Order of Book Series
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Munro Leaf Books in Order

24 books are credited to Munro Leaf, published between 1934 and 2020; 7 of them appeared after Munro Leaf's death in 1976. The first book is How to Speak Politely and Why (1934) and the newest is Sam and the Superdroop (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
24
Published
1934–2020
Pages on record
787 in 12 of 24 books
Reading time
13–20 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 787 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 12 of 24 titles with a page count on record.

See all 24 books in order Printable Munro Leaf checklist
Photo of Munro Leaf, author of the How to series

Munro Leaf, born Wilbur Monroe Leaf (1905–1976), was an American writer and illustrator of children's literature across a 40-year career. The Story of Ferdinand (1936) is his best-known book, labelled subversive on publication and the cause of an international controversy. The catalogue lists 24 titles, opening with How to Speak Politely and Why (1934); Sam and the Superdroop carries a 2020 date. The How To books form the one recorded series, and etiquette, manners, conduct of life and humorous stories head the subject list.

How many Munro Leaf books are there?

Munro Leaf has 24 books, released between 1934 and 2020. 7 of them were published after Munro Leaf's death in 1976. 9 of them belong to the How to series.

Munro Leaf Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 24 Munro Leaf 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 How to Speak Politely and Why by Munro Leaf, book 1 of the How to series (1934)
  2. Cover of Manners Can Be Fun by Munro Leaf, book 2 of the How to series (1936)
  3. Cover of The Story of Ferdinand by Munro Leaf (1936)
  4. Cover of Noodle by Munro Leaf, book 3 of the Ludwig Bemelmans Children's series (1937)
  5. Cover of Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf (1938)
  6. Cover of Fair Play by Munro Leaf (1939)
  7. Cover of Brushing Your Teeth Can Be Fun by Munro Leaf, book 3 of the How to series (1943)
  8. Cover of Reading Can Be Fun by Munro Leaf, book 4 of the How to series (1953)
  9. Cover of Who Cares? I Do by Munro Leaf (1971)
  10. Cover of Metric Can Be Fun! by Munro Leaf, book 6 of the How to series (1976)
  11. Cover of Gordon the Goat by Munro Leaf (1988)
  12. Cover of How to Behave and Why by Munro Leaf, book 8 of the How to series (2002)
  13. Cover of How to Be: Six Simple Rules for Being the Best Kid You Can Be by Munro Leaf, book 9 of the How to series (2015)
  1. 1
    How to Speak Politely and WhyHow to #11934 · 56 pages · confirmed 1/4
    193456
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    Robert Francis Weatherbee1935 · 75 pages · confirmed 1/4
    193575
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Manners Can Be FunHow to #21936 · 50 pages · confirmed 1/4
    193650
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    The Story of Ferdinand1936 · 68 pages · confirmed 1/4
    193668
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    NoodleLudwig Bemelmans Children's #31937 · confirmed 1/4
    1937–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Wee Gillis1938 · confirmed 1/4
    1938–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    Fair Play1939 · 94 pages · confirmed 1/4
    193994
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Story of Simpson and Sampson1941 · 61 pages · confirmed 1/4
    194161
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    Brushing Your Teeth Can Be FunHow to #31943 · 56 pages · confirmed 1/4
    194356
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Boo, Who Used To Be Scared Of The Dark1948 · confirmed 1/4
    1948–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Sam and the Super1948 · confirmed 1/4
    1948–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Reading Can Be FunHow to #41953 · 56 pages · confirmed 1/4
    195356
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    Safety Can Be Fun1958 · confirmed 1/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    Geography Can Be FunHow to #51962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    The Boy Who would Not go to School1963 · confirmed 1/4
    1963–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Who Cares? I Do1971 · confirmed 1/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Metric Can Be Fun!How to #61976 · 63 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197663
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    Gordon the Goat1988 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/4
    198848
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Four-And-Twenty Watchbirds1990 · confirmed 1/4
    1990–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Being An American Can Be FunHow to #72000 · confirmed 1/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    How to Behave and WhyHow to #82002 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/4
    200248
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    Flock of Watchbirds2007 · confirmed 1/4
    2007–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    How to Be: Six Simple Rules for Being the Best Kid You Can BeHow to #92015 · 112 pages · confirmed 1/4
    2015112
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    Sam and the Superdroop2020 · confirmed 1/4
    2020–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Munro Leaf series in order

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

Munro Leaf 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.

Ludwig Bemelmans Children's in order

1 book
  1. 3. Noodle

Standalone books

14 books

14 Munro Leaf titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Munro Leaf books in order?

You only need to read Munro Leaf books in order within the How to series, which holds 9 of the 24 Munro Leaf books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with Munro Leaf

Start with How to Speak Politely and Why (1934), the first How to book. It is also the earliest catalogued title.

What is the newest Munro Leaf book?

Sam and the Superdroop (2020) is the newest Munro Leaf book released so far.

Is there a new Munro Leaf book coming?

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

Munro Leaf at a glance

Died
Munro Leaf died in 1976, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to Munro Leaf are still being published after Munro Leaf's death in 1976; the newest appeared in 2020.
Release pace
Munro Leaf books have appeared about one every 4 years on average.
Length
787 pages across the 12 of 24 books with a recorded length, a median of 58 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Munro Leaf books, 7 of 24, were published in the 1930s.

What the Munro Leaf books are about

19 of the 24 Munro Leaf books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: juvenile literature is tagged on 8 of 19. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.