Vintage Fiction & Literature

The definition of vintage from Merriam- Webster states, “denoting something of high quality, especially something from the past or characteristic of the best period of a person’s work.” This means vintage is an older item that was designed or manufactured in its prime time. A real leather jacket from the 1940s would be considered vintage clothing. Dictionary.com offers several definitions of the word antique: “of or belonging to the past; not modern;” “dating from a period long ago;” and  “noting or pertaining to automobiles approximately 25 years old or more.” This means antique represents an item that is significantly older of date. It’s understandable why people interchange these two phrases so much, they seem very similar! However, certain items are differentiated between these definitions.

We've purposely used the word "vintage" for this section, and for our purposes are defining that as 50 years or older. As of 2024, that means we include books here from 1974 or before. We would describe books that were printed 100 years or more ago as antique and want to make it clear that you won't find many of those here (though you may find a few). 

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!

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1,084 Items found Print
Active Filters: 3rd grade (Ages 8-9)
Abraham Lincoln
Weekly Reader Heroes of the Civil War
by Susan Dye Lee, illustrated by Ralph Canaday
from Children's Press
for 3rd-4th grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn / Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Samuel Clemens
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Companion Library (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Jimmy Skunk
by Thornton W. Burgess, illustrated by Harrison Cady
1920 Printing from Little, Brown & Company
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Readers #10
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
1954 edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Perrine
Windermere Series 4
by Hector Malot, translated by Gil Meynier, adapted by Edith Heal
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by ??
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by M.A. Murray and illustrated by Charles Folkard
from David McKay Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Sterling Publishing Co.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Pinocchio
Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks
by Carlo Collodi, translated and adapted by Angelo Patri and illustrated by Mary Liddell
from Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc.
Fantasy for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Adventures of Tommy Blake
by Brother Ernest
from St. Anthony Guild Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Aesop's Fables
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Aesop, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fables for 2nd-6th grade
Aesop's Fables
by Aesop, retold by Anne Terry White, illustrated by Helen Siegl
from California State Department of Education
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (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)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Akavak
by James Houston
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Album of Horses
by Marguerite Henry
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
All About Story Book
by Watty Piper (editor), illustrated by Symeon Shimin
from Platt and Munk Publishers
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
All the Mowgli Stories
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Rudyard Kipling, illustrated by Richard M. Powers
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #1
by Sydney Taylor, illustrated by Helen John
from Follett
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
All-of-a-Kind Family Uptown
All-of-a-Kind Family Series #4
by Sydney Taylor; illustrated by Mary Stevens
from Follett Publishing Co.
Family Stories for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$34.00 (1 in stock)
Almena's Dogs
G&D Famous Dog Stories
by Regina Woody
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Alvin's Secret Code
by Clifford B. Hicks, Illustrated by Bill Sokol
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Alvin's Swap Shop
by Clifford B. Hicks, Illustrated by Bill Sokol
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Illustrated Junior Library Series 4
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Arthur Szyk
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Junior Deluxe Editions
by Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
Andersen's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Illustrated Junior Library Series 1
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Arthur Szyk
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Arthur Szyk
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Illustrated Junior Library Series 3
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Arthur Szyk
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Illustrated Junior Library Series 2
by Hans Christian Anderson, illustrated by Arthur Szyk
from Grosset & Dunlap
Fairy Tales for 3rd-6th grade
in Illustrated Junior Library (Location: VIN-IJL)
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
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Windermere Readers #8
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen and illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 1
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen and illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 2 (Cover 1)
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen and illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 2 (Cover 2)
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen and illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 3
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen and illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Andersen's Fairy Tales
Windermere Series 4
by Hans Christian Andersen, translated by Valdemar Paulsen and illustrated by Milo Winter
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Andersen's Fairy Tales / Grimm's Fairy Tales
by Hans Christian Andersen, Brothers Grimm
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Angie's First Case
by Donald J. Sobol
from Four Winds Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mystery & Suspense (Location: FIC-MYS)
Animal Stories
by Joel Chandler Harris, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Animal Stories
by Edited by Walter de la Mare
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Anthology of Children's Literature
by Edna Johnson, Evelyn R. Sickels, and Frances Clarke Sayers (editors), illustrated by Fritz Eichenberg & N. C. Wyeth
4th edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 3rd-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Apache Gold
by Joseph A. Altsheler
from Appleton-Century-Crofts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (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)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Appleseed Farm
by Emily Taft Douglas, illustrated by Anne Vaughan
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Arabian Nights
Companion Library
by Anonymous, illustrated by Mamoru Funai
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
Argosy of Fables
by F. T. Cooper (editor), illustrated by Paul Bransom
from Frederick A. Stokes Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$64.00 (1 in stock)
Around the World in 80 Days (abridged)
by Jules Verne, abridged by Hilda Young, illustrated by Gianni Demo
from World Distributors (Manchester)
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Arthur and the Super Chimp Contest
An I Can Read Book
by Lillian Hoban
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in I Can Read Books (Location: EAR-ICR)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Arthur Rackham Fairy Book
by Arthur Rackham
from Lippincott
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
$16.00 (1 in stock)
Augustus Drives a Jeep
by Le Grand Henderson
from Hale-Cadmus
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Aunt Jo's Scrap Bag
by Louisa May Alcott
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
B Is for Betsy
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bambi's Children
by Felix Salten, illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Be Nice to Spiders
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Bears, Pirates and Silver Lace
by Anne B. Fisher; illustrated by Phil Nesbitt
from Binford & Mort Publishing
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Beautiful Blue Jay and Other Tales of India
by John W. Spellman, illustrated by Jerry Pinkney
1st edition from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Beaver of Weeping Water
by Marian Rumsey, illustrated by Lydia Rosier
from William Morrow & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Becky and Her Brave Cat, Bluegrass
by Miriam E. Mason, illustrated by Robert MacLean
from Macmillan
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$38.00 (1 in stock)
Beginning was a Dutchman
by Isla Mitchell, illustrated by Richard Kennedy
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Beloved Rascals
by Sam Campbell
from Bobbs-Merril Co
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Benito
by Clyde Robert Bulla, Illustrated by Valenti Angelo
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Beno, the Riverburg Mayor
from Henry Holt and Company
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Betsy and the Boys
by Carolyn Haywood
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Betsy's Play School
by Carolyn Haywood, illustrated by James Griffin
from William Morrow & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Beverly Gray's Discovery
by Clair Blank
from Mcloughlin Bros. Inc
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bhimsa, the Dancing Bear
by Christine Weston, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
1946 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bible Stories for Young Readers
Junior Deluxe Editions
by April Oursler Armstrong, illustrated by Jules Gotlieb
from Junior Deluxe Editions
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Bible Story Books (Location: VIN-BIB)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Biff Brewster #01
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Biff Brewster #02
A Biff Brewster Mystery Adventure
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Biff Brewster #03
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #04
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #05
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #06
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #07
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #08
A Biff Brewster Mystery Adventure
by Andy Adams
AmericanWebbooks 2003 Reprint from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Biff Brewster #09
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #10
A Biff Brewster Mystery Adventure
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #11
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #12
A Biff Brewster Mystery Adventure
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Biff Brewster #13
by Andy Adams
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Biff Brewster (Location: VIN-SER)
Big Goose and the Little White Duck
by Meindert DeJong, illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
Biography of a Grizzly
Thrushwood Book
by Earnest Thompson Seton
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Birds' Christmas Carol
by Kate Douglas Wiggin
from Houghton Mifflin
Christmas/Advent for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Blind Colt
Weekly Reader
by Glen Rounds
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Blind Colt
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Blind Colt
A World Famous Horse Story Library selection
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Blitz
by Hetty Burlingame Beatty, illustrated by Joshua Tolford
from Weekly Reader
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bobbsey Twins #01
by Laura Lee Hope
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
Bobbsey Twins #01 (tweed)
by Laura Lee Hope
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
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