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!

Did you find this review helpful?
83 Items found Print
Active Filters: Library Binding
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 Pinocchio
by Carlo Collodi, translated by Carol Della Chiesa, illustrated by Attilio Mussino
1969 printing from Macmillan
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Remi
Windermere Readers #11
by Hector Henri Malot, translated & arranged by Philip Schuyler Allen, illustrated by Mead Schaeffer
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures of Remi
Windermere Series 3
by Hector Henri Malot, translated & arranged by Philip Schuyler Allen, illustrated by Mead Schaeffer
from Rand McNally
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Adventures of Remi
Windermere Series 4
by Hector Henri Malot, translated & arranged by Philip Schuyler Allen, illustrated by Mead Schaeffer
from Rand McNally
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Akavak
by James Houston
from Harcourt, Brace & World
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
Augustus Drives a Jeep
by Le Grand Henderson
from Hale-Cadmus
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
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)
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)
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)
Beorn the Proud
by Madeleine Polland, Illustrated by William Stobbs
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
Historical Fiction for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Black Beauty
by Anna Sewell, illustrated by William Steinel
from Golden Books
Realistic Animal Stories for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Blowing-Wand
Land of the Free Series
by Elsie Reif Ziegler, illustrated by Jacob Landau
from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Bobbsey Twins #70
Bobbsey Twins #70
by Laura Lee Hope
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
in Bobbsey Twins (Location: VIN-SER)
Buffalo Chief
by Jane and Paul Annixter
from Hale-Cadmus
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Calico Bush
by Rachel Field
Second Printing from Macmillan
Realistic Fiction for 5th-8th grade
1932 Newbery Honor Book
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Captives of the Senecas
by John Brick
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Claim to the Wilderness
by Peter John Stephens
First Edition, First Printing from W. W. Norton and Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (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)
$36.00 (1 in stock)
Dan and the Miranda
by Wilson Gage, illustrated by Glen Rounds
from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Danny Dunn and the Heat Ray
by Jay Williams & Raymond Abrashkin, Illustrated by Owen Kampen
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine
by Jay Williams & Raymond Abrashkin, Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Danny Dunn and the Universal Glue
by Jay Williams & Raymond Abrashkin, Illustrated by Paul Sagsoorian
from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Danny Dunn on a Desert Island
by Jay Williams & Raymond Abrashkin, Illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats
1971 printing from McGraw-Hill
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$25.00 (1 in stock)
Dark Venture
by Audrey White Beyer, illustrated by Leo & Diane Dillon
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Dobry
by Monica Shannon; illustrated by Atanas Katchamakoff
15th printing 1967 from Viking Press
for 4th-8th grade
1935 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (2 in stock)
Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective
by Donald J. Sobol; illustrated by Leonard Shortall
from Lodestar Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Fairy Tales from the Philippines
by Dorothy Lewis Robertson (reteller), illustrated by Howard M. Burns
from Dodd, Mead & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Fog Magic
Puffin Newbery Library
by Julia L. Sauer, illustrated by Lynd Ward
Tenth printing, 1968 from Macmillan
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Follow That Ghost
by Dale Fife, illustrated by Joan Drescher
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Glory for Gil
by Maxine Drury
from David McKay Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$50.00 (1 in stock)
Hans Brinker
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Hans Brinker
Windermere Readers #7
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Hans Brinker
Windermere Series 4
by Mary Mapes Dodge, illustrated by Milo Winter
1954 Edition, 2nd printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-9th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
Hansi
by Ludwig Bemelmans
Ninth Printing 1969 from Viking Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Ho Fills the Rice Barrel
by Mary Huston Sherer, illustrated by Marion Greenwood
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Incredible Detectives
by Don & Joan Caufield, illustrated by Kiyo Komoda
from Harper & Row
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Indigo Magic
by Mildred Lawrence, illustrated by Oscar Liebman
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Jolly Corner & The Real Thing
by Henry James, illustrated by Fermin Rocker
from Franklin Watts
for 9th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Journal of One Davey Wyatt
by Donald Honig, illustrated by Sam Fink
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
King's Beard
by Leonard Wibberley, illustrated by Christine Price
First Cadmus Edition 1965 from E.M. Hale and Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Landslide!
by Veronique Day; illustrated by Margot Tomes, translated by Margaret Morgan
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Leprechaun Tales
by Kathleen Green; illustrated by Victoria De Larrea
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Little Indian Weaver
Children of All Lands Stories
by Madeline Brandeis
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 1st-4th grade
Little Maverick Cow
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery at the Shoals
by Duane Bradley, illustrated by Velma Ilsley
Second Printing from Lippincott
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery House
by Polly Hobson, illustrated by Judith Ann Lawrence
from Hale-Cadmus
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Mystery Key
by Jean Bothwell, illustrated by Leonard Shortall
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
No Room for a Dog
by Marion Holland; illustrated by Albert Orbaan
from Random House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Noodles, Nitwits, and Numbskulls
by Maria Leach, illustrated by Kurt Werth
1971 printing from World Publishing Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Ol' Paul the Mighty Logger
by Glen Rounds
from Holiday House
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Open the Doors
by Margery Fisher (collected and arranged by)
First American Edition from World Publishing Company
for 2nd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Our Lady of Guadalupe
by Helen Rand Parish, illustrated by Jean Charlot
1964 Printing from Viking Press
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pepper and Salt
by Howard Pyle
from HarperCrest
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Peter Jumping Horse at the Stampede
by Gordon Langley Hall, illustrated by Jennifer Kent
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Queen's Most Honorable Pirate
by James Playsted Wood, illustrated by Leonard Everett Fisher
from HarperCrest
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Rescue Dog of the High Pass
by Jim Kjelgaard; illustrated by Edward Shenton
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
River Road: A Story of Abraham Lincoln
by Meridel LeSueur, illustrated by Aldren A. Watson
Second Printing from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
San Domingo
by Marguerite Henry; illustrated by Robert Lougheed
from Rand McNally
for 3rd-7th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$9.60 (1 in stock)
Sara and the Winter Gift
by Miriam E. Mason, illustrated by Paul Frame
from Macmillan
for 3rd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Shropshire Lad
by A. E. Housman
from Franklin Watts
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
South Fork Rangers
by Manly Wade Wellman
from Ives Washburn, Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
South Town
by Lorenz Graham
from Follett Publishing Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Stories from Herodotus
by Glanville Downey (translator), illustrated by Enrico Arno
Second Printing from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$75.00 (1 in stock)
Summer of the White Reindeer
by Lillian Pohlmann, illustrated by Beth & Joe Krush
from Hale-Cadmus
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Readers #9
by Johann Wyss, frontispiece by Milo Winter
1954 Edition from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 1
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 2
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
1921 Printing from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 3
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Swiss Family Robinson
Windermere Series 4
by Johann Wyss, translated by W.H.G. Kingston, and illustrated by T.H. Robinson, Milo Winter, and Louis Rhead
from Rand McNally
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Taffy and Melissa Molasses
by Carolyn Haywood
from William Morrow & Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Three Boys and a Lighthouse
by Nan Hayden Agle and Ellen Wilson, Illustrated by Marian Honigman
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
To See the Queen
by Katharine Gibson, illustrated by Clotilde Embree Funk
from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Trouble for Tomas
by Fraz Hutterer; illustrated by Irene Schreiber, translated by Joyce Emerson
from Hale-Cadmus
Historical Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$24.00 (1 in stock)
Trumpeter of Krakow
by Eric Kelly, illustrated by Angela Pruszynska
1965 Printing from Macmillan
for 6th-9th grade
1929 Newbery Medal winner
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Wildcat Under Glass
by Alki Zei, translated by Edward Fenton
1969 second printing from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Wilderness Wife
by Etta B. Degering, illustrated by Ursula Koering
from David McKay Company
for 4th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Witch's Daughter
by Nina Bawden
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 6th-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Wizards and Witches
by Frances Wilkins, illustrated by Fritz Wegner
from E.M. Hale and Company
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Yellow Fairy Book
by Andrew Lang, editor
from McGraw-Hill
Fairy Tales for 3rd-8th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$38.00 (1 in stock)