Wendelin Van Draanen Books in Order
Wendelin Van Draanen has written 38 books, published between 1997 and 2025. The first book is How I Survived Being a Girl (1997) and the newest is The Steps (2025). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 38
- Published
- 1997–2025
- Pages on record
- 6,800 in 27 of 38 books
- Reading time
- 113–170 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 6,800 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 27 of 38 titles with a page count on record.
Wendelin Van Draanen is an American writer of children's and young-adult fiction. Sammy Keyes anchors the list, a mystery series opening with Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (1998) that names its case in every title, and the Shredderman and Gecko and Sticky books follow. Flipped (2001) stands outside the series. The catalogue holds 38 books between How I Survived Being a Girl (1997) and The Steps (2025), at a median of 256 pages.
How many Wendelin Van Draanen books are there?
Wendelin Van Draanen has 38 books, released between 1997 and 2025. They include 3 series and 12 titles listed outside any series.
Wendelin Van Draanen Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 38 Wendelin Van Draanen 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.
- 1How I Survived Being a Girl1997 · 176 pages · confirmed 1/419971761/4
- 219982391/4
- 319982081/4
- 419992401/4
- 519991861/4
- 620002391/4
- 7Flipped2001 · 212 pages · confirmed 1/420012121/4
- 820012561/4
- 920022771/4
- 10Swear to Howdy2003 · 144 pages · confirmed 1/420031441/4
- 1120032721/4
- 1220041761/4
- 1320041381/4
- 1420042931/4
- 1520051691/4
- 1620051921/4
- 1720052771/4
- 18Runaway2006 · confirmed 1/42006–1/4
- 192007–1/4
- 20Confessions of a Serial Kisser2008 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/420083041/4
- 2120083041/4
- 222009–1/4
- 232009–1/4
- 242009–1/4
- 252009–1/4
- 262010–1/4
- 27The Running Dream2011 · 352 pages · confirmed 1/420113521/4
- 2820113041/4
- 292012–1/4
- 302013–1/4
- 3120133231/4
- 3220142361/4
- 33The Secret Life of Lincoln Jones2016 · 262 pages · confirmed 1/420162621/4
- 34Wild Bird2017 · 311 pages · confirmed 1/420173111/4
- 35Hope in the Mail: Reflections on Writing and Life2020 · confirmed 1/42020–1/4
- 36The Peach Rebellion2022 · 406 pages · confirmed 1/420224061/4
- 37Gravity Is Bringing Me Down2024 · confirmed 1/42024–1/4
- 38The Steps2025 · 304 pages · confirmed 1/420253041/4
Wendelin Van Draanen series in order
The series linked below has its own reading-order page.
- Sammy Keyes books in order 18 books
Wendelin Van Draanen 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.
Shredderman in order
4 booksGecko and Sticky in order
4 booksStandalone books
12 books12 Wendelin Van Draanen titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read Wendelin Van Draanen books in order?
You only need to read Wendelin Van Draanen 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 Wendelin Van Draanen
Start with Sammy Keyes and the Hotel Thief (1998), the first Sammy Keyes book. The earliest catalogued title overall is How I Survived Being a Girl (1997).
What is the newest Wendelin Van Draanen book?
The Steps (2025) is the newest Wendelin Van Draanen book released so far.
Is there a new Wendelin Van Draanen book coming?
No next Wendelin Van Draanen 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 Wendelin Van Draanen has won
Wikidata records 3 awards for Wendelin Van Draanen. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Josette Frank Award2017Won
- Schneider Family Book Award2012Won
- Edgar Awards1999Won
Wendelin Van Draanen at a glance
- Still publishing
- Wendelin Van Draanen published a book as recently as 2025.
- Release pace
- Wendelin Van Draanen books have appeared about one a year on average.
- Length
- 6,800 pages across the 27 of 38 books with a recorded length, a median of 256 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Wendelin Van Draanen books, 20 of 38, were published in the 2000s.
What the Wendelin Van Draanen books are about
34 of the 38 Wendelin Van Draanen 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 23 of 34. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Children's fiction 23 of 34 books
- Mystery & detective 14 of 34 books
- Schools 8 of 34 books
- Sammy Keyes (Fictitious character) 5 of 34 books
- Adventure stories 4 of 34 books
- Bullies 4 of 34 books
- Family life 4 of 34 books
- Heroes 4 of 34 books
- Spies 4 of 34 books