Order of Book Series
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Ashley Bryan Books in Order

Ashley Bryan has written 26 books, published between 1971 and 2019. The first book is The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales (1971) and the newest is Infinite Hope (2019). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
26
Published
1971–2019
Pages on record
1,139 in 10 of 26 books
See all 26 books in order Printable Ashley Bryan checklist
Photo of Ashley Bryan, author

Ashley Frederick Bryan (1923-2022) wrote and illustrated children's books, drawing subjects largely from the African-American experience. Bryan was a United States nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2006 and took the Children's Literature Legacy Award in 2009. The picture book Freedom Over Me reached the 2016 Kirkus Prize shortlist and earned a Newbery Honor. The catalogue holds 26 titles, from The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales (1971) to Infinite Hope (2019), among them The Dancing Granny (1977), Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum (1980) and The Cat's Purr (1985). Folklore, African tales, legends, Anansi and spirituals run through the subjects.

How many Ashley Bryan books are there?

Ashley Bryan has 26 books, released between 1971 and 2019.

Ashley Bryan Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 26 Ashley Bryan books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales by Ashley Bryan (1971)
  2. Cover of Adventures of Aku by Ashley Bryan (1976)
  3. Cover of The Dancing Granny by Ashley Bryan (1977)
  4. Cover of Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum by Ashley Bryan (1980)
  5. Cover of The Cat's Purr by Ashley Bryan (1985)
  6. Cover of The Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Tales by Ashley Bryan (1986)
  7. Cover of Sh-Ko and His Eight Wicked Brothers by Ashley Bryan (1988)
  8. Cover of Turtle Knows Your Name by Ashley Bryan (1989)
  9. Cover of Sing to the Sun by Ashley Bryan, book 10 of the Trophy Picture Books series (1992)
  10. Cover of The Story Of Lightning & Thunder by Ashley Bryan (1993)
  11. Cover of African Tales, Uh-Huh by Ashley Bryan (1998)
  12. Cover of The Night Has Ears by Ashley Bryan (1999)
  13. Cover of Let it Shine by Ashley Bryan (2007)
  14. Cover of Who Built the Stable? by Ashley Bryan (2012)
  15. Cover of Freedom Over Me by Ashley Bryan (2016)
  1. 1
    The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales1971 · 42 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197142
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Walk Together Children1974 · confirmed 1/4
    1974–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Adventures of Aku1976 · 70 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197670
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Dancing Granny1977 · confirmed 1/4
    1977–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum1980 · 68 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198068
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    I'm Going to Sing1982 · 64 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198264
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Cat's Purr1985 · 42 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198542
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Tales1986 · 87 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198687
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Sh-Ko and His Eight Wicked Brothers1988 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198824
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Pourquoi Tales1989 · confirmed 1/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Turtle Knows Your Name1989 · confirmed 1/4
    1989–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Sing to the SunTrophy Picture Books #101992 · confirmed 2/4
    1992–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Story Of Lightning & Thunder1993 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199332
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    African Tales, Uh-Huh1998 · 198 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998198
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Night Has Ears1999 · confirmed 1/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Beautiful Blackbird2003 · confirmed 1/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 18
    Let it Shine2007 · 512 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007512
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 19
    Words to My Life's Song2009 · confirmed 1/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 20
    Who Built the Stable?2012 · confirmed 1/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 21
    Can't Scare Me!2013 · confirmed 1/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 22
    All Night, All Day2013 · confirmed 1/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 23
    Ashley Bryan's Puppets2014 · confirmed 1/4
    2014–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 24
    By Trolley Past Thimbledon Bridge2015 · confirmed 1/4
    2015–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 25
    Freedom Over Me2016 · confirmed 1/4
    2016–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 26
    Infinite Hope2019 · confirmed 1/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Ashley Bryan books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

Trophy Picture Books in order

1 book
  1. 10. Sing to the Sun

Standalone books

25 books

25 Ashley Bryan titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Ashley Bryan books in order?

No. No source lists any of the 26 Ashley Bryan books here as part of a series. The numbered table above gives them by publication date.

Where to start with Ashley Bryan

Start with The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales (1971), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Ashley Bryan book?

Infinite Hope (2019) is the newest Ashley Bryan book released so far.

Is there a new Ashley Bryan book coming?

No next Ashley Bryan book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards Ashley Bryan has won

Wikidata records 3 awards for Ashley Bryan. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Regina Medal2011Won
  • Children's Literature Legacy Award2009Won
  • Coretta Scott King Award1981Won

Ashley Bryan at a glance

Died
Ashley Bryan died in 2022, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Ashley Bryan on record dates from 2019.
Release pace
Ashley Bryan books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
1,139 pages across the 10 of 26 books with a recorded length, a median of 66 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Ashley Bryan books, 7 of 26, were published in the 2010s.

What the Ashley Bryan books are about

18 of the 26 Ashley Bryan books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: folklore is tagged on 10 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

  • Folklore 10 of 18 books
  • Children's fiction 5 of 18 books
  • Folklore, juvenile literature 5 of 18 books
  • Juvenile literature 4 of 18 books
  • Tales 4 of 18 books
  • African Americans 3 of 18 books
  • Anansi (Legendary character) 3 of 18 books
  • Legends 3 of 18 books
  • Spirituals (Songs) 3 of 18 books
  • Africa 2 of 18 books
  • Folklore, africa 2 of 18 books