Order of Book Series
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Betty MacDonald Books in Order

12 books are credited to Betty MacDonald, published between 1945 and 2007; 3 of them appeared after Betty MacDonald's death in 1958. The first book is Anybody Can Do Anything (1945) and the newest is Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (2007). Publication order is the reading order below. 6 of the 12 books listed here are in the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series, which has its own page: Mrs. Piggle Wiggle books in order.

Books
12
Published
1945–2007
Pages on record
1,457 in 7 of 12 books
Reading time
24–36 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 1,457 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 12 titles with a page count on record.

See all 12 books in order Printable Betty MacDonald checklist
Photo of Betty MacDonald, author of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series

Betty MacDonald, born Anne Elizabeth Campbell Bard on March 26, 1907, was an American author of humorous autobiographical books who died on February 7, 1958. The Egg and I (1945) is MacDonald's best known book, and MacDonald also wrote the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle children's series. MacDonald is associated with the Pacific Northwest and Washington. Other titles include The Plague and I (1948), Onions in the Stew (1955) and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm (1954).

How many Betty MacDonald books are there?

Betty MacDonald has 12 books, released between 1945 and 2007. 3 of them were published after Betty MacDonald's death in 1958. 6 of them belong to the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series.

Betty MacDonald Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 12 Betty MacDonald 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 Anybody Can Do Anything by Betty MacDonald, book 1 of the Memoirs series (1945)
  2. Cover of The Egg and I by Betty MacDonald, book 2 of the Memoirs series (1945)
  3. Cover of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald, book 1 of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series (1947)
  4. Cover of The Plague and I by Betty MacDonald, book 3 of the Memoirs series (1948)
  5. Cover of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic by Betty MacDonald, book 2 of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series (1949)
  6. Cover of Nancy and Plum by Betty MacDonald (1952)
  7. Cover of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm by Betty MacDonald, book 3 of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series (1954)
  8. Cover of Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald, book 4 of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series (1955)
  9. Cover of Onions in the Stew by Betty MacDonald, book 4 of the Memoirs series (1955)
  10. Cover of Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald, book 6 of the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series (2007)
  1. 1
    Anybody Can Do AnythingMemoirs #11945 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1945224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Egg and IMemoirs #21945 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1945256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Mrs. Piggle-WiggleMrs. Piggle Wiggle #11947 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1947128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Plague and IMemoirs #31948 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1948240
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's MagicMrs. Piggle Wiggle #21949 · confirmed 1/4
    1949–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Nancy and Plum1952 · 160 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1952160
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's FarmMrs. Piggle Wiggle #31954 · confirmed 1/4
    1954–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    Hello, Mrs. Piggle-WiggleMrs. Piggle Wiggle #41955 · confirmed 1/4
    1955–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Onions in the StewMemoirs #41955 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1955256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Who, Me?Memoirs #51959 · confirmed 1/4
    1959–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Won't-Pick-Up-Toys CureMrs. Piggle Wiggle #51998 · confirmed 1/4
    1998–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-WiggleMrs. Piggle Wiggle #62007 · 193 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007193
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Betty MacDonald series in order

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.

Betty MacDonald 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.

Memoirs in order

5 books
  1. 1. Anybody Can Do Anything
  2. 2. The Egg and I
  3. 3. The Plague and I
  4. 4. Onions in the Stew
  5. 5. Who, Me?

Standalone books

1 book

1 Betty MacDonald title here is not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Betty MacDonald books in order?

You only need to read Betty MacDonald books in order within the Mrs. Piggle Wiggle series, which holds 6 of the 12 Betty MacDonald books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Betty MacDonald

Start with Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (1947), the first Mrs. Piggle Wiggle book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Anybody Can Do Anything (1945).

What is the newest Betty MacDonald book?

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (2007) is the newest Betty MacDonald book released so far.

Is there a new Betty MacDonald book coming?

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

Betty MacDonald at a glance

Died
Betty MacDonald died in 1958, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Betty MacDonald are still being published after Betty MacDonald's death in 1958; the newest appeared in 2007.
Release pace
Betty MacDonald books have appeared about one every 6 years on average.
Length
1,457 pages across the 7 of 12 books with a recorded length, a median of 224 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Betty MacDonald books, 5 of 12, were published in the 1950s.

What the Betty MacDonald books are about

10 of the 12 Betty MacDonald books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: behavior is tagged on 6 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.