Stepfamilies book series in reading order

by Angela Elwell Hunt

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.

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.

Morris Gleitzman

52 books• 8 series

Morris Gleitzman is an Australian children's and young adult novelist. Two Weeks with the Queen (1990) drew attention to AIDS in children's fiction. Gleitzman co-wrote several series with Paul Jennings, among them Wicked!, which became an animated series in 2000, and he has collected three volumes of his newspaper columns for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald as books for adults. Earlier still, Gleitzman wrote for the Norman Gunston Show. The subject tags name the Second World War, Jews, stepfamilies and humorous stories, and the catalogue holds 52 titles ending with Always (2021).

Rachel Cohn

14 books• 3 series

Rachel Cohn, born 14 December 1968, is an American writer of young adult fiction whose first book, Gingerbread, came out in 2002. Cohn has also written books for younger children and co-wrote six books with David Levithan. The catalogue lists 14 books from 2002 to 2025, among them Pop Princess, Shrimp, Cupcake, Very LeFreak, Beta and Emergent, with My Ex-Husband's Ex-Husband (2025) as the newest. Cohn's series are Cyd Charisse, Steps and Annex. Subject tags include stepfamilies, high schools, science fiction and cloning.

Roland Smith, born November 30, 1951, is an American author of young adult fiction and of nonfiction for children. The catalogue lists 51 titles from Sea Otter Rescue (1990) to The Vaquita (2025), with early books on zoo animals, Primates in the Zoo, Snakes in the Zoo, Inside the Zoo Nursery, sitting beside later adventure fiction. Series include I, Q, Peak, Storm Runners, Zach's Lie, Jacob Lansa, Marty and Grace and the Alphabet Picture books; Marie Smith shares credit on 3 of the titles. Subjects name survival, adventure, spies, mountaineering and terrorism.

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.

Mary Downing Hahn writes ghost stories and mysteries for young readers. Born in 1937 and once a school librarian, Hahn published The Sara Summer in 1979 and has 41 catalogued books through The Old Willis Place (2024). Wait Till Helen Comes and Stepping On The Cracks are among the best known titles, and the Gordy Smith books form the one named series. Ghosts, witches, stepfamilies and family life recur as subjects.

Angela Elwell Hunt, born 20 December 1957, writes Christian fiction and also publishes as Angela Hunt. The Tale of Three Trees (1989) sits in this listing alongside the Nicki Holland Mysteries for younger readers and the historical runs Keepers of the Ring, Heirs of Cahira O'Connor, Silent Years and Jerusalem Road. Biblical history, Christian life, mystery and romance recur across the subjects. The catalogue holds 117 books published between 1988 and 2026, reaching A Most Peculiar Providence (2026).

Ann Martin is the author of The Baby-Sitters Club, a children's series about a group of friends who run a babysitting business. Kristy, Claudia, Stacey, Mary Anne and Dawn take turns as narrators across the books. The catalogue holds 75 titles published between 1986 and 1999, opening with Kristy's Great Idea and reaching The Fire at Mary Anne's House. Friendship, family life and school worries drive the plots, with a mystery strand running alongside, in books averaging 160 pages.

Estelle Maskame is the author of the DIMILY and MILA Trilogy series, with 10 books catalogued from 2015 to 2022. Did I Mention I Love You? (2015) is the first, followed by Did I Mention I Need You? and Did I Mention I Miss You?. Dare to Fall, The Wrong Side of Kai, Becoming Mila and Trusting Blake are other titles, and The Making of Mila and Blake (2022) is the newest. Maskame is a Scottish writer of young adult and new adult fiction, born in June 1997.

Lauraine Snelling is an American author of Christian fiction who has published since 1982. Snelling's historical series draw on Norwegian immigration and the author's own heritage. The Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame inducted Snelling in 2012 at Norsk Høstfest, and sales exceed 5 million copies. The catalogue counts 102 books, from Tragedy on the Toutle (1982) to Fair Are the Meadows (2026). Series include Golden Filly, High Hurdles, Red River of the North, Dakota Plains, Daughters of Blessing and Leah's Garden, with horses, pioneer life and North Dakota among the subjects.

R.L. Stine

589 books• 64 series

Robert Lawrence Stine, born October 8, 1943, is an American novelist who writes horror fiction for children. Goosebumps, the series Stine created, sold more than 400 million copies in 35 languages and grew into a franchise of two television series, video games, comics and two feature films. Fear Street, Stine's horror sequence for teenagers, passed 80 million copies and was adapted for film. Stine has been called the Stephen King of children's literature. The listing runs to 590 titles, from How to Be Funny (1978), published as Jovial Bob Stine, to How to Train Your Dummy, scheduled for 2027.

Abbi Glines writes contemporary and young adult romance, with dating, family trouble and love triangles across the subjects. Sea Breeze, Rosemary Beach, Field Party, the Vincent Boys, the Existence trilogy and the Smoke series carry the catalogue, which holds 85 books from Breathe (2011) to Up To No Good. Alabama and rock musicians appear among the settings and occupations.

Katherine Applegate

228 books• 20 series

Katherine Applegate, born October 9, 1956, and sometimes published as K. A. Applegate, is an American author of children's and young adult fiction. Animorphs, Remnants and Everworld are the series most tied to Applegate, and The One and Only Ivan (2012) won the 2013 Newbery Medal. Applegate received the Publishers Weekly Best New Children's Book Series Award in 1997. The catalogue lists 228 books, from Welcome to Junior High! (1990) to The Littlest Elephant (2026), including Girl Talk, Making Out and Roscoe Riley Rules.

Meg Cabot

102 books• 20 series

Meggin Patricia Cabot, born February 1, 1967, is an American novelist of young adult and adult fiction. Meg Cabot wrote The Princess Diaries, a young adult series Walt Disney Pictures adapted into two feature films. Awards include the ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers and the Evergreen Young Adult Book Award. The catalogue lists 102 books from Where Roses Grow Wild (1998) to Kissing Cowboys (2026), including titles as Patricia Cabot and Jenny Carroll. Other series include Mediator, Heather Wells, Allie Finkle's Rules For Girls, Airhead and Little Bridge Island.

Jerry Bruce Jenkins, born September 23, 1949, is an American writer who co-wrote the Left Behind series with Tim LaHaye. Jenkins also writes the novels based on The Chosen, the TV series about Jesus. Across more than 200 books, Jenkins covers biography, self-help, romance, mystery and young adult fiction, and 19 novels explore eschatological themes. The catalogue lists 207 books from The Night the Giant Rolled Over (1971) to The Battle for Heaven and Earth (2026). Series include Left Behind: The Kids, Red Rock Mysteries, Margo Mysteries and Wormling.

Patricia Scanlan is an Irish novelist born in 1956. The catalogue lists 26 Scanlan books from Apartment 3B (1991) to City Girls Forever (2025), with subject tags for female friendship, marriage, sisters, weddings, family life and Dublin. City Girl (1992) and City Woman (1999) appeared in the early run, and City Girls and Forgive and Forget are the named Scanlan series. Finishing Touches, Mirror, Mirror and Francesca's Party are other titles in the list.

Carolyn Meyer, born June 8, 1935, is an American author of novels for children and young adults, working chiefly in historical fiction. Meyer wrote the Young Royals series and contributed to The Royal Diaries series from Scholastic. The catalogue lists 56 books starting with Miss Patch's Learn-to-Sew Book (1969), and early entries include Amish People: Plain Living In A Complex World (1976). Other series are Hotline and Dog Vacations, and subjects include history, kings and queens, princesses, diaries and African Americans.

Charlotte Hubbard, who also publishes as Naomi King, writes Amish romance and Christian fiction. The early titles are historical romances, among them Colorado Captive (1991), Colorado Moonfire (1992), Sahara Splendor (1993) and Outlaw Moon (1994), and the later run turns to Amish communities in Promise Lodge, Home at Cedar Creek, Simple Gifts and the Maidels of Morning Star. The catalogue holds 39 books reaching Miracles at Promise Lodge (2024), at a median of 368 pages.

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.