Order of Book Series
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Benjamin Alire Saenz Books in Order

Benjamin Alire Saenz has written 24 books, published between 1988 and 2026. The first book is A Gift from Papá Diego (1988) and the newest is When the World Was Happy (2026). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
24
Published
1988–2026
Pages on record
5,008 in 20 of 24 books
Reading time
83–125 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 5,008 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 20 of 24 titles with a page count on record.

See all 24 books in order Printable Benjamin Alire Saenz checklist
Photo of Benjamin Alire Saenz, author of the Aristotle and Dante series

Benjamin Alire Saenz was an American poet, novelist and author of children's books, born in 1954 and dead in July 2026. The 24 catalogued books open with A Gift from Papá Diego (1988) and close with When the World Was Happy (2026). Poetry collections include Calendar of Dust (1991) and Dark and Perfect Angels (1995). Saenz also wrote the Aristotle and Dante series. Subjects include Mexican Americans, families, grandfathers and bilingual Spanish-language books.

How many Benjamin Alire Saenz books are there?

Benjamin Alire Saenz has 24 books, released between 1988 and 2026. 2 of them belong to the Aristotle and Dante series.

Benjamin Alire Saenz Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 24 Benjamin Alire Saenz 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 A Gift from Papá Diego by Benjamin Alire Saenz (1988)
  2. Cover of Calendar of Dust by Benjamin Alire Saenz (1991)
  3. Cover of Flowers for the Broken by Benjamin Alire Saenz (1992)
  4. Cover of Carry Me Like Water by Benjamin Alire Saenz (1995)
  5. Cover of Dark and Perfect Angels by Benjamin Alire Saenz (1995)
  6. Cover of The House of Forgetting by Benjamin Alire Saenz (1997)
  7. Cover of Finding Your Literary Voice by Benjamin Alire Saenz (1999)
  8. Cover of Elegies in Blue by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2002)
  9. Cover of In Perfect Light by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2005)
  10. Cover of Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2006)
  11. Cover of Dreaming the End of War by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2006)
  12. Cover of Names on a Map by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2008)
  13. Cover of He Forgot to Say Goodbye by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2008)
  14. Cover of The Dog Who Loved Tortillas by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2009)
  15. Cover of The Book of What Remains by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2010)
  16. Cover of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2012)
  17. Cover of Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2012)
  18. Cover of The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2017)
  19. Cover of The Last Cigarette on Earth by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2017)
  20. Cover of Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2021)
  1. 1
    A Gift from Papá Diego1988 · 39 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198839
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Calendar of Dust1991 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Flowers for the Broken1992 · 165 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992165
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Carry Me Like Water1995 · 503 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995503
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Dark and Perfect Angels1995 · 133 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995133
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    The House of Forgetting1997 · 377 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997377
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Finding Your Literary Voice1999 · confirmed 1/4
    1999–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Elegies in Blue2002 · 120 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002120
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    In Perfect Light2005 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood2006 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Dreaming the End of War2006 · 71 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200671
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    A Perfect Season for Dreaming / Un tiempo perfecto para soñar2008 · 40 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200840
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Names on a Map2008 · 426 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008426
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    He Forgot to Say Goodbye2008 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008352
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Dog Who Loved Tortillas2009 · confirmed 1/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Last Night I Sang to the Monster2009 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2009304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Book of What Remains2010 · 125 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2010125
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the UniverseAristotle and Dante #12012 · 368 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012368
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Everything Begins and Ends at the Kentucky Club2012 · 180 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2012180
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    The Inexplicable Logic of My Life2017 · 445 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017445
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Last Cigarette on Earth2017 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2017144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Story of Me2019 · confirmed 1/4
    2019–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the WorldAristotle and Dante #22021 · 544 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2021544
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    When the World Was Happy2026 · confirmed 1/4
    2026–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Benjamin Alire Saenz 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.

Aristotle and Dante in order

2 books
  1. 1. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
  2. 2. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World

Standalone books

22 books

22 Benjamin Alire Saenz titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Benjamin Alire Saenz books in order?

You only need to read Benjamin Alire Saenz books in order within the Aristotle and Dante series, which holds 2 of the 24 Benjamin Alire Saenz books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Benjamin Alire Saenz

Start with A Gift from Papá Diego (1988), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Benjamin Alire Saenz book?

When the World Was Happy (2026) is the newest Benjamin Alire Saenz book released so far.

Is there a new Benjamin Alire Saenz book coming?

No next Benjamin Alire Saenz 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 Benjamin Alire Saenz has won

Wikidata records 5 awards for Benjamin Alire Saenz. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Belpré Medal2013Won
  • PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction2013Won
  • Tomás Rivera Award2009Won
  • Américas Award2004Won
  • American Book Awards1992Won

Benjamin Alire Saenz at a glance

Died
Benjamin Alire Saenz died in 2026, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Benjamin Alire Saenz on record dates from 2026.
Release pace
Benjamin Alire Saenz books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
5,008 pages across the 20 of 24 books with a recorded length, a median of 210 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Benjamin Alire Saenz books, 9 of 24, were published in the 2000s.

What the Benjamin Alire Saenz books are about

19 of the 24 Benjamin Alire Saenz books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mexican americans is tagged on 11 of 19. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.