Classics Collections

If you've ever talked to Eli about anything, you'll know that the good folks here at Exodus are into good books. We're not just talking the classics—we're talking good volumes, quality copies of the classics that look good on a shelf even after years of use. So we are talking about the classics, but a particular presentational kind of the classics.

Fortunately, there are publishers who share the same love of attractive editions, and have made it their business to offer affordable copies to the helpless collector in all of us (some are more helpless than others). There are publishers who put more emphasis on the attractive aspect (Illustrated Junior Library, Everyman's Library), while others are more affordable (Puffin Classics), or strike a happy balance (Sterling Classics).

Puffin Classics, Everyman's Library, and Illustrated Junior Library offer mostly unabridged stories—few of the titles any of them publish have been edited, but a few have undergone weight reduction surgery to make novels like A Tale of Two Cities more manageable for children. Even in the abridgements, however, the author's style and language are retained, so kids aren't completely baffled when they encounter the originals later.

Kids can handle a lot more than we typically give them credit for, though, and we appreciate the fact that most of the books offered by these publishers are unchanged from their original state. Providing classic literature for your kids to read is one of the best ways to get them to love reading in general, and the old texts don't need to be souped up or modernized to have that effect.

Not that a little souping up hurts anything—Everyman's Library and Illustrated Junior Library offer handsome hardcover editions with beautiful full-color illustrations. These aren't just children's book illustrations of the "that's cute but whatever" variety, they're handsome paintings by the likes of N.C. Wyeth (if you aren't a fan, look him up: you will be). Sterling Classics also feature very attractive illustrations by Robert Ingpen (also fan-worthy).

It's important to get kids reading the very best literature from an early age. Great books have a way of forming the character, teaching virtue, offering a new view of the world, and providing wholesome entertainment in a way nothing else can. To have easy access to so many of them is a privilege not to be taken for granted....though we hope you'll take advantage of the opportunity to stock your shelves with these excellent titles.

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.
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30 Items found Print
Active Filters: 9th grade (Ages 14-15), Library Binding
Adventures of Robin Hood
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Roger Green, illustrated by Walter Crane
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade
$20.00
At the Back of the North Wind
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by George MacDonald, illustrated by Arthur Hughes
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tale for 4th-Adult
$20.00
At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald, Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Fairy Tale for 4th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Christmas Carol
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
$20.00
Christmas Carol (condensed)
Books of Wonder
by Charles Dickens, illustrated by Carter Goodrich
from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Daddy-Long-Legs
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Jean Webster
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Orphan Stories for 6th-9th grade
$16.95
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Everyman's Library
by Robert Louis Stevenson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
Emma
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$26.00
Hans Brinker
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Hans Brinker
Windermere Readers #7
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Hans Brinker
Windermere Series 4
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Iliad
Everyman's Library
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
$23.00
Jane Austen Hardcover Collection
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$150.40
Jane Eyre
Everyman's Library
by Charlotte Bronte
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$22.40
King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Roger Green
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 7th-10th grade
$17.95
Mansfield Park
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$28.00
Northanger Abbey
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$28.00
Odyssey
Everyman's Library
by Homer (translation by Robert Fitzgerald)
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Ancient Literature/Epic Poetry for 9th-Adult
in Ancient Literature (Location: LIT1-ANC)
Persuasion
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$26.00
Pride and Prejudice
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$26.00
Robinson Crusoe (abridged)
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Daniel Defoe
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-12th grade
$16.95 $10.00 (1 in stock)
Sanditon & Other Stories
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$30.00
Sense and Sensibility
Everyman's Library
by Jane Austen
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Romantic Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Readers #9
by Johann Wyss, frontispiece by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 1
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 2
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
1921 Printing from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 3
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 4
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Tale of Two Cities
Everyman's Library
by Charles Dickens
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Victorian Novel for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$25.00
Treasure Island
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Mervyn Peake
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 5th-9th grade
$17.95