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Classic Comparisons

Right away, we should point out that many of the versions listed in these pages are not consistently available here at Exodus. But even if they say "out of stock" the listings still have value! Many of them offer reviews, samples, links to internet versions, and much more. Please let us know if you have questions about anything here!

Once upon a time there was an old blind man with a harp. His name was Homer, and he spoke Greek, and he was really good at composing long poems about the adventures of Greek heroes. He never wrote anything down because that's just not how things were done back then, but other people did, and what Homer sang and they wrote we call The Iliad and The Odyssey.

Much more recently, you (or someone like you) stood in a bookstore and wondered why there were twelve thousand versions of these two relatively short books. Were there sequels? Did people other than Homer come up with the same stories? Or are there just different covers for one or two versions?

It's easy to resolve the problem by simply buying the least expensive copy. And it isn't just the works of Homer that present us with similar decisions: there are multiple editions of Virgil, Dante, The Epic of Gilgamesh, Cervantes' Don Quixote, etc. Does it matter which one you pick? Is cheapest always best?

Well, to quote a great philosopher, the price don't enter into it. The main reason there are so many versions of these books is because there are so many translations, and there are so many translations because foreign or ancient languages can be interpreted in so many ways. Choosing the best one can be exceedingly difficult, as each translation has its own strengths and weaknesses, and one size almost never fits all. With books written and published in English, there might be a wide selection of editions due to editorial changes or a variety of illustrators. Some books have had a number of retellings for children, and our goal is to familiarize you with which ones might best suit your needs.

That's why we've developed the Classic Comparisons pages. The issue here isn't to prove which version is the best—it's to help you figure out which version may become your favorite. Each page includes an original introduction to the text itself, links for further reading and activities online, an exclusive overview, kids' versions, and occasional extras. In the case of translation or editorial differences, we offer a side-by-side comparison chart of several versions, and if it's all about the illustrations, our pages will offer samples of the artwork. 

We started this section with an original dozen titles, but have several more in the works. Please be patient with us as several of those pages are still under construction! We hope you'll find these helpful, and that you'll learn as much from them as we did in making them.

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.
Did you find this review helpful?
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We Love Translations
Another site with a similar goal! She's done more of the French and Russian lit we have yet to do!
112 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Hardcover
A Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by ??
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from David McKay Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Carlo Collodi, translated and adapted by Angelo Patri and illustrated by Mary Liddell
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Arabian Nights
Companion Library
by Anonymous, illustrated by Mamoru Funai
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
Arabian Nights
by Orton Lowe
from John C. Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Arthur, High King of Britain
by Michael Morpurgo
from Harcourt
for 2nd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Beowulf
by Michael Morpurgo
from Candlewick Press
for 3rd-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
Castle of Ladies
by Constance Hieatt, illustrated by Norman Laliberté
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Chanticleer and the Fox
by Fulton Roberts, illustrated by Marc Davis
from Disney Press
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
from Simon and Schuster
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$19.99 $14.50 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Cooper Edens
from Chronicle Books
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for Preschool-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
Arcadia
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Princess House Books
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Florence Storer
from Longmeadow Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Joanna Isles
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Thomas Kinkade
First Edition, Thus from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
Books of Wonder
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Diane Goode
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Hilda Boswell
from Collins
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Weathervane Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Juanita C. Bennett
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
Popular Edition from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Ruth Mary Hallock
from Barnes & Noble
for Nursery-3rd grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, Illustrated by Maria L. Kirk
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, unknown illustrator
from Henry Altemus Company
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Poetry for 1st-5th grade
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
Christmas Carol
Little Unicorn
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Walt Sturrock
from Unicorn Publishing House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Christmas Carol (adapted)
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Stephen Krensky
from HarperCollins
for Kindergarten-7th grade
in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY)
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
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)
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)
Eyewitness Classics: King Arthur
by Rosalind Kerven
from DK Children
for 3rd-6th grade
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: Robin Hood
by Neil Philip
1st American ed from DK Children
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
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)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Frances Brundage
1930s? from Saalfield Publishing Co.
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Sergio Leone
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Louise Brooks and illustrated by Roberta MacDonald
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Marian Edwardes and illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen B. Dole & illustrated by Tomi Ungerer
from Delacorte Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen B. Dole & illustrated by Ruth Sanderson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Marian Edwardes and illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Longmeadow Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
Whitman Classics
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Eleanor Mill (unknown translator)
from Western Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Heidi
Windermere Series 4
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1938 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
Rainbow Classics
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Marian Edwards and illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
1st Printing from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Clara M. Burd
from John C. Winston
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Heidi
Windermere Readers #3
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
Windermere Series 3
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Philip Schuyler Allen and illustrated by Maginel Wright Enright
1938 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Overlook Press
for 2nd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (adapted)
by Michael Bishop, illustrated by Rene Cloke
from Crescent Books
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
Knight of the Cart
by Constance Hieatt, illustrated by John Gretzer
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Knight of the Lion
by Constance Hieatt, illustrated by Joseph Low
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
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)
Medieval Tales
by Jennifer Westwood, illustrated by Pauline D. Baynes
from Coward McCann
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
Minstrel Knight
by Constance Hieatt, illustrated by James Barkley
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
My Journals and Sketchbooks
by Anie & Michel Politzer
from Harcourt Brace Jovanich
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (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)
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)
Pinocchio
Sterling Classics
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Pinocchio
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M. A. Murray and illustrated by Roberta MacDonald
from Junior Deluxe Editions
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Pinocchio
Children's Classics
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Pinocchio
Rainbow Classics
by Carlo Collodi, translated by Joseph Walker and illustrated by Richard Floethe
from World Publishing Company
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Alice Carsey
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
$16.95
Pinocchio
Windermere Readers #2
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Esther Friend
from Rand McNally
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pinocchio
Windermere Series 4
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Esther Friend
from Rand McNally
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M. A. Murray and illustrated by Roberto Innocenti
from Creative Editions
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Poetry for Young People: Robert Louis Stevenson
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
Robin Hood
by Jane Carruth, Illustrated by Chris Higham
from Award Publications, Limited
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Robin Hood
by Margaret Early
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Robin Hood
by Carol Heyer (reteller & illustrator)
from Ideals Children's Books
for 3rd-5th grade
Robin Hood
by Lucy Fitch Perkins
from Houghton Mifflin
Ballads & Songs for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Robin Hood (abridged)
by J. Walker McSpadden, illustrated by Greg Hildebrandt
from Unicorn Publishing House
for 2nd-5th grade
Robin Hood and His Merry Men
by Rosemary Kingston, illustrated by Alice Carsey
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Robin Hood and His Merry Men
Early Reader Series No. 28
from Hampster Books
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Robin Hood: His Life and Legend
by Bernard Miles, illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus
from Treasure Press
for 3rd-6th grade
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
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
Saint George and the Dragon
by Geraldine McCaughrean, illustrated by Nicki Palin
from Doubleday & Company
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
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)
Sinbad the Sailor
by Edmund Dulac, Illustrator
from Crescent Books
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
by Constance Hieatt, illustrated by Walter Lorraine
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (retold)
by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-6th grade
Song of Robin Hood
by Anne Malcolmson & Grace Castagnetta, illustrated by Virginia Lee Burton
from Houghton Mifflin
for 2nd-Adult
1948 Caldecott Honor book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$22.99
Story of King Arthur and His Knights / Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, Howard Pyle
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
12
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