Family life book series in reading order

by Laurie Friedman

by Jane O’Connor

by Eve Bunting

by Laura Ingalls Wilder

by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

by Jeffrey Archer

by Graham Salisbury

by Lauren Child

by Mary Christner Borntrager

by Sara Pennypacker

by Jeanne Birdsall

by Alexander McCall Smith

by Dan Gutman

by Lois Lowry

by Judy Blume

by Liz Pichon

by Sherryl Woods

by Alex Morgan

by Dana Simpson

by Margaret Sidney

by Debbi Michiko Florence

by Mary Alice Monroe

by Steven Kellogg

by Judith Kerr

by Gabrielle Lord

by Brian K. Vaughan

by Nancy Atherton

by Robyn Carr

by Kevin Kwan

by Mary Norton

by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

by Barbara Taylor Bradford

by Fleur McDonald

by Lilian Harry

by Jill Murphy

by Colleen Hoover

by Kate Messner

Various Authors is the catalogue entry for 153 children's and family titles with no single credited writer, published between 2010 and 2025. The earliest is The Very First Easter (2010) and the most recent is A Kids Book About Masculinity (2025). Bible story retellings for young readers make up much of the list, including Jesus Feeds the Hungry, David Battles Goliath and The Beginner's Bible Book of Prayers, alongside books on parenting, education and psychology. Titles average 64 pages.

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.

Gertrude Chandler Warner (April 16, 1890 to August 30, 1979) was an American author who wrote mostly for children. Warner wrote the original book of The Boxcar Children, published in 1942, and the next 18 books in the series. Earlier catalogued titles include The House of Delight (1916) and The World in a Barn (1927), and Surprise Island (1949) and The Yellow House Mystery (1952) came after The Boxcar Children. Orphans, brothers and sisters, and mystery stories are among the subjects. The catalogue also carries Boxcar Children lines such as Adventures of Benny and Watch and Boxcar Children Great Adventure under Warner's name.

Across 194 catalogued books, Danielle Steel writes contemporary romance and family drama: love stories, marriages, widowhood and the turns that reshape a life. The run starts with Going Home (1973) and continues through Celebration, with 24 Hours scheduled for 2027. Steel's catalogue also holds children's picture books, short stories and non-fiction beside the standalone novels that make up most of it.

V.C. Andrews was the name used by Cleo Virginia Andrews (June 6, 1923 to December 19, 1986), an American novelist best known for Flowers in the Attic (1979). That novel led to four sequels and two film adaptations. The publisher never classed the books as Young Adult, yet their young protagonists have drawn teenage readers for decades. After Andrews died in 1986, a ghostwriter first hired to finish two incomplete manuscripts went on publishing new books under the V.C. Andrews name. The catalogue carries 108 books under that name from 1979 to 2025, across series such as Dollanganger, Casteel, Cutler, Landry, Logan and De Beers.

Laura Ingalls Wilder

67 books• 7 series

Laura Ingalls Wilder (7 February 1867 to 10 February 1957) was an American writer, teacher and journalist. The Little House on the Prairie children's books, published from 1932 to 1943, drew on Wilder's childhood in a pioneer settler family. Catalogued Wilder titles from those years include Little House in the Big Woods (1932), Farmer Boy (1933), Little House on the Prairie (1935), On the Banks of Plum Creek (1937), By the Shores of Silver Lake (1939), The Long Winter (1940), Little Town on the Prairie (1941) and These Happy Golden Years (1943). Catalogue subjects include frontier and pioneer life, farm life and families.

Elin Hilderbrand is an American novelist, born July 17, 1969, who writes mystery and romance. Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket, and the novels are typically set on and around the island. The 39 catalogued books start with The Beach Club (2000) and reach The Thoroughbreds (2026). Named series include Nantucket, Paradise and 28 Summers. Subject headings return to family secrets, female friendship, summer resorts and love stories. In 2019 New York magazine called Hilderbrand "the queen of beach reads".

Jan and Stan Berenstain wrote picture books about the Berenstain Bears. The run begins with The Big Honey Hunt (1962) and reaches 400 titles by The Berenstain Bears: Father's Day Blessings (2018). Family life, school, brothers and sisters, scouting, Christmas and Christian life supply the recurring subjects, and many of the books are told in rhyme. A median length of 32 pages places them with early readers. Publication peaked in the 1990s and the catalogue is likely complete.

Dame Catherine Cookson (born Catherine Ann McMullen, 20 June 1906 to 11 June 1998) was a British novelist. A hard childhood in South Shields, North East England, shaped the novels and supplied their setting. By 2003 Cookson's books had sold an estimated 100 million copies, and 104 titles appeared under the Cookson name and two pen names. The catalogue records 112 books, from Kate Hannigan (1950) to The Rag Maid (2017). Series include Mary Ann Shaughnessy, the Bailey Chronicles, the Mallen Trilogy and the Hamilton Trilogy. Working-class life, family sagas and historical romance appear among the subject tags.

Susan Beth Pfeffer (1948-2025) was an American author of young adult and science fiction. After 35 years of writing she reached a wider readership with The Last Survivors, a post-apocalyptic sequence, several volumes of which made the New York Times bestseller list. The Sebastian Sisters, Kid Power, Portraits of Little Women and April and Darcy are among her earlier series. Seventy-six titles run from Just Morgan (1970) to The Shade of the Moon (2013).

Karen Kingsbury is an American Christian novelist, born in Fairfax, Virginia, on June 8, 1963. Kingsbury worked as a sports writer for the Los Angeles Times and later wrote for the Los Angeles Daily News. Missy's Murder (1991), Kingsbury's first book, grew out of a murder story covered as a reporter in Los Angeles. Kingsbury is a #1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist. The catalogue holds 115 titles, running to The Christmas Ring (2025), and the series include Firstborn, Sunrise, Above the Line, Bailey Flanigan, Red Gloves and Forever Faithful. Christian fiction and family life recur among the subjects.

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

131 books• 11 series

Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, born in 1933, wrote 131 catalogued books for children and young adults across half a century. Shiloh, a quartet of children's novels, won the Newbery Medal in 1992, and the Alice McKinley series became one of the most frequently challenged sets of books of the early 21st century. The Boy/Girl Battle, Bessledorf Mysteries, Witch Saga, Cat Pack and Roxie and the Hooligans fill out the list, which runs from To Make a Wee Moon (1969) to Roxie and the Hooligans at Buzzard's Roost (2018). Family life, schools, friendship and siblings are the constant subjects, at a median of 154 pages.

James Patterson

510 books• 73 series

James Patterson, born on March 22, 1947, is an American writer whose catalogue here holds 514 books published from 1976 to 2027. The run opens with The Thomas Berryman Number (1976), and Along Came a Spider (1992) and Kiss the Girls (1995) follow later. Alex Cross, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Daniel X, Witch & Wizard, NYPD Red, Private, Middle School and the Women's Murder Club are among the Patterson series, alongside standalone thrillers, non-fiction and romance. Marshall Karp shares the credit on 5 of the books. Patterson's sales exceed 425 million copies, and Patterson was the first person to sell one million e-books. Forbes ranked Patterson the highest-paid author in 2016, for a third year running, and the National Book Foundation gave Patterson the Literarian Award in November 2015. 27 Stars is scheduled for 2027.

South Carolina is the setting of Dorothea Benton Frank's novels, among them Porch Lights and By Invitation Only. Frank, an American novelist, lived from September 12, 1951 to September 2, 2019. Frank's 26 catalogued books begin with Sullivan's Island (1999) and end with Reunion Beach (2021). The Lowcountry Tales form the main series, beside standalone novels and a children's title. Subjects on the books include family life, mothers and daughters, plantation life, widows and friendship.

Jeff Kinney

32 books• 4 series

Jeff Kinney (Jeffrey Patrick Kinney, born February 19, 1971) is an American author and illustrator who created, writes and draws the Diary of a Wimpy Kid children's books. Kinney also created the children's website Poptropica. The catalogue holds 32 books, beginning with Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2007) and followed by Rodrick Rules (2008), The Last Straw (2009), Dog Days (2009), The Ugly Truth (2010) and Cabin Fever (2010). The newest title is Fight or Flight (2026). Subjects include diaries, middle school, family life, friendship and vacations, and the listing also includes Diary of an Awesome Friendly Kid.

Laurie Friedman writes children's fiction, with 159 books catalogued from A Big Bed for Jed (2002) to Duck and Dog Bake a Pie (2022). Mallory McDonald is a recurring character, and titles include Back to School, Mallory (2004), Mallory vs. Max (2004) and Happy Birthday, Mallory! (2005). The Mostly Miserable Life of April Sinclair also appears in the listing. Friedman's series include Mallory McDonald, Ruby Valentine, Spots and Stripes, Chef Kate, Beans, Moose and Silly Milly. Subjects include friendship, family life, school, diaries, dating and stories in rhyme. The median book runs to 159 pages.

Susan Mallery is an American romance novelist born in 1970, whose books are set in small, tight-knit communities and give pets a prominent role. The catalogue counts 201 books from Tender Loving Care (1991) onward, including early titles published as Susan Macias. Series include Fool's Gold, Desert Rogues, Hometown Heartbreakers, Happily Inc., Marcelli, Buchanans, Blackberry Island and Mischief Bay. The Bookstore Diaries (2026) is the newest release, and Friend Request is due in 2027.

Robyn Carr is the American author of the Virgin River books, and an executive producer on the television versions of Virgin River and Sullivan's Crossing. The catalogue records 70 Carr books, from Chelynne (1980) to The Friendship Club (2024). Thunder Point, Sullivan's Crossing and the Grace Valley Trilogy are Carr's other series. Several novels, The Hero among them, reached The New York Times Best Seller list. Subject tags on the books include contemporary romance, California, single mothers, veterans and city and town life.

Gilbert Morris produced Christian historical fiction at length: 248 catalogued books between 1977 and 2014. The House of Winslow follows one family across American history; the Appomattox Saga and Bonnets & Bugles take up the Civil War; Cheney Duvall, M.D. follows a woman physician; the Seven Sleepers, Dixie Morris and Too Smart Jones series sit alongside, with children's fiction among the subjects. The catalogue opens with Race Against Time (1977), reaches Raina's Choice, and is listed as likely complete.

Patricia MacLachlan (March 3, 1938 to March 31, 2022), born Patricia Marie Pritzkau, was an American children's writer. MacLachlan's novel Sarah, Plain and Tall won the Newbery Medal in 1986 and gave its name to a series. The catalogue holds 63 books for young readers, including the Barkus series, Arthur, for the Very First Time and My Poet (2022). Family life, dogs, grandparents, friendship and frontier life are frequent subjects.

Mazo de la Roche

31 books• 2 series

Mazo de la Roche (1879–1961), born Maisie Louise Roche, was a Canadian writer. The Jalna novels, a chronicle of the Whiteoak family set at Jalna in Ontario, were among the most widely read series of their day, running from Jalna (1927) through Whiteoaks of Jalna (1929), Finch's Fortune (1931), The Master of Jalna (1933) and The Building of Jalna (1935). Thirty-one books are catalogued, plays among them, with family life and Canadian social history the standing subjects.

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.

Jeffrey Archer

63 books• 11 series

Jeffrey Archer's 63 catalogued books cover novels, short stories, plays, children's books and prison diaries. The list opens with Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less (1976) and reaches Adam and Eve in 2026. The Clifton Chronicles, Kane and Abel and the Detective William Warwick novels are the main series; families, social class and English history supply the material.

Sherryl Woods is an American writer of romance and mystery, born July 23, 1944, in Arlington, Virginia, who has also used the pen names Alexandra Kirk and Suzanne Sherrill. The Chesapeake Shores novels became a six-season Hallmark Channel series, and Netflix's Sweet Magnolias is based on Woods' books, with Woods as an executive producer. The catalogue lists 157 titles from Restoring Love (1982) to Starlit Secrets (2024). Other named series include Calamity Janes, Devaney Brothers and the Amanda Roberts and Molly DeWitt mysteries.