Emotions book series in reading order

by Leslie Patricelli

by Megan McDonald

by Mo Willems

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.

Mo Willems

89 books• 9 series

Mo Willems makes picture books and early readers, funny and animal-led: the Pigeon books, Elephant & Piggie, Knuffle Bunny, Cat the Cat, Unlimited Squirrels and Leonardo. Friendship and emotions are the recurring subjects, and the books are short, a median of 57 pages. Ninety catalogued titles run from 1994 through Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (2003) and Knuffle Bunny (2004) to The Pigeon WON'T Pick a Color!, with another title scheduled for 2027.

Leslie Patricelli is an American writer and illustrator of board books for babies and toddlers, and of fiction for older children. The board books pair opposites and daily routines - Yummy Yucky (2003), Quiet Loud (2003), Big Little (2003), Baby Happy Baby Sad (2008), No No Yes Yes (2008) - with Potty and Toot! among her internationally recognised titles. Patricelli also wrote the Rizzlerunk Club series, including Best Buds Under Frogs and The Big Bad Lies, and illustrated the Mini Myth books. The catalogue holds 37 titles at a median of 26 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.

Anne Tyler, born on October 25, 1941, is an American novelist, short story writer and literary critic. Tyler's 30 catalogued books run from If Morning Ever Comes (1964) to Three Days in June (2025), with family life, marriage, widowhood and Baltimore as recurring subjects. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant (1982), The Accidental Tourist (1985) and Breathing Lessons (1988) were all Pulitzer Prize finalists, and Breathing Lessons won in 1989. Other honours include the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Sunday Times Award for Literary Excellence in 2012.

Robin Hobb

25 books• 9 series

Robin Hobb is one of two pen names of Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, an American writer of speculative fiction born on March 5, 1952; the other is Megan Lindholm. As Hobb she writes fantasy set in the Realm of the Elderlings, made up of the Farseer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies, the Rain Wild Chronicles and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. The catalogue lists 25 books from 1991 to 2026, with Assassin's Apprentice (1995), Royal Assassin (1996) and Assassin's Quest (1997) among the early titles, and also includes the Soldier Son Trilogy. As of 2018 her fiction had been translated into 22 languages and sold more than 4 million copies.

Lysa TerKeurst writes Christian non-fiction for women. Thirty-five titles are catalogued from Capture His Heart (2002) through 2026, among them What Happens When Women Walk in Faith (2005), Becoming More Than a Good Bible Study Girl (2009) and the Made to Crave Devotional (2011). Religious life, prayers and devotions, decision making and the emotions of Christian women fill the subject tags.

Mac Barnett

64 books• 7 series

Mac Barnett is an American children's book writer, born August 23, 1982, best known for advocating for picture books and serving as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature for 2025-26. Since 2009 Barnett has published more than seventy works, over fifty of them picture books, along with graphic novels, essays and short stories. The catalogue counts 64 books from Billy Twitters and His Blue Whale Problem (2009) to Rumpelstiltskin (2026), including Guess Again! (2009), The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity (2009), Mustache! (2011) and Chloe and the Lion (2012). Series are A Jack Book, Mac B., Kid Spy, First Cat in Space, Terrible Two, Brixton Brothers, Shapes Trilogy and Oh No!. Subjects name humorous stories, mysteries, friendship and schools.

Gayle Roper writes Christian fiction and mysteries, with 52 books catalogued between Mother's World (1975) and His Plain Truth (2025). East Edge Mysteries, Amhearst Mysteries, Seaside Seasons, Amish Trilogy, Amish Farm Trilogy, Task Force Valor and Between Two Worlds are series, and Adventures Of Scooter and Jake is another. The Secret of the Burning House (1992) and Mystery at Harmony Hill (1993) are earlier titles. Subjects include the Amish, Pennsylvania, women journalists and Christian romance.

Thea Harrison is the pen name of American author Teddy Harrison, who writes paranormal romance, science fiction fantasy and contemporary romance. Elder Races is her best known series, a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, with Moonshadow, Game of Shadows, Chronicles of Rhyacia and American Witch beside it. The catalogue reaches back to 1984 through a second pen name, Amanda Carpenter, under which she wrote contemporary romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon: A Damaged Trust, A Deeper Dimension, Rage and The Wall all appeared in 1984. Forty-nine books are catalogued in total, to 2022, at a median of 188 pages. Dragons, vampires and urban fantasy sit in the subject index.

Jennifer L. Holm

66 books• 13 series

Jennifer L. Holm, born in 1968, writes for children in both prose and comics, and holds three Newbery Honors and an Eisner Award. Babymouse, an imaginative mouse at school, recurs across the Babymouse and BIG Adventures of Babymouse books, with Squish, Sunny, My First Comics and Evil Princess vs. the Brave Knight as the other graphic series. May Amelia, Boston Jane, Turtle in Paradise and The Fourteenth Goldfish sit alongside them in prose. Holm's 66 catalogued books run from Our Only May Amelia (1999) to Sunny Figures It Out (2025), at a median of 126 pages.

Tracey West, born October 1, 1965, is a children's author who writes for licensed series such as Pokémon and SpongeBob SquarePants. The catalogue lists 356 titles from 1988 to 2027, reaching Heart of the Ruby Dragon (2026), with Claw of the Diamond Dragon due in 2027. Named series include Pokémon chapter books, novelizations and readers, Naruto Chapter Books, LEGO Ninjago Reader, Bakugan Chapter Books, Pixie Tricks, Pet Vet Club and Scream Shop Pick Your Path. Dragon Masters and Heroes in Training appear as recurring lines. Ninja, dragons and plot-your-own stories appear among the subject headings.

Robin Wasserman, born May 31, 1978, is an American novelist and essayist who grew up outside Philadelphia and studied at Harvard University and UCLA. Before becoming an author, Wasserman was an associate editor at a children's book publisher. Wasserman has written books for children and young adults and two novels for adults; Mother Daughter Widow Wife (2020) was a finalist for the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award. The catalogue lists 52 books from 2000, including the WINX Club, Unfabulous and Chasing Yesterday series.

Patricia H. Rushford is an award-winning author and speaker with more than sixty fiction and nonfiction books. Rushford holds a nursing degree and a master's in counseling and is also an artist and quilter. The Jennie McGrady Mysteries for young adults have sold over 500,000 copies, and Silent Witness won the Silver Angel Award and received an Edgar nomination. The catalogue lists 50 books from 1983 to 2018, opening with Have You Hugged Your Teenager Today? (1983). Series include Helen Bradley, McAllister Files, Angel Delaney and Max & Me Mysteries.

Sam Lloyd (Kids Books) makes board books, pop-ups and other movable books for very young children. The series Puppet Pop-Ups, Mr. Pusskins, Shape Sorters, Nurse Mousey and Whoops-a-Daisy World work through colours, animals, monsters and emotions. 46 catalogued titles run from Naughty Nancy and the Nurse Mousey books in 2001 to Alight: A Story of Fire and Nature in 2023. A median length of 15 pages marks these as books for the youngest readers.

Martine Agassi and Elizabeth Verdick share this catalogue entry, which holds 14 books for young children dated from 2002 to 2023. Hands Are Not for Hitting (2002) is the first title and Tears Are Not Forever (2023) the latest. Teeth Are Not for Biting (2003), Words Are Not for Hurting (2004), Pacifiers Are Not Forever (2007) and Voices Are Not for Yelling (2015) also appear. Recorded subjects include toddlers, behavior, emotions and etiquette for children, and the genre on record is Early Readers. The median book is 24 pages.

Diet and weight loss lead the subject headings for J.J. Virgin, whose 12 catalogued books run from 2010 to 2019. Subject headings also name sugar-free eating, recipes, arm exercises for women, motivation and self-confidence. The earliest title is Six Weeks to Sleeveless and Sexy (2010). The Virgin Diet and The Virgin Diet Companion Cookbook came out in 2012, and The Supercharged Virgin Diet in 2015. Miracle Mindset (2017) appears later, and The Sugar Impact Diet (2019) is the newest.

Regina Hart is the author of the Brooklyn Monarchs and Anderson Family series, catalogued as African American romance. The 11 listed books run from Fast Break (2011) to Game Plan (2018), which carries the credit Patricia Sargeant. Keeping Score, Smooth Play, Trinity Falls, Harmony Cabins, Mystic Park and Wishing Lake are among the titles. Subjects include basketball teams, basketball coaches, family life and talent shows.