Vintage Fiction & Literature

Children's literature is said to have had a "Golden Age" starting in the 1860s and lasting until about WWI. It was during this time that perennial favorites like Alice in Wonderland, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Pinocchio, Treasure Island, and Tom Sawyer were published. The latter part of this period coincided with the establishment of Howard Pyle's "Brandywine School" of Illustration, out of which came such artists as N.C. Wyeth, Jessie Willcox Smith, Ethel Franklin Betts, Frank Schoonover, Edward A. Wilson, and numerous others. These artists in turn influenced further generations of illustrators. 

During this period and into the sixties, numerous collections of children's literature were published: Scribners Illustrated Library, Junior Deluxe Editions, Rainbow Classics, Windermere Series and Illustrated Junior Library were among them. Mystery series like Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twins proliferated. Anthology collections like Best In Children's Books, My Book House, Collier's Junior Classics, and the Children's Hour became popular. The Newbery and Caldecott Medals were established. And for adults, the Heritage Press volumes (which later became Easton/Franklin) filled many a spot in their libraries. There are, of course, many others, but these are the sorts of books you'll generally find in thus section.

We primarily offer copies in generally good condition here. They're usually hardcover but won't always (or even often) have their original dust jackets. We love to find a range of printings and illustrators, so sometimes you'll have a few options!

Did you find this review helpful?
191 Items found Print
Active Filters: 1st grade (Ages 6-7)
"Stand Back," Said the Elephant, "I'm Going to Sneeze!"
by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Wallace Tripp
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for Nursery-1st grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
ABC Around Green Hills
Betts Basic Readers: The Language Arts Series
by Emmett A. Betts
3rd edition from American Book Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$6.40 (2 in stock)
Adventures of Raggedy Ann
by Johnny Gruelle
from Avenel Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Robin Hood / Pinocchio (adapted)
by Eleanor Graham Vance, illustrated by Jay Hyde Barnum
from Random House
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, illustrated by W. Kirtman Plummer
1970 printing from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-3rd grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Another Book of Verses for Children
by E.V. Lucas (editor), illustrated by F.D. Bedford
from Macmillan
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$20.80 (1 in stock)
Apple Blossoms and Other Stories
by Edmund Stanley and A. R. Taylor
from Scott, Foresman & Co.
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Around Green Hills
Betts Basic Readers: The Language Arts Series
by Emmett A. Betts
from American Book Co.
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Arthur's Christmas Cookies
I Can Read! Level 2
by Lilian Hoban
from Harper & Row
for Preschool-2nd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$2.80 (1 in stock)
At Play
for 1st-2nd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Atlantic Treasury of Childhood Stories
by Mary D. Huchinson Hodgkins (selector and editor), illustrated by Beatrice Stevens
from Atlantic Monthly Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.80 (1 in stock)
Awake and Away
by Leslie W. Irwin, Waid W. Tuttle, Caroline De Kelver, illustrated by Martha E. Miller and Miriam S. Hurford
from Lyons & Carnahan
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Babar and His Children / Tale of Benjamin Bunny
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar); Beatrix Potter (Benjamin)
from Grolier Society
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Babar and Zephir / Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
by Jean de Brunhoff (Babar) and Beatrix Potter (Squirrel Nutkin)
from Random House Books for Young Readers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Be Nice to Spiders
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Benjamin in the Woods
Wonder Books Easy Reader
by Eleanor Clymer, illustrated by William Russell
from Wonder Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Beno, the Riverburg Mayor
from Henry Holt and Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.40 (1 in stock)
Best Loved Fables of Aesop / Nonsense Alphabets
by Aesop, Joseph Jacobs, illustrated by John Tenniel and Joseph Wolf; Edward Lear (Nonsense)
from Grolier Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.80 (2 in stock)
Best Loved Fairy Tales / Selections from a Child's Garden of Verses
by Walter Crane & Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Jessie Wilcox Smith
from Grolier Publishing
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Binky Brothers and the Fearless Four
I Can Read books
by James Lawrence; illustrated by Leonard Kessler
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
Bobbsey Twins #02
by Laura Lee Hope
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bobbsey Twins #25 (brown)
by Laura Lee Hope
from World Distributors (Manchester)
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore
by Laura Lee Hope, illustrated by Janet Laura Scott
from Whitman Publishing Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Bobbsey Twins in the Country
by Laura Lee Hope
Undated from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Bunny Brown and His Sister Sue at Sky Top
Bunny Brown
by Laura Lee Hope, illustrated by Walter S. Rogers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-5th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
$5.20 (1 in stock)
Calico Bush
by Rachel Field, illustrated by Allen Lewis
from Macmillan
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.60 (1 in stock)
Carmen of the Golden Coast
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Child's Garden of Verses
by Robert Louis Stevenson, illustrated by Eulalie
Popular Edition from Platt and Munk Publishers
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Children's Hour Vol. 4
The Children's Hour #4
by Eva March Tappan
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$15.20 (1 in stock)
Children's Hour Vol. 5
The Children's Hour #5
by Eva March Tappan
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$15.20 (1 in stock)
Children's Hour Vol. 9
The Children's Hour #9
by Eva March Tappan
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$7.20 (2 in stock)
Children's Stories of the Bible from the Old and New Testaments
by Barbara Taylor Bradford
from Playmore Publishers
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$3.60 (1 in stock)
Chimney Corner Stories
by Veronica S. Hutchinson, illustrated by Lois Lenski
from Minton, Balch & CO.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Cinderella
Everyman's Library Children's Classics
by C. S. Evans, illustrated by Arthur Rackham
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Collier's Junior Classics - 10 Volume Set
by Margaret E. Martignoni, Series Editor
from Crowell-Collier
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$50.00 (1 in stock)
Collier's Junior Classics Volume 10: Gifts From the Past
by Margaret E. Martignoni, Series Editor and Elenora Alexander, Volume Editor
from Crowell-Collier
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Collier's Junior Classics Volume 4: Just Around the Corner
by Margaret E. Martignoni, Series Editor and Alice Brooks McGuire, Volume Editor
from Crowell-Collier
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Curious Critters
by Patricia Lauber, illustrated by Don Madden
from Garrard Publishing Company
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$28.80 (1 in stock)
Dancing Man
by Ruth Bornstein
from Weekly Reader
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Danny and the Dinosaur
by Syd Hoff
1981 reprint from Harper & Row
for Preschool-1st grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Double Birthday Present
by Mabel Leigh Hunt, illustrated by Elinore Blaisdell
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
East of the Sun and West of the Moon
Macmillan Classics
by P. C. Asbjornsen & Jorgen E. Moe, illustrated by Tom Vroman
from Macmillan
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.80 (1 in stock)
ECL: Sleeping Beauty and other Tales
by Brothers Grimm, illustrated by Wayne Brown
from Classic Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Educator Classic Library (Location: VIN-ECL)
Fireside Stories
by Veronica S. Hutchinson, illustrated by Lois Lenski
from Minton, Balch & CO.
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
From Elephants to Eskimos
Harper & Row Basic Reading Program
by Byron H. VanRoekel and Mary Jean Kluwe
from Harper & Row
for 1st-2nd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Full Color Fairytale Book
by R.C. Scriven, illustrations by Andrew Skilleter
from Derrydale Books
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
George the Babysitter
by Shirley Hughes
from Prentice Hall
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
George Washington's Birthdays
by Wilma Pitchford Hays, illustrated by Peter Burchard
from Coward McCann
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends
by Anne Terry White; illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen
from Golden Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Gollywhopper Egg
by Anne Rockwell
from Macmillan
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Early Readers (Location: EAR-MISC)
$2.40 (1 in stock)
Good Neighbors
by Diane Redfield Massie
from American Education Publications
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Great Big Elephant & the Very Small Elephant
by Barbara Seuling
from Crown Publishers
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Gregory, the Terrible Eater
by Mitchell Sharmat, illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey
from Simon and Schuster
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.50 (2 in stock)
Gus and the Baby Ghost
by Jane Thayer, illustrated by Seymour Fleishman
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Gus Loved His Happy Home
by Jane Thayer, illustrated by Seymour Fleishman
from Linnet Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Gypsy Story Teller
by Cora Morris, illustrated by Frank Dobias
from Junior Literary Guild
for Kindergarten-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Jiri Trnka
5th Impression, 1965 from Paul Hamlyn
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Happy Little Family
Fairchild Family Series #1
by Rebecca Caudill, illustrated by Decie Merwin
1st edition from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Headstart Book of Be Nimble & Be Quick
by Shari Lewis and Jacquelyn Reinach, designed and illustrations by Kent Salisbury and Adrina Zanazanian
from McGraw-Hill
for Nursery-1st grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Heidi
by Johanna Spyri, illustrated by Clara M. Burd
from John C. Winston
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Hound and Bear
by Dick Gackenbach
from Weekly Reader
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
House on East 88th Street
by Bernard Waber
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
How and Why: Heroes
by George W. Diemer (editor), contributing editor Claude Merton Wise
from The L.J. Bullard Co.
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Anthology Collections (Location: VIN-ANTH)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
How to Scare a Lion
by Dorothy Stephenson, illustrated by John E. Johnson
from Follett
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Impunity Jane
by Rumer Godden, illustrated by Adrienne Adams
from Viking Press
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
In Storm and Sunshine
by Horace Mann Buckley, Margaret L. White, Alice B. Adams, Leslie R. Silvernale, illustrated by Edna Potter
from American Book Co.
for 1st-2nd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Indian Sleep-Man Tales
by Bernice Anderson, illustrated by Sears Frank
from Bramhall House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
It Happens on a Ranch
Linguistic Readers First Reader
by Jack E. Richardson, Jr., Henry Lee Smith, Jr., Bernard J. Weiss, illustrated by Tak Murakami
from Harper & Row
for 1st-2nd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$1.60 (8 in stock)
Jesus and His Friends
by Mary Alice Jones, illustrated by Nedda Walker
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Joey Runs Away
by Jack Kent
from Prentice Hall
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Johnny Crow's Garden / Andersen's Fairy Tales
by L. Leslie Brooke & Hans Christian Andersen, retold by Rose Dobbs and illustrated by Gustav Hjortlund
from Frederick Warne & Company
for Nursery-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Journey Cake, Ho!
by Ruth Sawyer, illustrated by Robert McCloskey
from Viking Press
for Preschool- 3rd Grade
1954 Caldecott Honor Book
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
King and the Green Angelica
by Isabel Wyatt and Joan Rudel
from Lanthorn Press
for 1st-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Kiya the Gull
by Fen H. Lasell
from Addison Wesley
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Learning About Health
by Oliver E. Byrd, et. al
from Laidlaw Brothers
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Let's Find Out About Summer
by Martha & Charles Shapp, illustrated by Laszlo Roth
2nd Printing from Franklin Watts
for 1st-2nd grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Lion and Blue
by Robert Vavra, illustrated by Fleur Cowles, preface by the Prince of the Netherlands
from Reynal and Co.
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Poetry (Location: VIN-POET)
$7.20 (1 in stock)
Little Anne of Canada
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Bear
by Maurice Sendak
Book Club from Weekly Reader
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$3.20 (1 in stock)
Little Dutch Tulip Girl
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Erik of Sweden
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Farmer of the Middle West
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Greta of Denmark
Children of All Lands Stories
by Bernadine Bailey
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Indian Weaver
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Jeanne of France
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little John of New England
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Lauri of Finland
Children of All Lands Stories
by Bernadine Bailey
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Locomotive
by Ib Spang Olsen, translated by Virginia Allen Jensen
Weekly Reader from Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
$6.40 (1 in stock)
Little Mexican Donkey Boy
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Pepito of Central America
Children of All Lands Stories
by Gladys Shaw Erskine
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Philippe of Belgium
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Rose of the Mesa
Children of America Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Spanish Dancer
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Swiss Wood Carver
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Tom of England
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Tony of Italy
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Woodsman of the North
Children of America Stories
by Bernadine Bailey
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Margot Austin's Churchmouse Stories
by Margot Austin
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
12