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Fiction by Genre

Fiction is good. It's not just lies—lies are the dishonest things we tell other people out of selfishness, while fiction is (or should be) those stories used to reveal truth. Not that all stories have to be tied up with a neat moral at the end. Truth wears many faces, and our favorite stories are as varied, and often as unresolved, as life itself.

A good book always has something to say, however. Even if the message is as simple as "it's good to have friends" or "growing up is difficult no matter who you are," there is a message and it can be understood. There are books that are all plot....but they aren't good books. There are books that are all blatant morality and character-building....also not good books, at least in the sense we mean here.

For those of you about to stop reading, know this: we aren't promoting immoral books. Just because there isn't an obvious "and Johnny was happy because he knew that stealing was bad" ending doesn't mean we support kids reading about worldly characters doing worldly things as though this was normal and healthy. But we also don't think Pathway Readers are the only appropriate fiction available to children.

What we mean by "good book" is one which accurately depicts human nature, demonstrates an engaging style, displays a consistent worldview, and doesn't use cheap tricks to get readers interested. That excludes a lot of books. It also includes a lot of books, and they typically aren't the ones filling the new release racks at Barnes & Noble.

We emphasize classic fiction at Exodus Books. That's not to say we shun all modern fiction, but typically good writing survives for years and years and years on its own merits, and those books that fit that description can be trusted more than those still in their infancy. Genres we find particularly problematic are those built around cheap formulas and plots with little to say (fantasy, sci-fi and mystery series come immediately to mind).

Books that rely on non-stop action and thrills are also avoided by our charming and discerning book-buying staff. Kids need to learn to enjoy reading because it's good for them and offers new ways to look at the world, not simply for a book's entertainment value. It's not enough just to read—if you read a steady diet of trash or sub-standard fiction you're really no better off than watching hours of television.

There is a difference between children's and adult literature. Kids shouldn't be sheltered, but they also aren't prepared to deal with the themes and darker elements adults must confront. Most of the titles in this section are "safe"—not a lot of extreme violence, sexual content, profanity, etc. here (though there is some overlap with the adult and children's genres).

Along the same lines, we don't encourage letting kids read abridged versions of classics or advanced material. Everything we offer is unabridged unless explicitly stated—it's far better to have kids read stories at their level than to have them read edited and often misrepresented versions of books not intended for children. If they read Charlotte's Web and Rufus M. as kids, they'll be ready for Great Expectations when they're older.

Nowhere in the Bible does God say "Read fiction. It'll make you a better person." But neither does He say "Have a time set aside for daily devotions. It's the only path to true spirituality." Simply because there's no command in Scripture doesn't mean a particular activity isn't a really good idea. Not that reading the Bible and reading fiction are in any way on the same level. Reading God helps us understand Him better—reading fiction helps us understand ourselves.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes 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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97 Items found Print
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Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9), Print-on-demand paperback
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by John Tenniel
from SeaWolf Press
Fantasy for 2nd-7th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$6.89
Arabian Nights Entertainment
by Andrew Lang
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-5th grade
Baktar
by Laurie J. White
from Shorter Word Press
for 3rd-6th grade
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Bears of Blue River
by Charles Major
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$8.99
Best Bad Thing
by Yoshiko Uchida
from Aladdin Paperbacks
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Betsy and Billy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt
for 1st-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Legends
by Horace E. Scudder
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-5th grade
$9.95
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Occident
by Richard Halliburton
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$17.99
Book of Marvels: Marvels of the Orient
by Richard Halliburton
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-Adult
in International Landmarks & Symbols (Location: HISV-LANINT)
$17.99
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$19.99
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$18.99
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$15.95
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
Color Edition from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$19.99
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$18.99
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$19.99
By Pond and River
Eyes and No Eyes #2
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$13.95
By Pond and River
Eyes and No Eyes #2
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$7.99
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)
Christmas Star
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Christmas Stove
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Dream Coach
by Anne Parrish
from CreateSpace
for 3rd-6th grade
1925 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.95
Dream Days
by Kenneth Grahame, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish
from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$6.95
Dutch Twins
by Lucy Fitch Perkins
from Eirenikos Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
English Fairy Tales
by Joseph Jacobs
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
$10.99
Escape from the Slave Traders
TrailBlazer Books
by Dave and Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Fairy Ring
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Yesterday's Classics
$23.95
Fifty Famous People
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$11.95
Fifty Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
$11.95
Fifty Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Living Book Press
for 1st-4th grade
$8.99
Five Little Peppers Abroad
Five Little Peppers #3
by Margaret Sidney
from Living Book Press
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
Five Little Peppers #1
by Margaret Sidney
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Five Little Peppers Grown Up
Five Little Peppers #4
by Margaret Sidney
from Living Book Press
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Five Little Peppers Midway
Five Little Peppers #2
by Margaret Sidney
from Living Book Press
Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$9.99
Friend for Rachel
by Margaret McAllister
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$13.99
General Butterfingers
by John Reynolds Gardiner
Reprint from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 2nd-5th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$7.95
Grandma for Christmas
by Alta Halverson Seymour
75th Anniversary Edition from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Grimms' Fairy Tales
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Louis Rhead
from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$11.95
He Went with Champlain
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Christopher Columbus
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Drake
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with John Paul Jones
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Magellan
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Marco Polo
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
He Went with Vasco da Gama
by Louise Andrews Kent
2022 Reprint from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$15.99
Heath Cousins and the Moonstone Cave
Heath Cousins #01
by Eileen Hobbs
from Xlibris Corp.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, translated by Elisabeth Stork and illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from SeaWolf Press
Realistic Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.95
Jack and Jill
by Louisa May Alcott, Illustrated by Harriet Roosevelt Richards
150th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$9.45
Jack and Jill
by Louisa May Alcott, edited by Phyllis and Amy Puetz
from Golden Prairie Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Kersti and Saint Nicholas (adapted)
by Hilda Van Stockum, Revised and Adapted by the Author's Family
from Boissevain Books
for 2nd-5th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Kidnapped by River Rats
by Dave & Neta Jackson
from Castle Rock Creative
for 3rd-7th grade
in Trailblazer Books (Location: SER-TRAIL)
$8.99
King of Ireland's Son
by Padraic Colum
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-7th grade
$14.95
King of the Golden River
by John Ruskin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-6th grade
$9.95
King of the Golden River
by John Ruskin
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
$5.99
Lad: A Dog
by Albert Terhune
from Living Book Press
Realistic Animal Stories for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
by Amelia C. Houghton, Illustrated by Hokie
from Yesterday's Classics
for k-5
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Little Princess
by Frances Hodgson Burnett, Illustrated by Ethel Franklin Betts
Illustrated Fir from SeaWolf Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$8.45
Mary Frances Cook Book
by Jane E. Fryer
Reprint from Applewood Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Cooking for Kids (Location: COOK-KID)
Mistmantle Chronicles Book 2
by M. I. McAllister, illustrated by Christine Enright
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.99
Mistmantle Chronicles Book 3
by M. I. McAllister, illustrated by Christine Enright
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.99
Mistmantle Chronicles Book 4
by M. I. McAllister, cover by Christine Enright, illustrated by Janna Mattia
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$16.99
New Treasure Seekers
by E. Nesbit
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Night Watch
by Isabelle Lawrence
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$13.99
Old Tobacco Shop
by William Bowen
from CreateSpace
for 3rd-6th grade
1922 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.99
On the Edge of the Fjord
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Oswald Bastable and Others
by E. Nesbit
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$11.99
Peter and Wendy
by James M. Barrie, illustrated by F.D. Bedford
from SeaWolf Press
for 2nd-8th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.95
Pilgrim's Progress
by John Bunyan
Facsimile Ed from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-7th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$13.95
Plutarch's Lives for Boys and Girls
by W.H. Weston (reteller), Plutarch
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$17.95
Quaint and Curious Quest of Johnny Longfoot
by Catherine Besterman
from CreateSpace
for 3rd-6th grade
1948 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$7.50
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.99
Red Fox
by Charles G. D. Roberts
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$9.99
Richard of Jamestown
by James Otis
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$11.95
Richard of Jamestown
by James Otis
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-5th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Secret of Everyday Things
by Jean Henri Fabre
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-8th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$16.95
Secrets of the Woods
by William J. Long
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-8th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$11.95
Secrets of the Woods
by William J. Long
from Living Book Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
Sleeping Beauty & Cinderella
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
100th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW)
$7.95
Stories from the Faerie Queene
by Edmund Spenser, retold by Jeanie Lang and illustrated by Rose Le Quesne
from CreateSpace
for 3rd-6th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$7.50
Stories of Beowulf Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
Myth & Legend for 2nd-5th grade
in Classics Retold (Location: FIC-RET)
$9.95 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Stories of Robin Hood Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$9.95
Stories of Roland Told to the Children
by H. E. Marshall
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$9.95
Stories of Siegfried Told to the Children
by Mary MacGregor
from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-7th grade
$9.95
Tanglewood Tales
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ill from Yesterday's Classics
for 3rd-6th grade
$13.95 $8.00 (1 in stock)
Tanglewood Tales
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Ill from Living Book Press
for 3rd-6th grade
$16.99
Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Yesterday's Classics
for 2nd-5th grade
$12.95
Thirty More Famous Stories Retold
by James Baldwin
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
$9.99 $7.50 (1 in stock)
Three Knocks on the Wall
by Evelyn Sibley Lampman
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$14.99
Toward Morning
by Alta Halverson Seymour
from Purple House Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$10.99
Viking Tales
by Jennie Hall
from Living Book Press
for 1st-4th grade
$8.99
Ways of Wood Folk
by William Joseph Long
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
West African Folk-Tales
by William H. Barker
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-6th grade
$10.95
Wild Life in Woods and Fields
Eyes and No Eyes #1
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Yesterday's Classics
for 1st-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$13.95
Wild Life in Woods and Fields
Eyes and No Eyes #1
by Arabella B. Buckley
from Living Book Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
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