Staff Favorites & Reviews

No staff is entirely static, staying exactly the same for years with no additions or subtractions. We realize that, but we're also pretty proud of our current personnel, and the many ways they've helped shape Exodus Books and point it in some unforeseen and wonderful directions. So, in 2011 we started asking each individual to share their favorite books, curricula, games, etc., and these pages are the result.

Because sharing favorites is fairly personal, we thought you should get to know each of these peculiar persons and asked them all to write a main bio, as well as section-specific bios. These are partly to show why they selected the titles and products in their lists, and partly just to show you that Exodus Books is inhabited by real people who do real things.

One of our biggest in-store services is making recommendations and helping people find what works best for them. These lists aren't as customer-specific, but they serve the same purpose—we're not just trying to parade our excellent taste or prove that we're literate, we're trying to help you discover things you may never have found otherwise, and maybe to rediscover some old favorites.

It's probably a fact universally true of book-lovers: given the chance, they'll talk your ear off about the books they love, the books they hate, and all the books you'll never read but that are really much better than the well-known books you will read. This isn't pretension. It's simply what happens to those who love words and want to share them. We've tried to cut the talk down here, though we'll gladly answer any pertinent questions.

With that, we present Staff Favorites. You'll find some overlap (lots of people seem to like The Chronicles of Narnia), but rarely if ever will you find complete consensus on a single title, product, or curriculum line. That's why we let everyone make their own lists: you know the official Exodus stance by reading our reviews, but the individuality that makes our store unique and awesome is what's on display here. Enjoy, and don't judge too harshly.

Did you find this review helpful?
Subcategories
127 Items found Print
Active Filters: Fiction & Literature, 8th grade (Ages 13-14), Hardcover
...and now Miguel
by Joseph Krumgold
from Thomas Crowell
for 5th-8th grade
1954 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Sterling Classics
by Jules Verne, translated by Lewis Page Mercier and illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 5th-10th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Adventures and Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Sterling Classics
by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 7th-12th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
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
Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Sterling Classics
by Mark Twain, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel
from Macmillan
Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Allegiant (Divergent Series)
Divergent #3
by Veronica Roth
1st edition from Katherine Tegen Books
for 6th-9th grade
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Anne of Green Gables
Anne #1
by L. M. Montgomery
from Tundra Books (NY)
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$19.99
Anne of Green Gables
Anne #1
by L. M. Montgomery, illustrated by Eric Kincaid
from Wordsworth Editions
Orphan Stories for 5th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Around the World in Eighty Days
Sterling Classics
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Adventure for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Around the World in Eighty Days
Books of Wonder
by Jules Verne, illustrated by Barry Moser
from William Morrow & Company
Adventure for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
At the Back of the North Wind
by George MacDonald, Illustrated by Jessie Willcox Smith
from David McKay Company
Fairy Tale for 4th-Adult
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Black Arrow
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Atheneum
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Black Cauldron
Prydain Chronicles #2
by Lloyd Alexander
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Cauldron
Prydain Chronicles #2
by Lloyd Alexander
Revise Edition from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1966 Newbery Honor Book
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Blue Sword
by Robin McKinley
from Greenwillow Books
for 8th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Book of the Dun Cow
by Walter Wangerin Jr.
from HarperCollins
for 8th grade-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Book of Three
Prydain Chronicles #1
by Lloyd Alexander
Revised 1999 printing from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Bounty Trilogy (School Edition)
by Charles Nordhoff & James Norman Hall
from Globe Book Company
Nautical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Boys of Blur
by N. D. Wilson
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Bridge to Terabithia
by Katherine Paterson
First Ed from HarperCollins
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
1978 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Castle of Llyr
Prydain Chronicles #3
by Lloyd Alexander
Revised 1999 Edition from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Cheaper By the Dozen
by Frank Gilbreth & Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
1st edition 1st printing from HarperCollins
Family Stories for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Children of Odin
by Padraic Colum, illustrated by Willy Pogany
from Macmillan
Norse Mythology for 3rd-8th grade
$40.00 (1 in stock)
Chronicles of Prydain
by Lloyd Alexander
Revised 1999 Edition from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Colonial Living
by Edwin Tunis
from World Publishing Company
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Complete Tales of Uncle Remus
by Joel Chandler Harris
from Houghton Mifflin
Animal Fantasy for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Books of Wonder
by Mark Twain (illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman)
from HarperCollins
for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Criss Cross
by Lynne Rae Perkins
1st edition from Greenwillow Books
for 6th-9th grade
2006 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Dear Mr. Henshaw
by Beverly Cleary
from William Morrow & Company
Realistic Fiction for 5th-9th grade
1984 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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
Eagle of the Ninth
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by C. Walter Hodges
from Oxford University
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
Eleventh Hour
by Graeme Base
from Scholastic Inc.
for 5th-Adult
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 in stock)
Gilgamesh the Hero
by Geraldine McCaughrean
from Eerdmans
for 4th-8th grade
$20.00
Giver
by Lois Lowry
from HMH Books for Young Readers
for 7th-10th grade
1994 Newbery Medal winner
in Science Fiction (Location: FIC-SCI)
Graveyard Book
by Neil Gaiman
from HarperCollins
for 6th-9th grade
2009 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Grimm Brothers, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Viking Press
for 4th-8th grade
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter Book 2
by J. K. Rowling
First American Edition from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$26.99
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter Book 2
by J. K. Rowling
Illustrated from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$39.99
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Harry Potter Book 7
by J. K. Rowling
1st edition from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$34.99 $16.00 (1 in stock)
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter Book 4
by J. K. Rowling
1st American Edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$29.99 $15.00 (1 in stock)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Harry Potter Book 6
by J. K. Rowling
1st American Edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 6th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$29.99 $16.00 (1 in stock)
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter Book 5
by J. K. Rowling
1st American Edition from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$29.99
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter Book 3
by J.K. Rowling
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$29.99 $15.00 (2 in stock)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$39.99
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter Book 1
by J. K. Rowling
from Scholastic Press
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$29.99
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter Book 1
by J. K. Rowling
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$39.99
High King
Prydain Chronicles #5
by Lloyd Alexander
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1969 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
High King
Prydain Chronicles #5
by Lloyd Alexander
Revised 1999 Edition from Henry Holt and Company
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
1969 Newbery Medal winner
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Higher Power of Lucky
by Susan Patron
from Atheneum
for 4th-8th grade
2007 Newbery Medal Winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Hobbit
by J. R. R. Tolkien
from Houghton Mifflin
Fantasy for 5th-9th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$19.99
Inheritance Cycle - Hardcover set
by Christopher Paolini
from Random House
for 8th-12th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Island of the Blue Dolphins
by Scott O'Dell
from Houghton Mifflin
Realistic Fictio for 5th-8th grade
1961 Newbery Medal Winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte
from International Collectors Library
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Random House
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Bronte, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Random House
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
Jane Eyre & Wuthering Heights - 2 Volume Set
by Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte, illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg
from Random House
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Jungle Book
Sterling Classics
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Scott McKowen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Kidnapped
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth
from Atheneum
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Kidnapped
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by N. C. Wyeth and Graham Oakley
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Historical Fiction for 7th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Lantern Bearers
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by Charles Keeping
from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
1959 Carnegie Medal
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
Little House - Hardcover Set
by Laura Ingalls Wilder
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$139.11
Little Men
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Troy Howell
from Dilithium Press, Ltd.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Little Princess
Puffin Classics
by Frances Hodgson Burnett
from Puffin Books
for 3rd-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Little Women
Sterling Classics
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Scott McKowen
Unabridged from Sterling Publishing Co.
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Judith Cheng
Special from Simon and Schuster
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Dinah Dryhurst
Reprint from Breslich & Foss
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Clara M. Burd
from John C. Winston
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Little Women
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Hodges Soileau and Louis Jambor
from Reader's Digest
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 6th-10th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Barbara Cooney
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Little Women
by Louisa May Alcott, illustrated by Tasha Tudor
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Little Women
Penguin Clothbound Classics
by Louisa May Alcott, edited and introduced by Elaine Showalter, with notes by Siobhan Kilfeather and Vinca Showalter
Unabridged from Penguin Classics
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Louisa May Alcott
by Louisa May Alcott
from Octopus Books Limited
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Luther
by Frederick Nohl
from Concordia Publishing House
for 5th-8th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.99 $7.50 (4 in stock)
Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams
by Daniel Nayeri, illustrated by Daniel Miyares
from Levine Querido
for 6th-9th grade
2024 Newbery Honor Book
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
$21.99
Mary Poppins
Mary Poppins Series #1
by P. L. Travers, illustrated by Julia Sarda
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Fantasy for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes
Reader's Digest World's Best Reading
by Arthur Conan Conan Doyle
from Reader's Digest
for 7th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Moccasin Trail
Puffin Newbery Library
by Eloise J. McGraw
9th impression from Coward McCann
Historical Fiction for 4th-8th grade
1953 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Mouse and His Child
by Russell Hoban, illustrated by David Small
from Arthur A. Levine Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$19.99
Mysterious Benedict Society
Mysterious Benedict Society #1
by Trenton Lee Stewart
from Little, Brown & Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Out of the Dust
by Karen Hesse
1st edition from Scholastic Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 6th-8th grade
1998 Newbery Medal winner
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Papa's Wife
by Thyra Ferre Bjorn
from Rinehart & Company, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Phantom Tollbooth
by Norton Juster, illustrated by Jule Feiffer
from Random House
Satirical Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Poor Richard
by James Daugherty
Biography for 6th-9th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Pride and Prejudice
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Jane Austen
from Grosset & Dunlap
Realistic Romantic Fiction for 8th-12th grade
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
Prince Caspian
Chronicles of Narnia Book 4
by C. S. Lewis
from HarperCollins
Allegorical Fantasy for 3rd-9th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Princess and the Goblin
Everyman Library
by George MacDonald
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Fantasy for 5th-8th grade
$18.00
Princess Bride
by William Goldman
from Harcourt
Humorous Adult Fairy Tale for 8th-12th grade
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$30.00
Reformation Heroes
by Diana Kleyn, Joel R. Beeke
2nd edition from Reformation Heritage Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Church History (Location: XCH-HIS)
Robin Hood
Scribner Illustrated Classics
by Paul Creswick, illustrated by N.C. Wyeth
from Atheneum
for 6th-10th grade
in Action & Adventure Stories (Location: FIC-ADV)
Roller Skates
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Valenti Angelo
from Viking Press
Realistic fiction for 5th-8th grade
1937 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$17.00 (1 in stock)
Secret Garden
Puffin Classics
by Frances Burnett
from Puffin Books
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Secret Garden
Everyman Children's Classics
by Frances Burnett, illustrated by Charles Robinson
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Realistic Fiction for 4th-8th grade
Series of Unfortunate Events - complete set
Series of Unfortunate Events
by Lemony Snicket
from HarperCollins
Humor for 4th-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Silver Branch
by Rosemary Sutcliff, illustrated by Charles Keeping
from Henry Z. Walck, Inc.
Historical Fiction for 6th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox
from Simon and Schuster
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Slave Dancer
by Paula Fox, illustrated by Eros Keith
from Bradbury Press
Historical Fiction for 6th-10th grade
1974 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
12