Donald J. Sobol Books in Order
55 books are credited to Donald J. Sobol, published between 1961 and 2013; 1 of them appeared after Donald J. Sobol's death in 2012. The first book is The Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk (1961) and the newest is Encyclopedia Brown and his Best Cases Ever (2013). Publication order is the reading order below. 30 of the 55 books listed here are in the Encyclopedia Brown series, which has its own page: Encyclopedia Brown books in order.
- Books
- 55
- Published
- 1961–2013
- Pages on record
- 4,838 in 44 of 55 books
- Reading time
- 81–121 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,838 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 44 of 55 titles with a page count on record.
Donald J. Sobol (1924-2012) was an American author known for children's books, above all the Encyclopedia Brown mysteries. Each Encyclopedia Brown volume gathers short cases for the reader to solve alongside the boy detective, starting with Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (1963). Sobol's 55 catalogued titles run from The Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk (1961) to a 2013 collection, peak in the 1980s, and hold a median length of 110 pages.
How many Donald J. Sobol books are there?
Donald J. Sobol has 55 books, released between 1961 and 2013. 1 of them were published after Donald J. Sobol's death in 2012. 30 of them belong to the Encyclopedia Brown series.
Donald J. Sobol Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 55 Donald J. Sobol 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.
- 1The Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk1961 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/419611281/4
- 219631111/4
- 3Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret PitchEncyclopedia Brown #21965 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/41965961/4
- 41966–1/4
- 5Secret Agents Four1967 · 140 pages · confirmed 1/419671401/4
- 619671121/4
- 71968961/4
- 8Two-Minute Mysteries1969 · 162 pages · confirmed 1/419691621/4
- 9Two-Minute Mysteries Collection1969 · confirmed 1/41969–1/4
- 1019691101/4
- 11Greta the Strong1970 · 158 pages · confirmed 1/419701581/4
- 121970961/4
- 13Milton, the Model A1971 · 45 pages · confirmed 1/41971451/4
- 14More Two-Minute Mysteries1971 · 128 pages · confirmed 1/419711281/4
- 151971962/4
- 1619721101/4
- 17The Amazons of Greek Mythology1973 · 174 pages · confirmed 1/419731741/4
- 181973–1/4
- 191974961/4
- 20True Sea Adventures1975 · 119 pages · confirmed 1/419751191/4
- 21Still More Two-Minute Mysteries1975 · confirmed 1/41975–1/4
- 22Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Dead EaglesEncyclopedia Brown #121975 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/41975961/4
- 23Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Midnight VisitorEncyclopedia Brown #131977 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/419771121/4
- 24Encyclopedia Brown's Record Book of Weird and Wonderful Facts1979 · 146 pages · confirmed 1/419791461/4
- 25Disaster1979 · confirmed 1/41979–1/4
- 261980821/4
- 27Angie's First Case1981 · 117 pages · confirmed 1/419811171/4
- 28Encyclopedia Brown's Second Record Book of Weird and Wonderful Facts1981 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/419811441/4
- 291981892/4
- 30Encyclopedia Brown's Book of Wacky Crimes1982 · confirmed 1/41982–1/4
- 3119821281/4
- 3219821212/4
- 33Encyclopedia Brown's Book of Wacky Spies1984 · confirmed 1/41984–1/4
- 34Encyclopedia Brown's Book Of Wacky Sports1984 · 111 pages · confirmed 1/419841111/4
- 35Encyclopedia Brown's Book of Wacky Animals1985 · 117 pages · confirmed 1/419851171/4
- 36Encyclopedia Brown's Third Record Book of Weird and Wonderful Facts1985 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/419851441/4
- 37Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Mysterious HandprintsEncyclopedia Brown #181985 · 91 pages · confirmed 2/41985912/4
- 38The Amazing Power of Ashur Fine1986 · 114 pages · confirmed 1/419861141/4
- 39Encyclopedia Brown's Book of Wacky Cars1987 · 115 pages · confirmed 1/419871151/4
- 40Encyclopedia Brown's Book of the Wacky Outdoors1987 · 102 pages · confirmed 1/419871021/4
- 41Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Treasure HuntEncyclopedia Brown #191988 · 100 pages · confirmed 2/419881002/4
- 42Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Disgusting SneakersEncyclopedia Brown #201990 · confirmed 2/41990–2/4
- 43Encyclopedia Brown's Book Of Strange But True Crimes1992 · 113 pages · confirmed 1/419921131/4
- 44My Name is Amelia1994 · 105 pages · confirmed 1/419941051/4
- 45Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Two SpiesEncyclopedia Brown #211994 · 73 pages · confirmed 2/41994732/4
- 46Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of Pablo's NoseEncyclopedia Brown #221996 · 73 pages · confirmed 2/41996732/4
- 47Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Sleeping DogEncyclopedia Brown #231998 · 70 pages · confirmed 2/41998702/4
- 48Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Slippery SalamanderEncyclopedia Brown #241999 · 87 pages · confirmed 2/41999872/4
- 49Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Jumping FrogsEncyclopedia Brown #252003 · 69 pages · confirmed 2/42003692/4
- 50Encyclopedia Brown Cracks the Case2007 · 96 pages · confirmed 1/42007961/4
- 512009–1/4
- 522010–1/4
- 53Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Carnival CrimeEncyclopedia Brown #282011 · 86 pages · confirmed 1/42011861/4
- 542012–1/4
- 5520131601/4
Donald J. Sobol series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Encyclopedia Brown books in order 30 books
Donald J. Sobol 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.
Standalone books
25 books25 Donald J. Sobol titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Donald J. Sobol books in order?
You only need to read Donald J. Sobol books in order within the Encyclopedia Brown series, which holds 30 of the 55 Donald J. Sobol books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.
Where to start with Donald J. Sobol
Start with Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective (1963), the first Encyclopedia Brown book. The earliest catalogued title overall is The Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk (1961).
What is the newest Donald J. Sobol book?
Encyclopedia Brown and his Best Cases Ever (2013) is the newest Donald J. Sobol book released so far.
Is there a new Donald J. Sobol book coming?
No next Donald J. Sobol 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 Donald J. Sobol has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Donald J. Sobol. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Edgar Awards1976Won
Donald J. Sobol at a glance
- Died
- Donald J. Sobol died in 2012, according to Wikidata.
- After death
- Books credited to Donald J. Sobol are still being published after Donald J. Sobol's death in 2012; the newest appeared in 2013.
- Release pace
- Donald J. Sobol books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 4,838 pages across the 44 of 55 books with a recorded length, a median of 110 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Donald J. Sobol books, 16 of 55, were published in the 1980s.
What the Donald J. Sobol books are about
54 of the 55 Donald J. Sobol books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective is tagged on 34 of 54. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Mystery & detective 34 of 54 books
- Children's fiction 29 of 54 books
- Encyclopedia Brown (Fictitious character) 21 of 54 books
- Brown, encyclopedia (fictitious character) 16 of 54 books
- Juvenile literature 11 of 54 books
- Anecdotes 4 of 54 books