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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45 Items found Print
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Adam Bede
Everyman's Library
by George Eliot
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$24.00
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$14.95
Aladdin and Other Tales from the Arabian Nights
by Anonymous, illustrated by William Heath Robinson
from Everyman's Library
for 6th-9th grade
$17.95 $10.00 (2 in stock)
Anne of Green Gables
by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Sybil Tawse
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
$20.00
Arabian Nights
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora A. Smith, editors, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Eastern Fairy Tales for 9th-Adult
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Bambi
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Steve Johnson & Lou Fancher
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Animal Stories: Fantasy for 4th-6th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99 $18.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Orient
by Richard Halliburton
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-12th grade
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$27.99
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Seashore Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$29.99
Divine Comedy
by Dante Alighieri, translated by Allan Mandelbaum
from Everyman's Library
for 10th-Adult
in Medieval Literature (Location: LIT2-MED)
$35.00
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
Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
$20.00
English Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs
from Everyman's Library
for 3rd-6th grade
$21.00
Fables of Jean de la Fontaine
by Jean de La Fontaine, translated by Sir Edward Marsh and illustrated by R. de la Nézière
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
$20.00
Fairy Tales of Hans Christen Andersen
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Reginald Spink and illustrated by W. Heath Robinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
$18.00
Frankenstein
Everyman's Library
by Mary Shelley
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Horror for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$22.00
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Helen B. Dole and illustrated by William Sharp
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
$20.00
How the Heather Looks
by Joan Bodger
Reprint from Living Book Press
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$24.99
King Arthur
by Sidney Lanier
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 6th-10th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Last of the Mohicans
Leatherstocking Tales #2
by James Fenimore Cooper
from Charles Scribner's Sons
Realistic Action/Adventure Novel for 9th-Adult
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$24.99
Les Miserables
by Victor Hugo, translated by Charles Wilbour
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$42.00
Light in the Forest
by Conrad Richter, illustrated by Warren Chappell
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
$15.95
Little Lord Fauntleroy
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Illustrated by C. E. Brock
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
$17.00
Little Prince
by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, translated by Richard Howard
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-Adult
$18.00
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by M.E. Gray
Unabridged from Everyman's Library
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
$16.95
Moby-Dick
Everyman's Library
by Herman Melville
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$35.00
Old Curiosity Shop
Everyman's Library
by Charles Dickens
from Everyman's Library
Realistic Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$25.00
Peter Pan
by J. M. Barrie, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman
Reissue from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$24.99
Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Alice Carsey
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
$16.95
Princess and the Goblin
Everyman Library
by George MacDonald
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
$18.00
Robin Hood
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Paul Creswick, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
Reissue from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$24.99
Robinson Crusoe
by Daniel Defoe, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$24.99
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
Russian Fairy Tales
by Gillian Avery (Reteller), illustrated by Ivan Bilibin
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
$20.00
Scarlet Pimpernel
by Baroness Orczy
from Everyman's Library
for 8th-Adult
$20.00
Secret Garden
Sterling Classics
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.95
Three Musketeers
Everyman's Library
by Alexandre Dumas
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$32.00
Tom Sawyer Abroad
by Mark Twain
from SeaWolf Press
for 7th-Adult
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$6.95
Tom Sawyer, Detective
by Mark Twain, Samuel Clemens
from SeaWolf Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$6.95
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Everyman's Library
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$28.00
Watership Down
by Richard Adams
Reissue from Atheneum
for 10th-Adult
1972 Carnegie Medal
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
White Fang
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Jack London, illustrated by Ed Young
Unabridged from Atheneum
Action/Adventure for 7th-10th grade
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99
Yearling
by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings & N. C. Wyeth
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 9th-Adult
in Scribner Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SCRIB)
$29.99