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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!
305 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 4th grade (Ages 9-10)
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)
A Christmas Carol Audio Drama - 2 CD set
by Charles Dickens
from Focus on the Family
for 1st-Adult
in Audio Books & Dramas (Location: CD-AUDIO)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of King Arthur - Coloring Book
by Arkady Roytman
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT)
$3.99
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
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.L. Rosenthal, illustrated by Troy Howell
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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 Carol Della Chiesa, illustrated by Attilio Mussino
1969 printing from Macmillan
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Adventures of Robin Hood
by E. Charles Vivian, illustrated by Jules Gotlieb
from Airmont Publishing Company, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Robin Hood
by E. Charles Vivian, compiled by Cooper Edens
from Chronicle Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Adventures of Robin Hood
by John Grant (reteller), illustrated by Victor G. Ambrus
from Ladybird Books Ltd
for 2nd-4th grade
Adventures of Robin Hood / Pinocchio (adapted)
by Eleanor Graham Vance, illustrated by Jay Hyde Barnum
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Sir Balin the Ill-Fated
The Knights' Tales Book 4
by Gerald Morris
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Adventures of Sir Gawain the True
The Knights' Tales Book 3
by Gerald Morris
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$6.99
Adventures of Sir Lancelot the Great
The Knights' Tales Book 1
by Gerald Morris
Reprint from Sandpiper Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99 $4.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Ulysses
by Bernard Evslin
from Scholastic Inc.
Greek Mythology for 4th-6th grade
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Aladdin and His Wonderful Lamp, in Rhyme
by Arthur Ransome, illustrated by Thomas Mackenzie
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-6th grade
Aladdin and Other Favorite Arabian Nights Stories
Dover Children's Thrift Classics
by Philip Smith, editor
from Dover Publications
Eastern Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade
$3.00 $2.00 (2 in stock)
Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights
Puffin Classics
by N.J. Dawood, illustrated by William Harvey
from Puffin Books
Fairy Tales for 2nd-6th grade
$7.99
Annotated Wind in the Willows
by Kenneth Grahame
from W. W. Norton and Co.
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Arabian Nights
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Earle Goodenow, illustrator
from Grosset & Dunlap
Eastern Fairy Tales for 4th-8th grade
Arabian Nights
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Earle Goodenow, illustrator
from Grosset & Dunlap
Eastern Fairy Tales for 4th-8th grade
Arabian Nights
Companion Library
by Anonymous, illustrated by Mamoru Funai
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
Arabian Nights
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Earle Goodenow, illustrator
from Grosset & Dunlap
Eastern Fairy Tales for 4th-8th grade
Arabian Nights
Calla Editions
by Rene Bull (Illustrator)
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 4th-9th grade
Arabian Nights
by Orton Lowe
from John C. Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
Arabian Nights
Children's Classics
by Rene Bull, illustrator
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
for 4th-9th grade
Arabian Nights
by Padraic Colum
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 4th-8th grade
$10.99
Arabian Nights
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Earle Goodenow, illustrator
from Grosset & Dunlap
Eastern Fairy Tales for 4th-8th grade
Arabian Nights
Books of Wonder
by Brian Alderson, illustrated by Michael Foreman
from HarperCollins
for 4th-8th grade
Arabian Nights
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Earle Goodenow, illustrator
from Grosset & Dunlap
Eastern Fairy Tales for 4th-8th grade
Arabian Nights
by Wafa' Tarnowska
from Barefoot Books
for 3rd-6th grade
$6.50 (1 in stock)
Arabian Nights
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Lynd Ward
for 4th-8th grade
Arabian Nights - Audiobook
by Jim Weiss
from Well-Trained Mind Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Greathall Storyteller CDs (Location: CD-WEISS)
Arabian Nights - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John Green
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT)
$3.95
Arabian Nights / Aesop's Fables
by Mamoru Funai, Aesop
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-7th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Arabian Nights Entertainment
by Andrew Lang
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-5th grade
Arabian Nights Entertainments
by Andrew Lang
from Dover Publications
for 3rd-5th grade
$14.95
Arthur the Always King
by Kevin Crossley-Holland, illustrated by Chris Riddell
from Candlewick Press
for 4th-8th grade
$29.99
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 Walker Books
for 3rd-8th grade
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 - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by John Green
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT)
$3.99
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, Dragon Slayer
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Penguin Putnam
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Beowulf: A Hero's Tale Retold
by James Rumford
from Houghton Mifflin
for 4th-6th grade
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff & Alan Lee
from Frances Lincoln
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$22.99
Black Ships Before Troy
by Rosemary Sutcliff
from Laurel-Leaf Books
Greek Mythology for 4th-8th grade
$8.99 $5.00 (1 in stock)
Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
by John S. White
from American Home-School Publishing
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
Boys' and Girls' Herodotus
by John S. White
Facsimile Edition from Kessinger Publishing
Ancient History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
$12.00 (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)
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)
Chaucer for Children
by Mrs. H.R. (Mary) Haweis
from Cheapest Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.99
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)
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
from Dover Publications
for 1st-5th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
$4.00 $1.50 (2 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 Wilcox Smith
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
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
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Alice & Martin Provensen
from Golden Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Poetry for Children (Location: POET-CHIL)
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 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
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum & Willy Pogany
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$10.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum
from Simon and Schuster
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Children's Homer
by Padraic Colum
from Simon and Brown
Greek Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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
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)
Coloring Book of the Trojan War: The Iliad Vol. 2
by John K. Anderson
Coloring from Bellerophon Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Ancient Greece (Location: HISW-ANGR)
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
Dangerous Journey - Comprehension Guide
by Emily Fischer
from Veritas Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Veritas Press Literature Guides (Location: LITSG-VP)
$19.00 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Dark Is Rising Sequence - Boxed Set
by Susan Cooper
from Aladdin Paperbacks
Fantasy for 4th-7th grade
in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX)
$39.99
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 of La Mancha (retold)
by Miguel de Cervantes, retold by Judge Parry and illustrated by Walter Crane
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
$16.95
ECL: Arabian Nights (abridged)
Educator Classic Library #8
by Andrew Lang (selections and edits), illustrated by William Dempster
from Classic Press
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
ECL: Book of King Arthur
by Howard Pyle, illustrated by Ron King
for 4th-8th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
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: 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: 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)
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