Literature by Place - Exodus Books

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It's kind of crazy to what extent geography can inform an author's work. Jack London spent most of his life at sea, dog-sledding across Alaska, boxing and generally being an adventurous guy who would put today's REI crowd to shame. Would he have penned some of the greatest American novels otherwise? especially ones concerned primarily with man battling the elements for survival in both a mental and physical sense? Very probably not, which explains why Oscar Wilde didn't write about wolves and crazy ship captains.

No, Oscar Wilde wrote primarily about fops and society people parrying witticisms incessantly. That's not to say his work has no place in a serious consideration of literature—au contraire, The Picture of Dorian Grey is one of the finest novels written in English. It's just more evidence that if you're an author who lives in the Canadian mountains or the clubs of London, your writing will reflect that.

Physical terrain isn't the only consideration. Sartre wrote about people lolling about with no real sense of purpose except to drink wine and smoke cigarettes and look languorous because he lived in France in the 1940s. Friedrich Nietzsche had immense mustaches and espoused a form of nihilism because he was German. The Russians wrote impossibly long novels because they lived in Russia. And Chinua Achebe was almost entirely influenced by his African upbringing.

That's not to say no one can write well about a context they haven't experienced firsthand. I'm pretty sure Robert Heinlein never visited Mars, and even if he did it wasn't as his books describe; the same goes for Bradbury. And no, Roald Dahl was never lost in a delightfully (though at times, terrifyingly) absurd chocolate factory. Yet even with these examples, the authors conveyed essentially the attitudes of the countries they came from—Heinlein and Bradbury from the U.S., Dahl from the U.K.

Our Literature by Place subcategories are admittedly Anglo-centric. North American literature features, well, American literature, and you can be pretty sure British literature reflects the same system; everything else goes in world literature. We have plenty of non-American or -British literature, we just don't have much from any one place besides those two. At any rate, we hope these categories are helpful, and if they guide you toward one book you're looking for (or maybe one you didn't even know existed), they've done their job.

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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5th grade (Ages 10-11),

In-Stock Books & Materials

	Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass Penguin Classics by Lewis Carroll from Penguin Classics Fantasy for 5th-8th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $11.00
	Andersen's Fairy Tales Illustrated Junior Library Series 2 Paperback by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Arthur Szyk from Grosset & Dunlap Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Bag of Moonshine by Alan Garner, illustrated by P. J. Lynch from Delacorte Press for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (Young Reader's Edition) by William Kamkwamba & Bryan Mealer from Rocky Pond Books for 4th-8th grade in Biographies (Location: BIO) $9.99
	C. S. Lewis: The Ultimate Collection by C. S. Lewis for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $715.62
	Celtic Fairy Tales by Neil Philip, illustrated by Isabelle Brent from Viking Press for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $12.00 (1 in stock)
	Children of Odin The Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum from Aladdin Paperbacks Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $10.99
	Children of Odin The Book of Northern Myths by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany from Macmillan Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $40.00 (1 in stock)
	Chronicles of Narnia - Quality Softcover Boxed Set by C. S. Lewis from HarperCollins Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $90.93
	Comet in Moominland Moomintrolls Book #1 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire from New York Review of Books Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $29.95
	D'Aulaires' Book of Trolls by Edgar & Ingri D'Aulaire from New York Review of Books for 3rd-6th grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $22.95
	Elvis and His Secret by Maria Gripe First American Printing from Delacorte Press for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Eyes on Jungle Doctor Jungle Doctor #10 by Paul White from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $8.99
	Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, Edited by Signe Toksvig, Illustrated by George and Doris Hauman from Macmillan for 3rd-6th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $25.00 (1 in stock)
	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 in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $18.00
	Favourite Tales from Grimm and Andersen by Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Jirí Trnka 1983 Printing from Paul Hamlyn for 4th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $18.00 (1 in stock)
	Finn Family Moomintroll Moomintrolls Book #2 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.99
	Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne, translated by William Lackland and illustrated by Edouard Riou Illustrated Fir from SeaWolf Press for 5th-10th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $10.95
	Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott from Dover Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $5.99
	Gift of the Magi & Other Short Stories Dover Thrift Editions by O. Henry from Dover Publications for 4th-10th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 $2.00 (4 in stock)
	Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, illustrated by Kevin King from Simon and Schuster for 4th-10th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $5.00 (1 in stock)
	Gift of the Magi and Other Stories by O. Henry, illustrated by P. J. Lynch from Candlewick Press for 4th-10th grade in Christmas & Advent (Location: HOLIDAY) $17.99
	Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales Puffin Classics by Hans Christian Andersen, retold by Naomi Lewis 3^rd edition from Puffin Books Fairy Tales for 2nd-6th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99
	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
	Hans Christian Andersen: The Complete Fairy Tales and Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, Translated by Erik Christian Haugaard 1983 Anchor Books Edition from Anchor Books for 2nd-Adult in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $27.00
	Happy Times in Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren from Bethlehem Books Family Stories for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.95
	Hobbit There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $35.00
	Hobbit There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $19.99
	Hobbit There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $15.99
	Hobbit There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $18.99
	Hobbit & Lord of the Rings - Mass-Market Boxed Set by J. R. R. Tolkien Mti from Ballantine Books Fantasy for 4th-12th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $35.96
	Hobbit & Lord of the Rings - Softbound Boxed Set by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 4th-12th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $78.00
	Hobbit (Perma-bound) There and Back Again by J. R. R. Tolkien 2^nd edition from Del Rey Fantasy for 5th-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $3.00 (3 in stock)
	Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Deluxe Hardcover Collection by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-12th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Hobbit and Lord of the Rings - Deluxe Hardcover Collection by J. R. R. Tolkien, illustrated by Alan Lee from HarperCollins Fantasy for 5th-12th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $136.00
	Hobbit, The by J.R.R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin for 5th-Adult in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $40.00
	Hobbit, The by J.R.R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin for 5th-Adult in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $40.00
	Hobbit, The by J.R.R. Tolkien, author and illustrator from William Morrow & Company for 5th-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $75.00
	Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan from HarperCollins for 4th-7th grade in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF) $9.99 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Homes in the Wilderness A Pilgrim's Journal of Plymouth Plantation in 1620 by William Bradford from Purple House Press for 4th-8th grade in Pilgrims at Plymouth (Location: HISA-17PIL) $9.99
	It's Perfectly True and Other Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Paul Leyssac and illustrated by Richard Bennett from Harcourt, Brace & World for 5th-10th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott, Illustrated by Ellen Wetherald Ahrens 150th Anniversary from SeaWolf Press for 4th-8th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $9.99
	Jungle Books Signet Classics by Rudyard Kipling from Signet Classics Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19) $5.95
	Jungle Doctor on Safari Jungle Doctor #8 by Paul White Reprint from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $8.99
	Jungle Doctor Pulls a Leg Jungle Doctor #12 by Paul White Reprint from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $8.99
	Jungle Doctor Spots a Leopard Jungle Doctor #3 by Paul White from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Jungle Doctor's Crooked Dealings Jungle Doctor #4 by Paul White from Christian Focus Publications in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Jungle Doctor's Enemies Jungle Doctor #5 by Paul White from Christian Focus Publications for 3rd-6th grade in Jungle Doctor (Location: SER-JD) $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle Dover Children's Thrift Classics by Washington Irving from Dover Publications Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $7.00
	Letters to Children by C. S. Lewis from Charles Scribner's Sons Autobiographical Letters for 3rd-9th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $16.99
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harvest House Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $11.99
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Scholastic Inc. Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $3.50 (1 in stock)
	Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery 1^st edition from Harcourt for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harvest House Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $6.00 (2 in stock)
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery, translated by Richard Howard from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in Everyman's Library Children's Classics (Location: FIC-ELC) $18.00
	Little Prince by Antoine De Saint-Exupery from Harcourt Fantasy for 3rd-Adult in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $7.50 (1 in stock)
	Lord of the Rings Deluxe Hardcover Boxed Set by J. R. R. Tolkien from Houghton Mifflin Fantasy for 5th-12th grade in Boxed Sets & Literature Packages (Location: FIC-BOX) $243.75
	Monster Calls Inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Jim Kay Reprint from Candlewick Press for 5th-Adult 2012 Carnegie Medal in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20) $14.99
	Moominland Midwinter Moomintrolls Book #5 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Moominpappa at Sea Moomintrolls Book #7 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Moominpappa's Memoirs Moomintrolls Book #3 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $5.56
	Moominpappa's Memoirs Moomintrolls Book #3 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.99
	Moominsummer Madness Moomintrolls Book #4 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	Moominvalley in November Moomintrolls Book #8 by Tove Jansson from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $7.99
	Much Ado About Nothing for Kids Shakespeare Can Be Fun by Lois Burdett from Firefly Books for 2nd-5th grade in Shakespeare Materials (Location: LIR-SHA) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Mythmakers The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix from Harry N. Abrams, Inc. for 3rd-Adult in The Inklings (Location: LIR-INK) $24.99
	Myths of the Norsemen Puffin Classics by Roger Lancelyn Green Reprint from Puffin Books for 5th-9th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Nightingale by Hans Christian Andersen; retold by Stephen Mitchell and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline from Candlewick Press for 2nd-6th grade in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE) $8.00 (1 in stock)
	Norse Gods and Goddesses - Coloring Book Dover Coloring Books by Jeff A. Menges from Dover Publications for 2nd-6th grade in Literary & Fantasy Coloring Books (Location: COL-LIT) $4.99
	Odin's Family Myths of the Vikings by Neil Philip, illustrated by Maryclare Foa from Orchard Books for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	Ola by Edgar Parin d'Aulaire, Ingri d'Aulaire Reprint from University of Minnesota for 3rd-6th grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $16.95
	Paddington Here and Now Paddington Bear #12 by Michael Bond from HarperCollins for 3rd-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $9.99
	Pippi Goes on Board Pippi Longstocking #2 by Astrid Lindgren from Viking Press Humor for 2nd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $10.00 (1 in stock)
	Pippi Goes on Board Pippi Longstocking #2 by Astrid Lindgren from Puffin Books Humor for 2nd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Pippi in the South Seas Pippi Longstocking #3 by Astrid Lindgren from Puffin Books Humor for 2nd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking #1 by Astrid Lindgren from Puffin Books Humor for 2nd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $6.00 $4.50 (1 in stock)
	Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren from Puffin Books for 2nd-5th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $8.99
	Pippi Longstocking Pippi Longstocking #1 by Astrid Lindgren from Puffin Books Humor for 2nd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	Pippi Longstocking Trilogy by Astrid Lindgren from Puffin Books Humor for 2nd-6th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Random House Book of Fairy Tales by Various Authors from Random House Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 3rd-6th grade in Picture Book Treasuries (Location: PIC-TRE) $22.99
	Rip Van Winkle and Other Stories Puffin Classics by Washington Irving from Puffin Books Fairy Tales, Fables, and Legends for 5th-9th grade in Puffin Classics (Location: FIC-PUF) $7.99
	Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, illustrated by Tasha Tudor from HarperCollins Realistic Fiction for 4th-9th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $15.99
	Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner from Akasha Classics for 4th-7th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $12.99
	Sister Alyonushka and Brother Ivanushka & The White Duck by Irina Zheleznova (translator) from Goznak for 3rd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Snow Queen: A Fairy Tale in Seven Stories by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by T. Pym from Epiphany Curriculum, LLC for 2nd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $4.00 (1 in stock)
	Story of Siegfried by James Baldwin, illustrated by Peter Hurd from Yesterday's Classics for 5th-8th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $16.95
	Tales from Moominvalley Moomintrolls Book #6 by Tove Jansson Reprint from Farrar, Straus and Giroux for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN) $8.99
	The Moomins Set by Tove Jansson from Square Fish Publishing for 1st-7th grade in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
	Tom Sawyer, Detective by Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) from SeaWolf Press for 4th-6th grade in Seawolf Illustrated Classics (Location: FIC-SW) $8.95
	Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Frances Brundage from Saalfield Publishing Co. for 4th-8th grade in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC) $6.00 (1 in stock)
	Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Erik Christian Haugaard 1^st edition from Barnes & Noble for 2nd-6th grade in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.00 (1 in stock)
	When Mischief Came to Town by Katrina Ninnestad from Houghton Mifflin for 3rd-6th grade in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA) $9.99
	Wings for Per by Ingri & Edgar Parin D'Aulaire from Beautiful Feet Books for Kindergarten-5th grade in Oversized Picture Books (Location: PIC-OVER) $15.95
	Wonder Smith and His Son by Ella Young, illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff 2025 Reprint from Unknown Publisher for 3rd-6th grade 1928 Newbery Honor Book in Myths, Fairy Tales & Folklore for Children (Location: FIC-MYT) $9.99

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