William Joyce Books in Order
William Joyce has written 50 books, published between 1984 and 2020. The first book is William Joyce’s Mother Goose (1984) and the newest is Scarecrow and the Nightingale (2020). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 50
- Published
- 1984–2020
- Pages on record
- 2,445 in 32 of 50 books
- Reading time
- 41–61 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,445 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 32 of 50 titles with a page count on record.
William Joyce, born in 1957, is an American writer, illustrator and filmmaker who has produced more than 50 children's books, translated into over 40 languages. Rolie Polie Olie, the Guardians of Childhood and Dinosaur Bob are his main series, working with robots, dogs, adventure and the contest of good and evil, often in rhyme. Joyce started in film as a concept artist on Toy Story (1995) and took credits on A Bug's Life (1998) and Robots (2005); his A Day with Wilbur Robinson (1988) became the Disney film Meet the Robinsons (2007). The catalogue runs from William Joyce's Mother Goose (1984) to Scarecrow and the Nightingale (2020), at a median of 40 pages a book.
How many William Joyce books are there?
William Joyce has 50 books, released between 1984 and 2020. They include 5 series and 14 titles listed outside any series.
William Joyce Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 50 William Joyce 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.
- 1William Joyce’s Mother Goose1984 · confirmed 1/41984–1/4
- 21985401/4
- 31988401/4
- 4Bently and Egg1992 · confirmed 1/41992–1/4
- 5Santa Calls1993 · confirmed 1/41993–1/4
- 61995–1/4
- 7The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs1996 · 40 pages · confirmed 1/41996401/4
- 8The World of William Joyce Scrapbook1997 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/41997481/4
- 9Buddy1997 · 48 pages · confirmed 1/41997481/4
- 101998–1/4
- 111999481/4
- 121999–1/4
- 13Silly Stories to Tickle Your Funny Bone2000 · 64 pages · confirmed 1/42000641/4
- 142000401/4
- 152000141/4
- 162000181/4
- 172000101/4
- 182000181/4
- 192000101/4
- 202001101/4
- 212001101/4
- 222001101/4
- 232001101/4
- 242001101/4
- 252001–1/4
- 262002121/4
- 272002–1/4
- 282002101/4
- 29200261/4
- 302006401/4
- 312010–1/4
- 32Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare KingGuardians of Childhood #12011 · 240 pages · confirmed 1/420112401/4
- 33The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore2011 · confirmed 1/42011–1/4
- 342012561/4
- 352012581/4
- 36E. Aster Bunnymund and the Warrior Eggs at the Earth's Core!Guardians of Childhood #22012 · 288 pages · confirmed 1/420122881/4
- 372012–1/4
- 382012–1/4
- 392012–1/4
- 402012511/4
- 4120122561/4
- 4220132221/4
- 43The Mischievians2013 · confirmed 1/42013–1/4
- 44The Numberlys2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 45A Bean, a Stalk and a Boy Named Jack2014 · confirmed 1/42014–1/4
- 46Ollie's Odyssey2015 · 294 pages · confirmed 1/420152941/4
- 472015–1/4
- 48Billy's Booger2015 · 40 pages · confirmed 1/42015401/4
- 4920183841/4
- 50Scarecrow and the Nightingale2020 · confirmed 1/42020–1/4
William Joyce 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.
Rolie Polie Olie in order
18 books- 1. Rolie Polie Olie
- 2. Snowie Rolie
- 3. How Many Howdys?
- 4. Little Spot of Color
- 5. Polka Dot! Polka Dot!
- 6. Be My Pal
- 7. Olie
- 8. Stick with Olie
- 9. Spot
- 10. Billy
- 11. Zowie
- 12. Stick or Treat
- and 6 more in the table above
Guardians of Childhood in order
6 booksDinosaur Bob in order
4 booksToothiana in order
4 booksGuardians of Childhood Picture in order
3 booksReading Rainbow in order
1 book- 16. George Shrinks
Standalone books
14 books14 William Joyce titles here are not listed as part of any series.
Do you have to read William Joyce books in order?
You only need to read William Joyce books in order within each series: the books listed here span 5 separate series, and each series has its own publication order.
Where to start with William Joyce
Start with William Joyce’s Mother Goose (1984), the earliest published title.
What is the newest William Joyce book?
Scarecrow and the Nightingale (2020) is the newest William Joyce book released so far.
Is there a new William Joyce book coming?
No next William Joyce book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
William Joyce at a glance
- No recent titles
- The newest William Joyce title on record dates from 2020, 6 years ago. No later title is catalogued.
- Release pace
- William Joyce books have appeared more than one a year on average.
- Length
- 2,445 pages across the 32 of 50 books with a recorded length, a median of 40 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most William Joyce books, 19 of 50, were published in the 2010s.
What the William Joyce books are about
45 of the 50 William Joyce 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 33 of 45. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Children's fiction 33 of 45 books
- Robots 8 of 45 books
- Adventure stories 6 of 45 books
- Dogs 6 of 45 books
- Fantasy 6 of 45 books
- Toy and movable books 6 of 45 books
- Rolie Polie Olie (Fictitious character) 5 of 45 books
- Stories in rhyme 5 of 45 books
- Board books 4 of 45 books
- Friendship 4 of 45 books
- Good and evil 4 of 45 books