Order of Book Series
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Kathleen Karr Books in Order

Kathleen Karr has written 31 books, published between 1984 and 2008. The first book is Light of My Heart (1984) and the newest is Fortune's Fool (2008). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
31
Published
1984–2008
Pages on record
4,228 in 25 of 31 books
Reading time
70–106 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 4,228 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 25 of 31 titles with a page count on record.

See all 31 books in order Printable Kathleen Karr checklist

Kathleen Karr (April 21, 1946 - December 6, 2017), born Kathleen Csere, wrote historical novels for children and young adults, and won the Golden Kite Award for The Boxer. The catalogue holds 31 books between Light of My Heart (1984) and Fortune's Fool (2008), with the Petticoat Party, Skullduggery and Destiny's Dreamers series among them. Frontier and pioneer life, overland journeys to the Pacific, orphans, sex roles and farm life run through the recorded subjects. One title carries a joint credit with Thomas F. Yezerski.

How many Kathleen Karr books are there?

Kathleen Karr has 31 books, released between 1984 and 2008. They include 3 series and 19 titles listed outside any series.

Kathleen Karr Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 31 Kathleen Karr 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 Light of My Heart by Kathleen Karr (1984)
  2. Cover of From This Day Forward by Kathleen Karr (1985)
  3. Cover of It Ain't Always Easy by Kathleen Karr (1990)
  4. Cover of Oh, Those Harper Girls!, Or, Young and Dangerous by Kathleen Karr (1992)
  5. Cover of Gone West by Kathleen Karr, book 1 of the Destiny's Dreamers series (1993)
  6. Cover of The Cave by Kathleen Karr (1994)
  7. Cover of In the Kaiser's Clutch by Kathleen Karr (1995)
  8. Cover of Go West, Young Women! by Kathleen Karr, book 1 of the Petticoat Party series (1996)
  9. Cover of Phoebe's Folly by Kathleen Karr, book 2 of the Petticoat Party series (1996)
  10. Cover of Oregon, Sweet Oregon by Kathleen Karr, book 3 of the Petticoat Party series (1997)
  11. Cover of Spy in the Sky, book 5 of the Hyperion Chapters series (1997)
  12. Cover of Gold-Rush Phoebe by Kathleen Karr, book 4 of the Petticoat Party series (1998)
  13. Cover of The Lighthouse Mermaid by Kathleen Karr (1998)
  14. Cover of Man of the Family by Kathleen Karr (1999)
  15. Cover of It Happened in the White House: Extraordinary Tales From America's Most Famous Home It Happened Inside the White…
  16. Cover of Skullduggery by Kathleen Karr, book 1 of the Skullduggery series (2000)
  17. Cover of The Boxer by Kathleen Karr (2000)
  18. Cover of Playing with Fire by Kathleen Karr (2001)
  19. Cover of Bone Dry by Kathleen Karr, book 2 of the Skullduggery series (2002)
  20. Cover of Dwight D. Eisenhower by Kathleen Karr, book 6 of the Dear Mr. President series (2002)
  21. Cover of The 7th Knot by Kathleen Karr (2003)
  22. Cover of Exiled: Memoirs of a Camel by Kathleen Karr (2004)
  23. Cover of Mama Went to Jail for the Vote by Kathleen Karr, book 1 of the Chapter series (2005)
  24. Cover of Worlds Apart by Kathleen Karr (2005)
  1. 1
    Light of My Heart1984 · 196 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1984196
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    From This Day Forward1985 · 192 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1985192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Chessie's KingSerenade Saga #41986 · confirmed 1/4
    1986–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    It Ain't Always Easy1990 · 228 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1990228
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Oh, Those Harper Girls!, Or, Young and Dangerous1992 · 181 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1992181
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Gone WestDestiny's Dreamers #11993 · confirmed 1/4
    1993–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Gideon and the Mummy Professor1993 · 137 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1993137
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Promised LandDestiny's Dreamers #21994 · confirmed 1/4
    1994–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Cave1994 · 165 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1994165
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    In the Kaiser's Clutch1995 · 182 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1995182
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Go West, Young Women!Petticoat Party #11996 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Phoebe's FollyPetticoat Party #21996 · 199 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1996199
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Oregon, Sweet OregonPetticoat Party #31997 · 186 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1997186
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Spy in the SkyHyperion Chapters #51997 · 54 pages · confirmed 2/4
    199754
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Gold-Rush PhoebePetticoat Party #41998 · 185 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Great Turkey Walk1998 · 199 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1998199
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Lighthouse Mermaid1998 · 57 pages · confirmed 1/4
    199857
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Man of the Family1999 · 178 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1999178
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    It Happened in the White House: Extraordinary Tales From America's Most Famous Home It Happened Inside the White House2000 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000112
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    SkullduggerySkullduggery #12000 · 227 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000227
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Boxer2000 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2000144
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Playing with Fire2001 · 185 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2001185
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Bone DrySkullduggery #22002 · 220 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2002220
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Dwight D. EisenhowerDear Mr. President #62002 · confirmed 1/4
    2002–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    The 7th Knot2003 · 149 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2003149
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    Gilbert & Sullivan Set Me Free2003 · confirmed 1/4
    2003–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Exiled: Memoirs of a Camel2004 · confirmed 1/4
    2004–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    Mama Went to Jail for the VoteChapter #12005 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200532
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    Worlds Apart2005 · 196 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2005196
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    Born for Adventure2007 · 200 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2007200
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  31. 31
    Fortune's Fool2008 · 224 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2008224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Kathleen Karr 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.

Petticoat Party in order

4 books
  1. 1. Go West, Young Women!
  2. 2. Phoebe's Folly
  3. 3. Oregon, Sweet Oregon
  4. 4. Gold-Rush Phoebe

Destiny's Dreamers in order

2 books
  1. 1. Gone West
  2. 2. The Promised Land

Skullduggery in order

2 books
  1. 1. Skullduggery
  2. 2. Bone Dry

Chapter in order

1 book
  1. 1. Mama Went to Jail for the Vote

Serenade Saga in order

1 book
  1. 4. Chessie's King

Hyperion Chapters in order

1 book
  1. 5. Spy in the Sky

Dear Mr. President in order

1 book
  1. 6. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Standalone books

19 books

19 Kathleen Karr titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Kathleen Karr books in order?

You only need to read Kathleen Karr books in order within each series: the books listed here span 3 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Kathleen Karr

Start with Light of My Heart (1984), the earliest published title.

What is the newest Kathleen Karr book?

Fortune's Fool (2008) is the newest Kathleen Karr book released so far.

Is there a new Kathleen Karr book coming?

No next Kathleen Karr 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 Kathleen Karr has won

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

  • Prix jeunesse ACBD2022Won

Kathleen Karr at a glance

Died
Kathleen Karr died in 2017, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Kathleen Karr on record dates from 2008.
Release pace
Kathleen Karr books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
4,228 pages across the 25 of 31 books with a recorded length, a median of 185 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Kathleen Karr books, 15 of 31, were published in the 1990s.

What the Kathleen Karr books are about

29 of the 31 Kathleen Karr 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 14 of 29. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.