Characters in literature book series in reading order

by Nancy Springer

by Michael Buckley

by Jen Calonita

by Dave Barry

by Jane B. Mason

by James Riley

by Jon Scieszka

by Suzanne Selfors

Sarah Mlynowski

57 books• 8 series

Sarah Mlynowski is a Canadian and American writer of middle-grade, young adult and adult fiction, living in Los Angeles. The catalogue opens with adult novels, Milkrun (2001), Fishbowl (2002) and As Seen On TV (2003), then turns to children's fantasy: Bras & Broomsticks (2005) and its sequels, Whatever After, Upside-Down Magic, Best Wishes and the Luckies. Fifty-eight books are catalogued through Rumor Has It (2026), with Two Truths and a Lie scheduled for 2027. Magic, fairy tales, siblings and school are the recurring subjects.

E.D. Baker writes fairy-tale fantasy for children. The Frog Princess (2002), a parody of the Grimm story The Frog Prince, opened the Tales of the Frog Princess and partly inspired the 2009 Disney film The Princess and the Frog. The Wide-Awake Princess, Fairy-Tale Matchmaker, Magic Animal Rescue, Fairy Wings and More Than a Princess follow. Princesses, witches, dragons and magic run through the subject headings. The catalogue holds 30 books reaching Power of a Princess (2019), at a median of 272 pages.

James Riley

16 books• 4 series

James Riley, born in 1977, writes fantasy for readers in grades 3 to 5. Story Thieves is the best known series, opening in 2015 and continuing through The Stolen Chapters (2016), Secret Origins (2017) and Pick the Plot (2018). Half Upon a Time (2010) opens the catalogue and its own trilogy, and the Revenge of Magic, Once Upon Another Time and The Dragon's Apprentice follow. Sixteen books are catalogued through 2025, with fairy tales, magic, monsters and books about books as recurring subjects.

Nancy Springer, born July 5, 1948, is an American author of fantasy, young adult literature, mystery and science fiction. Larque on the Wing won the 1994 Tiptree Award, and the Mystery Writers of America gave Springer Edgar Awards for Toughing It in 1995 and Looking for Jamie Bridger in 1996. I am Mordred earned the Pennsylvania Library Association's Carolyn W. Field Award in 1999. The first Enola Holmes book appeared in 2006. The catalogue lists 90 Springer books from The White Hart (1979) to Enola Holmes and the Clanging Coffin (2026), with the Book of Isle, Rowan Hood and Tale of Camelot series alongside.

Chris Colfer

20 books• 6 series

The Land of Stories is Chris Colfer's main series, with fairy tales, twins and the characters of literature among its subject tags. The Wishing Spell (2012) and Struck by Lightning (2012) are the earliest of 20 catalogued titles, which reach Roswell Johnson Saves the Galaxy! (2025). A Tale of Magic, the Land of Stories picture books and the graphic novels extend the work. Magic, fairies, secrets and books and reading recur.

Dave Barry

56 books• 7 series

Dave Barry writes humour, most of it non-fiction. The catalogue holds 56 titles, from The Taming of the Screw (1983) through Dave Barry's Bad Habits (1985), Dave Barry Slept Here (1989), Dave Barry Turns Forty (1990) and Dave Barry Talks Back (1991) to Class Clown in 2025. The Peter and the Starcatchers and Never Land children's books, written with Ridley Pearson, sit beside the essays.

Jen Calonita is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of books for teens and middle grade readers, with sales above one million copies and translations into 15 languages. A Boston College graduate, Calonita worked as an entertainment journalist at Teen People, which inspired Secrets of My Hollywood Life (2007); that first book won the Louisiana Young Readers Award and grew into a six-book series. The catalogue counts 46 books through Practically Magic (2026), with The Vanishing Isle listed for 2027. Other series include Fairy Tale Reform School, Disney's Lost Legends, Isle of Ever, Royal Academy Rebels and Enchanters.

Michael Buckley

28 books• 7 series

Michael Buckley, born August 16, 1969, is an American children's author. Buckley's catalogue holds 28 books published between 2005 and 2025, opening with The Fairy Tale Detectives (2005) and reaching The Weirdest One of All (2025). Sisters Grimm, Weirdies, Undertow Trilogy and Finniverse are among the recorded series, and the subject headings cover mystery and detective stories, magic, spies and humorous stories for grades 3 to 5. Buckley also co-created the animated television series Robotomy.

Cornelia Funke

51 books• 9 series

Cornelia Funke (Cornelia Maria Funke, born 10 December 1958 in Dorsten) is a German author of children's fiction, called Germany's bestselling author for children. Funke worked as a social worker and then a book illustrator, began writing novels in the late 1980s and writes mostly fantasy about children facing adversity. The catalogue lists 51 books from Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (1993) to The Green Kingdom (2025), including Dragon Rider (1997) and The Thief Lord (2000). Inkheart/Inkworld and MirrorWorld are series.

Stuart Gibbs

46 books• 10 series

Stuart Gibbs writes mystery and adventure fiction for readers in grades six to eight. Belly Up (2010) opens the FunJungle series, set around a zoo, and Spy School, Moon Base Alpha, Charlie Thorne, The Last Musketeer and Once Upon a Tim follow. Forty-two catalogued books reach 2027, when There's No Place like Rome arrives.

Christopher Golden is an American writer, born in 1967, with 139 catalogued books published between 1994 and 2026. Horror, fantasy and science fiction run through the work, alongside vampires, the supernatural and murder. Of Saints and Shadows (1994) opens the catalogue and Carry Me to My Grave (2026) is the newest entry. Golden's series include the Shadow Saga, Baltimore, Joe Golem, Body of Evidence, Prowlers, Hollow, Hidden Cities and the Secret Journeys of Jack London, and the listing also carries Buffy the Vampire Slayer and X-Men titles. Mike Mignola is credited alongside Golden on 4 books.

Jane B. Mason writes children's books, and the catalogue lists 79 of them between 1993 and 2021. Early entries include Jurassic Park (1993), Apollo 13 (1995) and Balto (1995). Series include Zoey 101, Princess School, Bella Baxter, Rescue Dogs, A Dog and His Girl Mysteries and Tales from the Cryptkeeper. Subjects include dogs, schools, princesses, boarding school students, dinosaurs and superheroes. Sarah Hines Stephens is credited alongside Mason on 4 books, and Gem (2021) is the newest title.

Suzanne Selfors writes fiction for readers in grades 3 to 5. Series include the Imaginary Veterinary, Smells Like Dog and Wedgie & Gizmo, with tie-in work for Ever After High and Spirit Riding Free. The catalogue lists 39 books from To Catch a Mermaid (2007) to Braver (2020), at a median of 240 pages. Schools, pets, magic and fairy tales run through the subject headings.

Shannon Hale

62 books• 11 series

Shannon Hale, born Shannon Bryner on January 26, 1974, is an American author mainly of young adult fantasy. Princess Academy (2005) earned a Newbery Honor, and The Goose Girl (2003) opens the catalogue. Austenland (2007), the first novel for adults, became a film in 2013. Hale graduated from the University of Utah and the University of Montana, and has co-written with husband Dean Hale. The catalogue lists 63 titles through The Princess in Black and the Trick-or-Treating Trouble (2026), across series including Princess In Black, Books of Bayern, Real Friends and Kitty-Corn.

Splintered (2013) opens A.G. Howard's catalogue and gives the main series its name. Fairy tales and folklore, supernatural material, mental illness and the bond between mothers and daughters run through 13 catalogued books, which reach Seasons of Flesh and Flame (2024). Haunted Hearts Legacy, Shades of Rust and Ruin and a set of standalone novels complete the list, and Howard continues to publish.

Adam Gidwitz writes children's fiction, best known for A Tale Dark & Grimm (2010), In a Glass Grimmly (2012) and The Grimm Conclusion (2013). The Inquisitor's Tale (2016) took a Newbery Honor in 2017, and Netflix adapted A Tale Dark and Grimm as an animated miniseries in 2021. The Unicorn Rescue Society is the other main series, and later titles include The Creature of the Pines (2018) and The Chupacabras of the Rio Grande (2020). The catalogue runs to 13 books and reaches Max in the Land of Lies (2025).

Kiki Thorpe is a former children's book editor who has written or adapted more than fifty books for children and now writes full time from San Francisco. The catalogue lists 98 books from Luna's Night (1999) to Magnificently Major (2023). Series include Disney Fairies: The Never Girls, Finding Tinker Bell, Bear in the Big Blue House, Bob the Builder, Jay Jay The Jet Plane, Meet the Kreeps and Horsetail Hollow. Fairies, magic, bears and friendship appear among the subjects.

Colleen Oakes writes fantasy and young adult fiction, with 13 books catalogued between 2012 and 2024. Oakes's series are the Queen of Hearts Saga, Wendy Darling, Elly in Bloom and the Second Favorite Daughters Club. Subjects include adaptations, princesses, royal households and Never-Never Land. The first title is Elly in Bloom (2012), and Eleven Houses (2024) is the latest.

Frank Beddor

13 books• 2 series

Frank Beddor, born July 31, 1958, is an American former world champion freestyle skier who has also worked as a film producer, actor and stuntman. Beddor's producing credits include There's Something About Mary and Wicked. As an author, Beddor wrote The Looking Glass Wars (2004), and the catalogue lists 13 books to 2017 across the Looking Glass Wars and Hatter M: The Looking Glass Wars series. Subjects include fantasy, dystopias and graphic novels.

Sarah Beth Durst

34 books• 5 series

Sarah Beth Durst, born May 23, 1974, is an American fantasy author writing for adult, young adult and middle grade readers. The catalogue lists 36 books, starting with Into the Wild (2007) and Out of the Wild (2008), with The Faraway Inn (2026) the newest and The Imagitorium due in 2027. Series include Queens of Renthia and Spellshop. The Queen of Blood (2016) received a 2017 Alex Award from the American Library Association. The Spellshop (2024) and The Enchanted Greenhouse (2025) both reached the New York Times Bestseller List. Magic, dragons, fairy tales, quests and polar bears are among the recorded subjects.

Kiersten White

32 books• 9 series

Kiersten White is an American author of fiction for children, young adults and adults. HarperCollins published Paranormalcy, the first White book, in 2010. The catalogue lists 32 White books; Supernaturally (2011), Endlessly (2012), The Chaos of Stars (2013), Illusions of Fate (2014) and And I Darken (2016) followed Paranormalcy, and The Fox and the Devil (2026) is the newest. Series include Paranormalcy, Conqueror's Saga, Camelot Rising and Sinister Summer. Subjects include sisters, princesses, fairies, prophecies, monsters and good and evil.

Tony Abbott, born in 1952, is an American author of children's books. His Secrets of Droon fantasy series runs to more than 40 titles and is his most widely read work; he also wrote Firegirl and The Copernicus Legacy. Abbott has sold over 12 million copies and been translated into Italian, Spanish, Korean, French, Japanese, Polish, Turkish and Russian. The 105 catalogued books span Danger Guys (1994) to Junk Boy (2020), aimed largely at grades 1 to 3.

Jon Scieszka, born September 8, 1954, is an American author of picture books such as The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! and Math Curse, often illustrated by Lane Smith. The Time Warp Trio novels for young readers were written to teach history, and Scieszka founded Guys Read, an online program encouraging boys to read. The Librarian of Congress appointed Scieszka the first U.S. National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, serving 2008 and 2009. The catalogue lists 86 books, including The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) and the Frank Einstein and Trucktown series.

M.T. Anderson

29 books• 4 series

M.T. Anderson writes children's books that range from picture books to young adult novels. The Pox Party took the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2006; it is the first of two Octavian Nothing books, historical novels set in Revolution-era Boston. Wit and sarcasm mark Anderson's stories, and Anderson argues that young adults are capable of mature comprehension. The catalogue holds 29 titles published between 1997 and 2026, from Thirsty (1997) to Stealing Saint Nick (2026). Pals in Peril, the Norumbegan Quartet and the Octavian Nothing books are the listed series, with science fiction, adventure, humour and composers among the subjects.