Parenting book series in reading order

by Liane Moriarty

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.

Matthew Kelly, born 12 July 1973 in Sydney, is an Australian motivational speaker, business consultant and founding partner of the management consulting firm Floyd Consulting. The catalogue lists 48 Kelly books from Our Father (1995) to Nothing Is Random (2025). Subjects include the Catholic Church, spirituality, self-help, happiness, parenting and business. Titles include The Rhythm of Life (1999), Rediscover Catholicism (2002) and The Dream Manager (2007).

Tricia Goyer is an American author of Christian fiction, with 68 books catalogued from From Dust and Ashes (2003) to Twist of Time (2026). Series include World War II Liberator, Chronicles of the Spanish Civil War, Big Sky Amish, Pinecraft Pie Shop, Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors, Swiss Agents, London Chronicles and Clockwork Chronicles. Non-fiction on parenting appears too, such as Life Interrupted: The Scoop on Being a Young Mom (2004). The Second World War and the Amish recur in the subjects.

Liane Moriarty is an Australian novelist, born in November 1966, who worked in advertising and marketing before her first novel, Three Wishes, came out in 2003. The catalogue holds 15 of her books through Big Little Truths (2026), including The Husband's Secret (2013), Big Little Lies (2014) and Truly Madly Guilty (2016). Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Last Anniversary and Apples Never Fall have all become television series. Moriarty was the first Australian author to debut at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list. The Nicola Berry books sit alongside her standalone novels.

Neta Jackson has 101 books in the catalogue, published between 1974 and 2021. Living Together in a World Falling Apart (1974) is the earliest, and Hero Tales, Vol. IV (2021) is the newest. The Yada Yada Prayer Group is among the character entries, and series include Yada Yada House of Hope, Trailblazer, Hero Tales, SouledOut Sisters, Windy City Neighbors, Pet Parables and Secret Adventures. Subjects include Christian life, Christian women, missionaries, prayer groups, female friendship, orphans, biography and children's fiction.

Melanie Benjamin

14 books• 2 series

Melanie Benjamin is the pen name of American writer Melanie Hauser (born Melanie Miller, November 24, 1962). The catalogue lists 14 books from Confessions of Super Mom (2005) to The Windsor Affair (2026), and Jumble Pie (2007) appeared under the name Melanie Lynne Hauser. Super Mom is a series. Later titles include Alice I Have Been (2009), The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb (2011), The Swans of Fifth Avenue (2016) and Mistress of the Ritz (2019). Subjects include historical and biographical fiction, motherhood and humor.

Laurie Frankel

6 books

Laurie Frankel is an American novelist, essayist and public speaker. This Is How It Always Is (2017), which takes a child's gender transition as its subject, drew good reviews and controversy together, and Frankel campaigns for transgender rights. Six books are catalogued, from The Atlas of Love (2010) to Enormous Wings (2026), with Goodbye for Now (2012), One Two Three (2021) and Family Family (2024) between them. Parenting, friendship between women, loss and Seattle recur as subjects.

Penny Warner writes in two halves. One is mystery: the Connor Westphal books, with deaf women and women journalists in the subject record, plus the Party-Planning and Food Festival mysteries, the Code Busters Club for children and Troop 13. That work has taken multiple Agatha Awards. The other half is practical non-fiction, more than 50 titles on cooking, parenting, parties and children's activities, starting with Healthy Snacks for Kids (1983). Seventy-one books are catalogued through The Search for the Missing Mascot (2025).

Anita Diamant

21 books• 1 series

Anita Diamant is an American journalist and author of fiction and nonfiction, born June 27, 1951. The Red Tent (1997) became a best seller and a book club favourite, and The Boston Girl, the most recent of five Diamant novels, reached the New York Times best seller list. Diamant has also written six guides to contemporary Jewish practice, such as Living a Jewish Life, plus the essay collection Pitching My Tent. The catalogue lists 21 books from How to Find and Work with a Literary Agent (1986) to Period. End of Sentence (2021), with tags for Judaism, Jewish weddings and baby names.

Gary Chapman

17 books• 1 series

Gary Chapman is an American author, radio talk show host and Baptist minister, born in 1938. The Five Love Languages series on human relationships is Chapman's best-known work. The catalogue lists 17 books from The 5 Love Languages (1990) to The Love Language That Matters Most (2026), including editions for children, teenagers, singles and men, and The Five Languages of Apology (2006). Subjects include marriage, communication, parenting and Christian perspectives on love. Single titles also credit co-authors such as D. Ross Campbell and Jennifer M. Thomas.

Anne Enright

16 books

Anne Enright is an Irish writer whose fiction takes up family, love, identity and motherhood. The Gathering, her fourth novel, won the Man Booker Prize in 2007, and Enright served as the first Laureate for Irish Fiction from 2015 to 2018. Alongside eight novels and several story collections sits Making Babies (2004), a nonfiction account of the birth of her two children. Her essays appear in the London Review of Books and the New York Review of Books, and she writes for the Irish Times and the Guardian. 16 books are catalogued, from The Portable Virgin (1992) to Attention (2025).