Order of Book Series
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Ruth Park Books in Order

Ruth Park has written 50 books, published between 1949 and 2010. The first book is Poor Man's Orange (1949) and the newest is Callie (2010). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
50
Published
1949–2010
Pages on record
2,915 in 23 of 50 books
See all 50 books in order Printable Ruth Park checklist
Photo of Ruth Park, author

Ruth Park lived from 1917 to 2010, born in New Zealand and writing in Australia. The Harp in the South and Playing Beatie Bow are her best known novels, and The Muddle-Headed Wombat began as a children's radio serial running from 1951 to 1970 before a book series followed between 1962 and 1982. Park also wrote about Sydney, travel and family life. Her 50 catalogued titles stretch from Poor Man's Orange (1949) to Callie (2010), with a median length of 72 pages.

How many Ruth Park books are there?

Ruth Park has 50 books, released between 1949 and 2010. They include 2 series and 33 titles listed outside any series.

Ruth Park Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 50 Ruth Park 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 Poor Man's Orange by Ruth Park, book 1 of the Harp in the South series (1949)
  2. Cover of Dear Hearts And Gentle People by Ruth Park (1955)
  3. Cover of The Muddle-Headed Wombat by Ruth Park, book 1 of the Muddle-Headed Wombat series (1963)
  4. Cover of Muddle-headed Wombat on the River by Ruth Park, book 8 of the Muddle-Headed Wombat series (1971)
  5. Cover of Ruth Park's Sydney by Ruth Park (1973)
  6. Cover of The Muddle-headed Wombat on Clean-up Day by Ruth Park, book 11 of the Muddle-Headed Wombat series (1976)
  7. Cover of The Gigantic Balloon by Ruth Park (1976)
  8. Cover of Merchant Campbell by Ruth Park (1976)
  9. Cover of Roger Bandy by Ruth Park (1977)
  10. Cover of When the Wind Changed by Ruth Park (1981)
  11. Cover of The Muddle Headed Wombat Is Very Bad by Ruth Park, book 13 of the Muddle-Headed Wombat series (1981)
  12. Cover of My Sister Sif by Ruth Park (1986)
  13. Cover of Things in Corners by Ruth Park (1991)
  14. Cover of James by Ruth Park (1991)
  1. 1
    Poor Man's OrangeHarp in the South #11949 · 274 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1949274
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Harp in the SouthHarp in the South #21951 · confirmed 1/4
    1951–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    The Witch's Thorn1952 · confirmed 1/4
    1952–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    A Power Of Roses1953 · confirmed 1/4
    1953–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    Dear Hearts And Gentle People1955 · 202 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1955202
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Pink Flannel1955 · confirmed 1/4
    1955–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Frost And The Fire / One-a-pecker, Two-a-pecker1958 · confirmed 1/4
    1958–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Hole In The Hill / Secret Of The Maori Cave1961 · 127 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1961127
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Shaky Island1962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    Road Under The Sea1962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Serpent's Delight / Good Looking Women1962 · confirmed 1/4
    1962–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    The Muddle-Headed WombatMuddle-Headed Wombat #11963 · 261 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1963261
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    The Muddle-Headed Wombat On HolidayMuddle-Headed Wombat #21964 · 67 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196467
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Muddle-Headed Wombat in the TreetopsMuddle-Headed Wombat #31965 · confirmed 1/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    Airlift For Grandee1965 · confirmed 1/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    The Muddle Headed Wombat At SchoolMuddle-Headed Wombat #41966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    The Muddle-headed Wombat in the SnowMuddle-Headed Wombat #51966 · confirmed 1/4
    1966–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Sixpenny Island1968 · confirmed 1/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 19
    Ten-cent Island1968 · confirmed 1/4
    1968–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 20
    Nuki and the Sea Serpent1969 · 32 pages · confirmed 1/4
    196932
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 21
    The Muddle-Headed Wombat On A Rainy DayMuddle-Headed Wombat #61970 · 67 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197067
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 22
    The Muddle-Headed Wombat in the SpringtimeMuddle-Headed Wombat #71970 · 67 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197067
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 23
    Muddle-headed Wombat on the RiverMuddle-Headed Wombat #81971 · 68 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197168
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 24
    The Muddle-headed Wombat and the Bush BandMuddle-Headed Wombat #91971 · confirmed 1/4
    1971–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 25
    Ruth Park's Sydney1973 · 256 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973256
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 26
    The Companion Guide To Sydney1973 · 448 pages · confirmed 1/4
    1973448
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 27
    Callie's Castle1974 · 89 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197489
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 28
    The Muddle-Headed Wombat And The InventionMuddle-Headed Wombat #101975 · confirmed 1/4
    1975–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 29
    The Muddle-headed Wombat on Clean-up DayMuddle-Headed Wombat #111976 · 28 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197628
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 30
    The Gigantic Balloon1976 · 33 pages · confirmed 1/4
    197633
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Ruth Park series in order

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

Ruth Park 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.

Harp in the South in order

3 books
  1. 1. Poor Man's Orange
  2. 2. The Harp in the South
  3. 3. Missus

Standalone books

33 books

33 Ruth Park titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read Ruth Park books in order?

You only need to read Ruth Park books in order within each series: the books listed here span 2 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.

Where to start with Ruth Park

Start with The Muddle-Headed Wombat (1963), the first Muddle-Headed Wombat book. The earliest catalogued title overall is Poor Man's Orange (1949).

What is the newest Ruth Park book?

Callie (2010) is the newest Ruth Park book released so far.

Is there a new Ruth Park book coming?

No next Ruth Park 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 Ruth Park has won

Wikidata records 2 awards for Ruth Park. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

Ruth Park at a glance

Died
Ruth Park died in 2010, according to Wikidata.
Last book
The newest book credited to Ruth Park on record dates from 2010.
Release pace
Ruth Park books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
2,915 pages across the 23 of 50 books with a recorded length, a median of 72 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most Ruth Park books, 14 of 50, were published in the 1970s.

What the Ruth Park books are about

20 of the 50 Ruth Park 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 9 of 20. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.