Order of Book Series
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Chris Riddell Books in Order

Chris Riddell has written 48 books, published between 1986 and 2020. The first book is Ben and the Bear (1986) and the newest is Poems to Save the World With (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
48
Published
1986–2020
Pages on record
3,725 in 34 of 48 books
Reading time
62–93 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,725 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 34 of 48 titles with a page count on record.

See all 48 books in order Printable Chris Riddell checklist
Photo of Chris Riddell, author

Chris Riddell, born 13 April 1962 in South Africa, is an English illustrator, an occasional writer of children's books and a political cartoonist for the Observer. Riddell has won three Kate Greenaway Medals, and books written or illustrated by Riddell have taken three Nestlé Smarties Book Prizes. Riddell became UK Children's Laureate on 9 June 2015. The catalogue lists 48 books from Ben and the Bear (1986) to Poems to Save the World With (2020), with series such as Goth Girl, Ottoline, Platypus, Alienography and Cloud Horse Chronicles. Subjects include picture books, bears, humorous stories and friendship.

How many Chris Riddell books are there?

Chris Riddell has 48 books, released between 1986 and 2020. They include 5 series and 32 titles listed outside any series.

Chris Riddell Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 48 Chris Riddell 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 Mr Underbed by Chris Riddell (1986)
  2. Cover of Humphrey Goes to the Ball by Chris Riddell (1986)
  3. Cover of Humphrey the Hippo by Chris Riddell (1986)
  4. Cover of Humphrey's New Trousers by Chris Riddell (1986)
  5. Cover of Bird's New Shoes by Chris Riddell (1987)
  6. Cover of The Trouble with Elephants by Chris Riddell (1988)
  7. Cover of When the Walrus Comes by Chris Riddell (1989)
  8. Cover of The Fibbs by Chris Riddell (1989)
  9. Cover of The Wish Factory by Chris Riddell (1990)
  10. Cover of The Wonderful World Of Zoom by Chris Riddell (1995)
  11. Cover of Buddhism For Sheep by Chris Riddell (1996)
  12. Cover of Management For Martians by Chris Riddell (1998)
  13. Cover of My Busy Book by Chris Riddell (1998)
  14. Cover of Tribal Politics by Chris Riddell (1999)
  15. Cover of Platypus by Chris Riddell, book 1 of the Platypus series (2001)
  16. Cover of Platypus and the Lucky Day by Chris Riddell, book 2 of the Platypus series (2002)
  17. Cover of Platypus and the Birthday Party by Chris Riddell, book 3 of the Platypus series (2003)
  18. Cover of The Da Vinci Cod and Other Illustrations for Unwritten Books by Chris Riddell (2005)
  19. Cover of Ottoline and the Yellow Cat by Chris Riddell, book 1 of the Ottoline series (2007)
  20. Cover of Wendel's Workshop by Chris Riddell (2007)
  21. Cover of Wendel and the Robots by Chris Riddell (2007)
  22. Cover of Ottoline Goes to School by Chris Riddell, book 2 of the Ottoline series (2008)
  23. Cover of Tao for Babies by Chris Riddell (2008)
  24. Cover of Alienography by Chris Riddell, book 1 of the Alienography series (2010)
  1. 1
    Ben and the BearFun-to-read Picture Books #11986 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198632
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Mr Underbed1986 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198632
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Humphrey Goes to the Ball1986 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198624
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Humphrey of the Rovers1986 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198624
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Humphrey the Hippo1986 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198624
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Humphrey's New Trousers1986 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198624
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Bird's New Shoes1987 · 26 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198726
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Trouble with Elephants1988 · 25 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198825
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    When the Walrus Comes1989 · 24 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198924
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Fibbs1989 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198932
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    The Bear Dance1990 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199032
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Wish Factory1990 · 26 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199026
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Wonderful World Of Zoom1995 · confirmed 1/4
    1995–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Puzzle Boy1996 · confirmed 1/4
    1996–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Buddhism For Sheep1996 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199680
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Management For Martians1998 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199880
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    My Busy Book1998 · 92 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199892
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Tribal Politics1999 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999128
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    PlatypusPlatypus #12001 · confirmed 1/4
    2001–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Platypus and the Lucky DayPlatypus #22002 · confirmed 1/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    Platypus and the Birthday PartyPlatypus #32003 · confirmed 1/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Da Vinci Cod and Other Illustrations for Unwritten Books2005 · 72 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200572
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    The Emperor of Absurdia2006 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200632
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Ottoline and the Yellow CatOttoline #12007 · confirmed 1/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Wendel's Workshop2007 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200732
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Wendel and the Robots2007 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200732
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Ottoline Goes to SchoolOttoline #22008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Tao for Babies2008 · 80 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200880
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    AlienographyAlienography #12010 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201048
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Ottoline at SeaOttoline #32010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Chris Riddell 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.

Goth Girl in order

5 books
  1. 1. Goth Girl and the Ghost of a Mouse
  2. 2. Goth Girl and the Fete Worse than Death
  3. 3. Goth Girl and the Wuthering Fright
  4. 4. Goth Girl and the Pirate Queen
  5. 5. Goth Girl and the Sinister Symphony

Ottoline in order

4 books
  1. 1. Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
  2. 2. Ottoline Goes to School
  3. 3. Ottoline at Sea
  4. 4. Ottoline and the Purple Fox

Platypus in order

3 books
  1. 1. Platypus
  2. 2. Platypus and the Lucky Day
  3. 3. Platypus and the Birthday Party

Alienography in order

2 books
  1. 1. Alienography
  2. 2. Tips for Tiny Tyrants

Fun-to-read Picture Books in order

1 book
  1. 1. Ben and the Bear

Cloud Horse Chronicles in order

1 book
  1. 1. Guardians of Magic

Standalone books

32 books

32 Chris Riddell titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Chris Riddell books in order?

You only need to read Chris Riddell books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Chris Riddell

Start with Ben and the Bear (1986), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Chris Riddell book?

Poems to Save the World With (2020) is the newest Chris Riddell book released so far.

Is there a new Chris Riddell book coming?

No next Chris Riddell 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 Chris Riddell has won

Wikidata records 4 awards and 9 nominations for Chris Riddell. The most recent 12 are listed here. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Chris Riddell at a glance

No recent titles
The newest Chris Riddell title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
Release pace
Chris Riddell books have appeared more than one a year on average.
Length
3,725 pages across the 34 of 48 books with a recorded length, a median of 60 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Chris Riddell books, 19 of 48, were published in the 2010s.

What the Chris Riddell books are about

33 of the 48 Chris Riddell books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: children's fiction is tagged on 17 of 33. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.