Cats book series in reading order

by Cynthia Rylant

by Rita Mae Brown

by Judith Kerr

by Jack Gantos

by Erin Hunter

by Lydia Adamson

by Nick Bruel

by Lilian Jackson Braun

by Elisabetta Dami

by Esther Averill

by Dav Pilkey

by Erin Hunter

by Erin Hunter

by Erin Hunter

by Ursula K. Le Guin

by Erin Hunter

by John R. Erickson

by Laura Levine

by Erin Hunter

by Paula Harrison

by Daisy Meadows

by Ben M. Baglio

by Lily Small

by Ben M. Baglio

by Alyssa Satin Capucilli

by Coco Simon

by Erin Hunter

by Eve Bunting

by Steven Kellogg

by Laura Joffe Numeroff

by Mandy Morton

by Liz Kessler

Erin Hunter is the name on 169 catalogued books, published from 2003 onward and filed as children's fantasy fiction. Into the Wild, Fire and Ice and Forest of Secrets (all 2003) are the earliest. Series listings include Warriors: The New Prophecy, Warriors: Power of Three, Warriors: Omen of the Stars, Warriors: Dawn of the Clans and Warriors: The Broken Code. Seekers, Survivors, Bravelands and Bamboo Kingdom also appear. Subjects include cats, feral cats, bears, dogs, adventure and manga. Darktail's Judgment (2026) is the newest, with False Dawn due in 2027.

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.

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.

Eric Litwin, also known as Mr. Eric, is an American storyteller and musician born 16 August 1966, and the original author of the Pete the Cat books. His picture books are written for early readers, in rhyme and song, beginning with I Love My White Shoes (2008) and continuing through Rocking in My School Shoes (2011) and Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons (2013). The catalogue holds 64 titles running to 2024, at a median of 24 pages.

Alyssa Satin Capucilli and many others is a shared byline covering 120 early-reader books published between 2002 and 2026, from Whose Hat Is It? to Fox Catches a Wave. Volumes are very short, with a median of 32 pages, and are written for children learning to read alone. Biscuit the puppy and Mittens the cat anchor much of the list, and the stories turn on animals, friendship and small daily outings. New titles keep arriving.

Rita Mae Brown

76 books• 7 series

Rita Mae Brown's catalogue reaches 77 books and splits between literary fiction and mystery. Rubyfruit Jungle (1973) belongs to the early work, catalogued under lesbian fiction. The Mrs. Murphy mysteries pair Harry Haristeen with her cats, and the Sister Jane books follow Jane Arnold and fox hunting. Runnymede is a third sequence. Clawed and Dangerous is the newest title, and Pawsible Suspects is scheduled for 2027.

Carole Nelson Douglas, born in 1944 and died in 2021, wrote sixty novels across mystery, fantasy and science fiction. Two mystery series dominate: the Irene Adler novels, which take the Sherlock Holmes character as their detective, and the Midnight Louie books, narrated around a cat and his owner Temple Barr. Delilah Street, Paranormal Investigator, Sword and Circlet and Crystal Phoenix fill out the range. Douglas studied theatre and English literature, then worked as a newspaper reporter and editor around Minneapolis-Saint Paul. Forty-six titles are catalogued here, from 1982 to 2018.

Judith Kerr

48 books• 3 series

Judith Kerr (14 June 1923 to 22 May 2019) was a British writer and illustrator, born in Germany, with more than 10 million copies of the books sold around the world. Born in the Weimar Republic, Kerr came to Britain with family in 1935 to escape Nazi persecution. Kerr's picture books include The Tiger Who Came to Tea (1968) and the Mog series, which includes Mog the Forgetful Cat (1970). For older children Kerr wrote When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (1971), a semi-autobiographical novel that shows escape from Hitler's persecution through a child's eyes. The catalogue lists 48 books, with series Mog the Forgetful Cat and Out of the Hitler Time, and Mog's Birthday is dated 2020.

Ben M. Baglio, born in New York City in 1960, is an American author who created the brief for two children's book series, Animal Ark and Dolphin Diaries. Animal Ark features Mandy Hope, the child of vets, who helps injured animals and solves animal mysteries. Dolphin Diaries follows a Florida family of marine biologists who study dolphins around the world. Commissioned writers produced the books under Baglio's instruction, and UK editions used the pseudonym Lucy Daniels. The catalogue also lists Animal Ark Pets, Animal Ark Hauntings and Pet Finders Club.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy wrote mysteries and children's fantasy across 48 books between 1967 and 2018. The Joe Grey mysteries, set in California, are the longest run, with Dulcie tagged alongside Joe Grey and cats threaded through the subjects; Cat Chase the Moon (2018) is the last title listed. Murphy's earlier work is fantasy for younger readers, including the Children of Ynell and Dragonbards sequences and picture books such as The Pig Who Could Conjure The Wind (1978). The Sand Ponies (1967) opens the catalogue.

Jack Gantos is an American children's author, born in 1951, known for two creations. Rotten Ralph is a cat who starred in twenty picture books between 1976 and 2014, illustrated by Nicole Rubel; Joey Pigza is a boy with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, featured in five novels between 1998 and 2014. Gantos took the 2012 Newbery Medal for Dead End in Norvelt. The catalogue records 50 titles from Rotten Ralph (1975) onward, written for grades 3 to 5, with a median length of 48 pages.

Dav Pilkey

86 books• 12 series

Dav Pilkey, born David Murray Pilkey Jr. on March 4, 1966, is an American comic book writer, author and illustrator of children's fiction. Captain Underpants and the graphic novel spin-off Dog Man are the series Pilkey is best known for. Dog Man appears under the pen names George Beard and Harold Hutchins, which are also the names of the two Captain Underpants protagonists. The catalogue holds 86 books from World War Won (1987) to A Sprinkle in Time (2026), and the Dragon, Dumb Bunnies, Ricky Ricotta and Cat Kid Comic Club lines also feature.

Cats and women sleuths define the Lydia Adamson catalogue. Alice Nestleton Mystery is the main series, with Deirdre Quinn Nightingale, Lucy Wayles Mystery and Sally Tepper beside it, and actresses, women veterinarians, cat owners and pet sitting all appear in the subject list. Cat titles fill the run: A Cat in the Manger (1990), A Cat in Wolf's Clothing (1991), A Cat of a Different Color (1991) and A Cat in the Wings (1992). Early books carry the byline Frank King, starting with Down and Dirty in 1978. The 42 catalogued titles close with A Cat Tells Two Tales in 2012.

Lilian Jackson Braun wrote the Cat Who mysteries, in which the journalist Jim Qwilleran solves crimes alongside his Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum. 32 catalogued books span 1966 to 2007, among them The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern (1967), The Cat Who Turned On And Off (1968), The Cat Who Saw Red (1986), The Cat Who Played Brahms (1987) and The Cat Who Played Post Office (1987). The last catalogued title is The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers, and short stories sit alongside the novels.

Elisabetta Dami

309 books• 22 series

Elisabetta Dami, born 1 January 1958, is an Italian children's author known for the Geronimo Stilton book series. The catalogue credits Dami with 309 books from 1998 to 2026. Titles from 2000 include Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye, Attack Of The Bandit Cats and Four Mice Deep in the Jungle. Other listings include Geronimo Stilton: Thea Stilton, Mouseford Academy, Kingdom Of Fantasy, Geronimo Stilton Cavemice, Geronimo Stilton Spacemice and Creepella von Cacklefur. Subjects include mice, journalists, time travel and humorous stories. The Legend of Chocolate Hills (2026) is the newest title.

Marian Babson was the pen name of Ruth Marian Stenstreem (1929–2017), an American mystery writer born in Salem, Massachusetts, who spent most of her life in London. The novels are short, at a median of 188 pages across 53 catalogued books, and cats turn up in many of them; the publisher's tagline for the work was Murder Most British. The Trixie Dolan & Evangeline Sinclair mysteries pair two actresses as sleuths, with the Perkins & Tate books alongside. Babson took the Crime Writers' Association Dagger in the Library in 1996 and an Agatha Award.

Laurie Cass is the author of the Bookmobile Cat Mysteries. Subjects include cozy mystery, cats, librarians, murder and women sleuths. The catalogue holds 15 Cass books published from 2013 to 2026. Lending a Paw (2013) is first, followed by Tailing a Tabby (2014), Borrowed Crime (2015) and Pouncing on Murder (2015). Gone with the Whisker (2020) and Checking Out Crime (2021) are later titles, and Murder on Thin Ice (2026) is the newest. Large print editions appear among the subjects.

Esther Averill was an American writer and illustrator who lived from July 24, 1902 to May 19, 1992, and also worked as an editor and publisher. Averill is known above all for the Cat Club picture books, 13 stories about Jenny Linsky, a small black cat in a red scarf. The Cat Club (1944) opens the catalogue, followed by The School for Cats (1947), Jenny's First Party (1948) and Jenny Goes to Sea (1957). Cartier Sails the St. Lawrence (1956) is also listed, and Jenny and the Cat Club (1973) is the newest title.

Daisy Meadows is the name on the Rainbow Magic children's books, a fantasy line whose subjects include fairies, goblins, Jack Frost and two girls, Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker. The catalogue opens in 2003 with colour-fairy titles such as Ruby the Red Fairy, Amber the Orange Fairy and Fern the Green Fairy, and runs to Nur the Vlogger Fairy (2023). Sub-series include the Weather, Jewel, Party, Pet Keeper, Dance, Ocean and Showtime Fairies. Magic Animal Friends appears under the same name.

Cats run through most of Clea Simon's mysteries. 34 catalogued books span Mad House (1997) to The Butterfly Trap (2025), and the sleuths recur: Dulcie Schwartz in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Pru Marlowe, Theda Krakow, and the Blackie & Care and Witch Cats of Cambridge lines. Mew Is for Murder (2005), Cattery Row (2006), Cries & Whiskers (2007) and Probable Claws (2009) are among the titles. Murder, investigation and psychics fill the subjects, and Simon remains actively publishing.

Miranda James writes several mystery series. Cat in the Stacks is one, and librarians, cats and a Maine coon cat sit in its subject tags beside murder and investigation. Forty titles run from By a Woman's Hand (1994), written as Dean James with Jean Swanson, to Something Whiskered (2025). Southern Ladies, Deep South, Bridge Club, Trailer Park Mysteries and Simon Kirby-Jones are the other series. James publishes on.

Andre Norton (born Alice Mary Norton, February 17, 1912 to March 17, 2005) was an American writer of science fiction and fantasy who also produced historical and contemporary fiction, and used the names Andrew North and Allen Weston as well. Norton was the first woman named Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and SFWA Grand Master, and the first inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. The catalogue carries 209 books from The Prince Commands (1934) onward. Witch World, Solar Queen, Time Traders, Beast Master and Forerunner are series.

Cozy mystery is Leann Sweeney's form, split across the Yellow Rose Mysteries and the Cats In Trouble Mysteries. The 14 catalogued books open with Pick Your Poison (2004) and close with The Cat, the Collector and the Killer (2016). Recurring subjects include cats and cat owners, quiltmakers, South Carolina, missing persons and the private investigator Abby Rose. Nothing has followed 2016.

A Street Cat Named Bob (2012) made James Bowen's name and started a run of nine books about one animal. Bowen was a homeless street musician in London, and the books record his life with Bob the cat. The World According to Bob (2013), For the Love of Bob (2014) and A Gift from Bob (2015) follow, alongside children's titles such as Bob: No Ordinary Cat and My Name Is Bob, and the run closes with The Little Book of Bob (2018).