Order of Book Series
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Derrick Barnes Books in Order

Derrick Barnes has written 19 books, published between 2004 and 2025. The first book is Just For You! Low-down Bad-day Blues (2004) and the newest is I Got You (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
19
Published
2004–2025
Pages on record
455 in 4 of 19 books
See all 19 books in order Printable Derrick Barnes checklist
Photo of Derrick Barnes, author of the Ruby and the Booker Boys series

Derrick Barnes is an American writer of children's books who once wrote for Hallmark greeting cards. Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut (2017) earned Barnes a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Award in 2018. The catalogue counts 19 books from 2004 to 2025, including the Ruby and the Booker Boys series. African American culture and positive portrayals of Black children in daily life run through the work. Early titles include Just For You! Low-down Bad-day Blues (2004), and The King of Kindergarten arrived in 2019. I Got You (2025) is the newest listing.

How many Derrick Barnes books are there?

Derrick Barnes has 19 books, released between 2004 and 2025. 4 of them belong to the Ruby and the Booker Boys series.

Derrick Barnes Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 19 Derrick Barnes 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 Just For You! Low-down Bad-day Blues by Derrick Barnes (2004)
  2. Cover of Just For You!: Stop, Drop, And Chill by Derrick Barnes (2004)
  3. Cover of The Making of Dr. Truelove by Derrick Barnes (2006)
  4. Cover of Brand New School, Brave New Ruby by Derrick Barnes, book 1 of the Ruby and the Booker Boys series (2008)
  5. Cover of Trivia Queen, 3rd Grade Supreme by Derrick Barnes, book 2 of the Ruby and the Booker Boys series (2008)
  6. Cover of Slumber Party Payback by Derrick Barnes, book 3 of the Ruby and the Booker Boys series (2008)
  7. Cover of Ruby Flips For Attention by Derrick Barnes, book 4 of the Ruby and the Booker Boys series (2009)
  8. Cover of We Could Be Brothers by Derrick Barnes (2010)
  9. Cover of Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut by Derrick Barnes (2017)
  10. Cover of The King of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes (2019)
  11. Cover of I Am Every Good Thing by Derrick Barnes (2020)
  12. Cover of Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice by Derrick Barnes (2022)
  13. Cover of The Queen of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes (2022)
  1. 1
    Just For You! Low-down Bad-day Blues2004 · confirmed 1/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Just For You!: Stop, Drop, And Chill2004 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200432
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Making of Dr. Truelove2006 · 233 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2006233
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Brand New School, Brave New RubyRuby and the Booker Boys #12008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Trivia Queen, 3rd Grade SupremeRuby and the Booker Boys #22008 · confirmed 1/4
    2008–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Slumber Party PaybackRuby and the Booker Boys #32008 · 158 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008158
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Ruby Flips For AttentionRuby and the Booker Boys #42009 · confirmed 1/4
    2009–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    We Could Be Brothers2010 · confirmed 1/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Crown: An Ode to the Fresh Cut2017 · confirmed 1/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The King of Kindergarten2019 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    201932
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    I Am Every Good Thing2020 · confirmed 1/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    King of the Classroom2020 · confirmed 1/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist for Justice2022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Queen of Kindergarten2022 · confirmed 1/4
    2022–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Like Lava in My Veins2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Santa's Gotta Go!2023 · confirmed 1/4
    2023–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Who Got Game?: Basketball2024 · confirmed 1/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze2025 · confirmed 1/4
    2025–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    I Got You2025 · confirmed 1/4
    2025–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Derrick Barnes 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.

Ruby and the Booker Boys in order

4 books
  1. 1. Brand New School, Brave New Ruby
  2. 2. Trivia Queen, 3rd Grade Supreme
  3. 3. Slumber Party Payback
  4. 4. Ruby Flips For Attention

Standalone books

15 books

15 Derrick Barnes titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Derrick Barnes books in order?

You only need to read Derrick Barnes books in order within the Ruby and the Booker Boys series, which holds 4 of the 19 Derrick Barnes books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Derrick Barnes

Start with Just For You! Low-down Bad-day Blues (2004), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Derrick Barnes book?

I Got You (2025) is the newest Derrick Barnes book released so far.

Is there a new Derrick Barnes book coming?

No next Derrick Barnes 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 Derrick Barnes has won

Wikidata records 1 award for Derrick Barnes. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Newbery Honor2018Won

Derrick Barnes at a glance

Still publishing
Derrick Barnes published a book as recently as 2025.
Release pace
Derrick Barnes books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
455 pages across the 4 of 19 books with a recorded length, a median of 95 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Derrick Barnes books, 9 of 19, were published in the 2020s.

What the Derrick Barnes books are about

13 of the 19 Derrick Barnes 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 8 of 13. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.