary Lamb
from Dover Publications
Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
Tales from Shakespeare
by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Elizabeth Shippen Elliott
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade
Tales from Shakespeare
by Charles & Mary Lamb, Illustrated by Karel Svolinsky
from Hamlyn
for 5th-8th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
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
Manhattan Young People's Library
by Charles & Mary Lamb, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from Gilbert H. McKibben
Shakespeare Stories for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Tenggren's Golden Tales from the Arabian Nights
by Gustaf Tenggren
from Golden Books
for 1st-6th grade
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 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 Dumastranslated by Jacques le Clercq, illustrated by Norman Price & E. C. Van Swearingen
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, translated by Jacques le Clercq and illustrated by Norman Price & E. C. Van Swearingen
from Grosset & Dunlap
Historical Fiction/Adventure for 9th-12th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
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