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
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.
Source: Wikidata
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 November 2026.
- 1The Ox of the Wonderful Horns and Other African Folktales1971 · 42 pages · confirmed 1/41971421/4
- 2Walk Together Children1974 · confirmed 1/41974–1/4
- 3Adventures of Aku1976 · 70 pages · confirmed 1/41976701/4
- 4The Dancing Granny1977 · confirmed 1/41977–1/4
- 5Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum1980 · 68 pages · confirmed 1/41980681/4
- 6I'm Going to Sing1982 · 64 pages · confirmed 1/41982641/4
- 7The Cat's Purr1985 · 42 pages · confirmed 1/41985421/4
- 8The Lion and the Ostrich Chicks and Other African Tales1986 · 87 pages · confirmed 1/41986871/4
- 9Sh-Ko and His Eight Wicked Brothers1988 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/41988241/4
- 10Pourquoi Tales1989 · confirmed 1/41989–1/4
- 11Turtle Knows Your Name1989 · confirmed 1/41989–1/4
- 121992–2/4
- 13The Story Of Lightning & Thunder1993 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/41993321/4
- 14African Tales, Uh-Huh1998 · 198 pages · confirmed 1/419981981/4
- 15The Night Has Ears1999 · confirmed 1/41999–1/4
- 16Beautiful Blackbird2003 · confirmed 1/42003–1/4
- 17Beautiful Blackbird and Other Stories2004 · confirmed 1/42004–1/4
- 18Let it Shine2007 · 512 pages · confirmed 1/420075121/4
- 19Words to My Life's Song2009 · confirmed 1/42009–1/4
- 20Who Built the Stable?2012 · confirmed 1/42012–1/4
- 21Can't Scare Me!2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 22All Night, All Day2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 23Ashley Bryan's Puppets2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 24By Trolley Past Thimbledon Bridge2015 · confirmed 1/42015–1/4
- 25Freedom Over Me2016 · confirmed 1/42016–1/4
- 26Infinite Hope2019 · confirmed 1/42019–1/4
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- 10. Sing to the Sun
Standalone books
25 books25 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. Award data is sourced from Wikidata.
- 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.
When Ashley Bryan books were published
Publication distribution by decade, showing when Ashley Bryan titles appeared. 1980s was the most productive decade with 7 titles.
26 books total across 5 decades. Decade reflects the year each title was first catalogued.
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