Single-parent families book series in reading order

by Jeanne Birdsall

by Kazu Kibuishi

by Margaret Sidney

by Jack Gantos

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.

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.

Holly Black

60 books• 18 series

Holly Black is an American writer and editor, born in 1971, working in children's and young adult fiction, with fantasy and faeries prominent in the subjects. The Spiderwick Chronicles, created with writer and illustrator Tony DiTerlizzi, and the Folk of the Air series are the best-known work, and the Modern Faerie Tales form the debut trilogy. The catalogue opens with Tithe (2002) and lists 60 books to 2026, including Curse Workers, Book of Night and the Stolen Heir Duology, with 2 titles shared with Cassandra Clare. Black has received a Nebula Award, a Newbery Honor and a Mythopoeic Award.

Henning Mankell

35 books• 9 series

Kurt Wallander, a police detective in Sweden, is the figure Henning Mankell is known for. Mankell's catalogue holds 35 books, from A Bridge to the Stars (1990) to The Rock Blaster (2020), and takes in the Joel Gustafsson and Linda Wallander sequences, the Fredrik Welin novels, the Sofia Alface books, children's fiction and non-fiction. Faceless Killers (1991) and The Dogs of Riga (1992) are among the early titles.

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.

Jeanne Birdsall

11 books• 1 series

Jeanne Birdsall is an American photographer and children's author, born in 1951. The Penderwicks, the five-volume series about the Penderwick family, is the work Birdsall is best known for. The first book, The Penderwicks (2005), won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature that year. The catalogue lists 11 books for grades 3 to 5 from 2005 to 2025, including The Penderwicks at Last (2018) and The Library of Unruly Treasures (2025).

Jacqueline Wilson

178 books• 15 series

Jacqueline Wilson, born Jacqueline Aitken on 17 December 1945, is an English novelist who writes for children. Adoption, abuse and divorce are among the realistic topics the novels take on. Wilson made a debut in 1969 and has passed 100 books; this catalogue lists 178, the earliest dated entry being Hide And Seek (1972) and the latest The Seaside Sleepover (2025). Tracy Beaker, Hetty Feather, Girls, Sleepovers and Stevie Day are among the series. Friendship, sisters, family life and schools appear in the subject records.

Kieran Scott, born 11 March 1974, is an American author who also publishes as Kate Brian. Under the Kate Brian name come chick lit books such as The Princess and the Pauper, The Virginity Club, Sweet 16, Fake Boyfriend and the Private series. Books under Scott's own name include She's So Dead to Us, Brunettes Strike Back, Geek Magnet and I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader, a YALSA Teens Top Ten nominee. The catalogue subjects include boarding schools, high schools, cliques and teenage girls, and the listing runs from 1998 to 2026.

Written for grades 3 to 5, Anna Staniszewski's books draw on magic, fairy tales, the supernatural, single-parent families, secrets, popularity and dating. Dirt Diary, Once Upon a Fairy Tale, My Very UnFairy Tale Life and Switched at First Kiss are the four series credited to Staniszewski, and Dirt Diary also stands as a character entry. The 22 books run from My Very UnFairy Tale Life (2011) to Double Clique (2021), taking in The Dirt Diary (2014), The Prank List (2014) and The Gossip File (2015). The median book is 224 pages, and nothing has been listed since 2021.

Beverly Lewis

112 books• 17 series

Beverly Marie Lewis is an American novelist of Christian fiction and a children's author, and much of the writing concerns the Old Order Amish. Lewis taught school and worked as a musician beforehand. Born and raised in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where her father was a pastor, Lewis traces that interest to a maternal grandmother born into an Old Order Mennonite church. The catalogue lists 112 books, from Holly's First Love / Best Friend, Worst Enemy (1993) to The Christmas House (2025). Series include Abram's Daughters, Heritage of Lancaster County, Home To Hickory Hollow, Annie's People, Cul-de-sac Kids and Holly's Heart.

Sherrilyn Kenyon

117 books• 29 series

Sherrilyn Kenyon, born December 11, 1965, is an American writer of urban fantasy and paranormal romance, best known for the Dark-Hunter series. Under the pseudonym Kinley MacGregor, Kenyon writes historical fiction with paranormal elements. The books have sold over 70 million copies in more than 100 countries. The catalogue lists 117 titles from The Wager (1992) to Hell's Half Acre (2026), among them series such as League: Nemesis Rising, Dream-Hunter, B.A.D. Agency and Chronicles of Nick. Two early non-fiction titles are writer's guides from 1994 and 1995.

Kasie West writes young adult fiction about dating, families and school life, with one series turning to the supernatural. Pivot Point (2013) and Split Second make up that pair, while The Distance Between Us, On the Fence, The Fill-In Boyfriend and P.S. I Like You are standalone romances. Twenty-six books reach 2027, when The View from Here follows.

Sport is Tim Green's subject on both sides of his catalogue: football and baseball novels for young readers, and suspense novels for adults. Ruffians (1993) opens the list, followed by Titans, Outlaws and The Red Zone, with the non-fiction The Dark Side of the Game alongside. Football Genius, Baseball Great and Baseball Genius are the children's series, and Casey Jordan heads a legal one. Forty-five titles run to Rocket Arm in 2025.

Michael Morpurgo

171 books• 5 series

Sir Michael Morpurgo, born 5 October 1943, is an English author, poet, playwright and librettist best known for children's novels such as War Horse (1982). Morpurgo served as the third Children's Laureate from 2003 to 2005 and is President of BookTrust, a children's reading charity. Recurring themes include outsiders who triumph, survival and bonds with nature, set in places such as the Cornish coast and the First World War trenches. The catalogue holds 171 books from It Never Rained (1974) to Down Burrow Lane (2026), including the Mudpuddle Farm series.

Lynne Reid Banks (31 July 1929 to 4 April 2024) was a British author who wrote for both children and adults. The Indian in the Cupboard sold more than 15 million copies and became a film. The L-Shaped Room, the 1960 debut novel, was a best seller, was filmed, and gained two sequels, The Backward Shadow and Two is Lonely. Banks also wrote Dark Quartet, about the Brontë family, and Path to the Silent Country, about Charlotte Brontë. The catalogue lists 50 books from 1960 to The Red Red Dragon (2022), including the Harry the Poisonous Centipede series.

Joseph Monninger (1953-2025) was an American writer and Professor of English at Plymouth State University who lived in Warren, New Hampshire. Survival, wilderness, dogs and family life run through 29 catalogued books, from The Family Man (1982) to Fight Night 1939 (2025), with the Stay Alive series and the Journey Trilogy written for young readers. Monninger served in the Peace Corps in his youth and twice held National Endowment for the Arts fellowships. Goodbye To Clocks Ticking is his memoir of the first year after a terminal lung cancer diagnosis in 2021.

Margaret Sidney

25 books• 2 series

Margaret Sidney was the pen name of Harriett Lothrop (1844-1924), an American children's writer. The Five Little Peppers series is Sidney's best known work, opening with Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1881) and ending with Our Davie Pepper (1916). Lothrop took over the publishing company of her husband, Daniel Lothrop, after his death. The couple bought The Wayside and made the house a literary centre. Lothrop also founded the Children of the American Revolution. The catalogue counts 25 books.

Kazu Kibuishi

11 books• 1 series

Kazuhiro Kibuishi, who publishes as Kazu Kibuishi, is a Japanese-born American graphic novel author and illustrator, born on April 8, 1978. Kibuishi writes and illustrates the Amulet series, created the webcomic Copper, and created and edited the comic anthology Flight. The catalogue holds 11 books from Daisy Kutter: The Last Train (2005) to Waverider (2024). The Stonekeeper (2008), Prince of the Elves (2012) and Supernova (2018) are among the listed titles, and subjects include fantasy, magic, elves and graphic novels.