Aunts book series in reading order

by Mario Giordano

Valerie Tripp

62 books• 5 series

Valerie Tripp, born in 1951, writes for children and is best known for the American Girl books. Molly, Felicity, Josefina and Kit each hold an American Girl heading in the catalogue, which runs to 62 titles published between 1986 and 2023. Meet Molly, Molly Learns a Lesson and Molly's Surprise all appeared in 1986, and the Felicity books start in 1991. Subject tags cover historical fiction, the Second World War, the Depression, Mexican Americans, ranch life, sisters and friendship. Susan McAliley, Dan Andreasen, Juliana Kolesova and Jean-Paul Tibbles carry credits alongside Tripp on some volumes. The listing is dormant.

Kids Can Cook (1998) opens Sarah Webb's catalogue of 37 titles, which reaches The Bookshop Sisters in 2026. Webb, an Irish author of more than 30 books, works mainly in fiction for children and young adults, and has twice taken prizes at the Irish Book Awards. Ask Amy Green and the Songbird Cafe Girls are the two series listed. Adult contemporary romance sits alongside the children's work, in Always the Bridesmaid (2001) and It Had to Be You (2005), and the median Webb book runs 178 pages.

Melody Carlson, born March 2, 1956 in San Francisco, is an American author of more than 250 books for women, teens and children, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. The catalogue lists 298 books from 1995, when Contemplative Bible Reading and How to Start a Quality Childcare Business in Your Home appeared, to All Booked Up (2026). Series include Carter House Girls, On The Runway, TrueColors, 86 Bloomberg Place, Secret Life of Samantha McGregor, Beary Patch Bears and Fruit Troops. Subjects include Christian life, high schools, friendship, Bible stories and stories in rhyme. Carlson grew up in Springfield, Oregon, attended Lane Community College and lives in Sisters, Oregon.

Cynthia Rylant, born Cynthia Smith on June 6, 1954, is an American author and librarian who has written more than 100 children's books across picture books, short stories, novels, nonfiction and poetry. Missing May took the 1993 Newbery Medal, A Fine White Dust was a 1987 Newbery Honor book, and two further titles are Caldecott Honor Books. The catalogue records 229 books from When I Was Young in the Mountains (1982) onward, with series including Henry and Mudge, Mr. Putter & Tabby, Poppleton and the Lighthouse Family.

Judy Moody, a series that has sold more than 30 million copies, is what Megan McDonald is best known for. McDonald, born Megan Jo McDonald on February 28, 1959, is an American children's author and a former librarian, and also wrote the Julie Albright books for American Girl as well as picture books. The catalogue lists 113 McDonald books, from Is This a House for Hermit Crab? (1990) to The Big Bad Badgers (2025). Other series include Stink, Judy Moody & Friends, Beezy and Sisters Club, and the subjects include school, family life and brothers and sisters.

Alexander McCall Smith

165 books• 25 series

Sir Alexander McCall Smith, born 24 August 1948, is a Scottish legal scholar and novelist who created The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. Born and raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), McCall Smith was Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh and worked on medical law and bioethics committees. English-language sales passed 40 million by 2010, with translations into 46 languages. The catalogue lists 165 books from White Hippo (1980) to 2026, including 44 Scotland Street, Isabel Dalhousie, Detective Varg and children's titles.

Tracie Peterson, born 1959, writes Christian fiction, mostly historical novels carrying romance and faith themes. Peterson used the pen name Janelle Jamison early on and has written joint novels with other Christian authors; Bethany House publishes many of the titles. Several Peterson series feature Harvey Girls, the waitstaff of the Fred Harvey Company. The catalogue lists 153 books from A Kingdom Divided (1991) to Devoted to Love (2026), across series such as Heirs of Montana, Westward Chronicles, Ribbons West, Yukon Quest, Shannon Saga and Desert Roses. Peterson lives in Montana and runs Peterson Ink with husband Jim.

Ann M. Martin

446 books• 24 series

Ann Matthews Martin, born August 12, 1955, is an American writer of children's and young adult fiction and a Smith College graduate. The Baby-Sitters Club, first published in 1986, is the series Martin is known best for, and Martin remains involved with the series and its spin-offs. The catalogue lists 446 books, beginning with Inside Out and Bummer Summer in 1983. Related lines include Baby-Sitters Club Mysteries, California Diaries, Kids in Ms. Colman's Class, Main Street and Doll People. Jessi Ramsey, Pet-sitter: A Graphic Novel (2025) is the newest listed title.

L.M. Montgomery

57 books• 9 series

Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 to April 24, 1942) was a Canadian author who published as L. M. Montgomery. Anne of Green Gables (1908) began the body of work Montgomery is known for, and the orphan Anne Shirley brought Montgomery fame and an international readership. The career produced 20 novels plus more than a thousand short stories and poems, alongside essays. The catalogue lists 57 books, from Anne of Green Gables to editions dated 2025, and holds the Anne Shirley, Emily and Silver Bush series and the published journals.

Maureen Johnson

23 books• 4 series

Maureen Johnson writes young adult fiction, much of it mystery. Born in 1973, the American novelist has 23 catalogued books running from The Key to the Golden Firebird (2004) to The Velvet Knife (2026). Three series anchor the list: Truly Devious, Shades of London and Little Blue Envelopes, the last opening with 13 Little Blue Envelopes (2005). Boarding schools, murder, ghosts and grief recur across the books. Johnson co-wrote the holiday romance Let It Snow with John Green and Lauren Myracle, and contributed novellas to the anthologies The Bane Chronicles, Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy and Ghosts of the Shadow Market.

Sharon Creech

22 books• 3 series

Sharon Creech, born in 1945, writes children's novels. Creech was the first American to win the Carnegie Medal for British children's books, and the first writer to hold that award and the American Newbery Medal together. Twenty-two books are catalogued, from Absolutely Normal Chaos (1990) through Walk Two Moons (1994), Chasing Redbird (1997), Love That Dog (2001) and Ruby Holler (2002) to One Time (2020). Friendship, school, family life and orphanhood recur, with picture books alongside the novels.

Guardians of Ga'Hoole is one of the series by Kathryn Lasky, an American children's writer born June 24, 1944, who writes for adults as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann. Lasky's children's work also includes Dear America and The Royal Diaries books, Wolves of the Beyond, Sugaring Time and The Night Journey, and honours include a Newbery Honor, the National Jewish Book Award and the Anne V. Zarrow Award for Young Readers' Literature. The catalogue holds 159 books from I Have Four Names for My Grandfather (1976) to Sacred Light (2026), including Tugboats Never Sleep (1977), The Weaver's Gift (1980) and Beyond the Divide (1983). Horses Of The Dawn, Bears Of The Ice and Camp Princess are further series, and subjects name owls, wolves, diaries and Jews.

Mario Giordano is a German writer, born in 1963. The novel Black Box (1999), drawn from the Stanford prison experiment, became Oliver Hirschbiegel's film Das Experiment and brought Giordano the Bavarian Film Award for Best Screenplay. Auntie Poldi is the recurring character of the comic mystery series, running from Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions (2015) through the Vineyards of Etna (2016) and the Handsome Antonio (2020) to the Lost Madonna (2021). Nine titles are catalogued from Apocalypsis I (2011) onward, the Cotton Reloaded books among them.

Ann Martin is the author of The Baby-Sitters Club, a children's series about a group of friends who run a babysitting business. Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, Mary Anne and Dawn take turns as narrators across the books. The catalogue holds 75 titles published between 1986 and 1999, opening with Kristy's Great Idea and reaching The Fire at Mary Anne's House. Friendship, family life and school worries drive the plots, with a mystery strand running alongside, in books averaging 160 pages.

Angela Johnson, born June 18, 1961, is an American writer of children's books and poetry who began publishing in 1989 and has more than 40 books. The picture books tell poetic stories of African-American families, friendships and childhood experiences such as moving house, and the books for older readers take up teen pregnancy and divorce. Many of Johnson's books connect to Alabama and its history. The catalogue opens with Tell Me A Story Mama (1989) and includes Do Like Kyla (1990), Toning the Sweep (1993) and Joshua By The Sea (1994), with the Magnolia Street and Lottie Paris series.

Karen English writes children's fiction, and library subjects for the books include African Americans, schools, friendship and family life. The 26 catalogued books run from 1996, when Big Wind Coming! and Neeny Coming, Neeny Going appeared, to Red Shoes (2020). English's two series are Nikki and Deja and Carver Chronicles. Other titles include Nadia's Hands (1999) and Hot Day on Abbott Avenue (2004). The catalogue is listed as likely complete.

Boarding schools, coming of age, friendship, dating and the relationships of mothers and daughters and fathers and daughters are the subjects recorded for Emily Franklin. Principles of Love and Chalet Girls are the two series in the catalogue, which holds 22 books published between 2003 and 2026. Liner Notes (2003) opens the run; Piece, Love, and Happiness and The Principles of Love date from 2005; and Love & Other Monsters (2026) is the newest listing. The 2000s hold the most titles, the median book is 256 pages, and Franklin is still publishing.

Beth Kendrick writes contemporary romance, with subject tags on women, marriage and man-woman relationships. The catalogue holds 18 Beth Kendrick books from My Favorite Mistake (2004) to The Christmas Concierge (2022), including the Black Dog Bay series. Subject tags include single women, sisters, married people, birthmothers, aunts and talent scouts. Exes and Ohs (2005), Nearlyweds (2006), The Pre-Nup (2008) and The Bake-Off (2011) are among the listed titles.

Paula Danziger (1944-2004) was an American author of more than 30 books for children and young adults, starting with The Cat Ate My Gymsuit (1974). When Danziger died, all of the books were still in print, published in 53 countries and translated into 14 languages. Amber Brown is the one series listed. The catalogue begins with Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon (1993), followed by You Can't Eat Your Chicken Pox, Amber Brown (1994) and Amber Brown Goes Fourth (1995). Subjects include divorce, school and humor.