Alphabet book series in reading order

by Nick Bruel

by Sandra Magsamen

by Eve Bunting

by Michael Bond

Laura Alden's catalogue splits in two. The early work is children's non-fiction and picture books, Saying I'm Sorry (1982), Dinosaur Jokes (1988), Houdini (1989) and the Read Around Alphabet Town and Circle The Year With Holidays series, at a median 32 pages. The later work is the Beth Kennedy mystery series, in which murder arrives by way of a parents' and teachers' association, ending with Poison at the PTA in 2014. Thirty-five books span 1982 to 2014, with the 1990s the peak decade.

Isaac Asimov

553 books• 31 series

Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer who also taught biochemistry at Boston University. Hard science fiction is the core of Asimov's reputation, and the Foundation series about a fallen space empire is the most famous work; Asimov ranked with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke as one of the "Big Three" of the genre. The output also covers mysteries, fantasy and popular science, with non-fiction lines such as How Did We Find Out and the Library of the Universe. Asimov wrote or edited more than 500 books. This catalogue opens with the story Marooned Off Vesta (1939) and names Asimov on 400 of the listed books.

Roland Smith, born November 30, 1951, is an American author of young adult fiction and of nonfiction for children. The catalogue lists 51 titles from Sea Otter Rescue (1990) to The Vaquita (2025), with early books on zoo animals, Primates in the Zoo, Snakes in the Zoo, Inside the Zoo Nursery, sitting beside later adventure fiction. Series include I, Q, Peak, Storm Runners, Zach's Lie, Jacob Lansa, Marty and Grace and the Alphabet Picture books; Marie Smith shares credit on 3 of the titles. Subjects name survival, adventure, spies, mountaineering and terrorism.

Dori Hillestad Butler is an American children's author, born in Fairmont, Minnesota in 1965, who has also written magazine stories, plays and educational material. Her first book, The Great Tooth Fairy Rip-Off, appeared in 1997, and the catalogue now holds 55 titles through to Rabbit Rabbit (2025). Series include Haunted Library, King & Kayla, Buddy Files, Dear Beast and Treasure Troop. The Truth about Truman School (2008) addresses cyber bullying, and My Mom's Having a Baby reached the American Library Association's 2011 list of most challenged books. Books run to a median 115 pages.

Nick Bruel, full name Nicholas Tung Ming Bruel, is an American author and illustrator of children's books, most notably the Bad Kitty series. Bad Kitty (2005), the first in that series, is an alphabet picture book, and the series grew to take in chapter books and a guide to drawing comics. Bruel's books have been New York Times bestsellers. The catalogue lists 49 Bruel books, from Boing! (2004) to Bad Kitty Gets a Job (2026), and cats, dogs, pets and humorous stories lead the subjects.

Sandra Magsamen is an American author, artist, art therapist and designer. Magsamen makes board books and novelty books for very young children, in lift-the-flap formats, alphabet books and stories in rhyme, published with Scholastic, Sourcebooks and Little Brown. She also designs lifestyle collections for national retailers under her own brands. The 141 catalogued titles run from 1999 to 2026 and are short by design, at a median of 24 pages.

Dr. Seuss

95 books• 4 series

Dr. Seuss is the pen name of Theodor Seuss Geisel (1904–1991), an American children's author, illustrator, animator and cartoonist who adopted it as a Dartmouth College undergraduate. Geisel wrote and illustrated more than 60 books as Dr. Seuss, and sales passed 600 million copies by 1991. The catalogue lists 95 Dr. Seuss titles, beginning with And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street (1937) and including Horton Hatches the Egg (1940) and Bartholomew and the Oobleck (1949); releases continue after Geisel's death, through 2026. Stories in rhyme, nonsense verse and picture books dominate the subjects, and Cat in the Hat and Horton the Elephant are among the series.

Eve Bunting, born Eve Bolton, was a Northern Irish-born American writer of more than 250 books who lived from December 19, 1928, to October 1, 2023. Bunting wrote fiction and non-fiction, mainly novels for children and young adults, and also wrote the text of picture books. Many of the books are set in Northern Ireland, where Bunting grew up, while others range in subject from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. The Two Giants (1971) was Bunting's first book. Series in the catalogue include Frog and Friends, Horse Stories, Dinosaur Machines and Pirate Captain's Daughter, and subjects include animals, horses, stories in rhyme and mystery stories.

Michael Bond, an English author born on 13 January 1926 who died on 27 June 2017, is best known for children's books about Paddington Bear. Sales of the Paddington books passed 35 million worldwide, and the characters moved into animated television, a film series and a stage musical. The catalogue records 217 books under the name, including A Bear Called Paddington, More About Paddington (1959) and Paddington Helps Out (1960). Olga Da Polga, Monsieur Pamplemousse, Parsley and Mouse Called Thursday are further series, and guinea pigs and private investigators appear among the subjects.

Eric Carle

165 books• 6 series

Eric Carle (25 June 1929 to 23 May 2021) was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, a picture book first published in 1969, has sold more than 55 million copies in over 70 languages. Carle illustrated more than 70 children's books and wrote most of them, and sales across the Carle books exceed 170 million copies. Catalogued titles begin with 1, 2, 3 to the Zoo (1968), followed by The Very Hungry Caterpillar (1969), Pancakes, Pancakes! (1970), The Tiny Seed (1970) and Do You Want to Be My Friend? (1971). Subjects include board books, counting, color, animals and caterpillars.

Sandra Boynton

103 books• 1 series

Children's board books in rhyme are the core of Sandra Boynton's work. The American humorist, songwriter and illustrator has 103 catalogued books published between 1979 and 2026, from Hester in the Wild (1979) to Iguana Miss You! (2026). The list takes in But Not the Hippopotamus (1982), Moo, Baa, La La La! (1982) and The Going to Bed Book (1982). Animals, bedtime and humour recur throughout, and Little Pookie is her named series. Boynton is actively publishing.

Norman Bridwell

88 books

Clifford the Big Red Dog is Norman Bridwell's creation, introduced in Clifford, the Big Red Dog (1963). Bridwell was an American author and cartoonist who lived from 1928 to 2014. 88 catalogued books run through to Big New Friend (2021), taking Clifford to the circus and to Hollywood, through Halloween and Christmas, and into counting and riddle books. The median title runs 32 pages and the 1990s were the busiest decade.

Leo Lionni

48 books• 1 series

Leo Lionni wrote and illustrated picture books for children. Born in the Netherlands, Lionni worked as an advertising art director and then at Fortune magazine in the United States before turning to children's books in the 1960s. The 48 titles catalogued span 1948 to 2021 at a median of 32 pages, and take in Inch by Inch (1960), Swimmy (1963) and Frederick (1967); Inch by Inch won the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award. Mice, frogs, birds, colour and friendship recur across the list.