Summer book series in reading order

by Cynthia Rylant

by Ann Brashares

by Beverly Cleary

Cynthia Rylant, born Cynthia Smith on June 6, 1954, is an American author and librarian who has written more than 100 children's books across picture books, short stories, novels, nonfiction and poetry. Missing May took the 1993 Newbery Medal, A Fine White Dust was a 1987 Newbery Honor book, and two further titles are Caldecott Honor Books. The catalogue records 229 books from When I Was Young in the Mountains (1982) onward, with series including Henry and Mudge, Mr. Putter & Tabby, Poppleton and the Lighthouse Family.

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.

Francine Pascal (née Rubin, 1932–2024) was an American author whose name is tied to the Sweet Valley books for young adults. Sweet Valley High anchored that collection, was adapted for television, and branched into spin-offs such as The Unicorn Club and Sweet Valley University. The catalogue opens with Hangin' Out with Cici (1977) and also carries the Fearless series. Subjects include twins, sisters, high schools, friendship and dating. Most Sweet Valley books came out in the 1980s and 1990s, and several titles were re-released decades later.

Daisy Meadows is the name on the Rainbow Magic children's books, a fantasy line whose subjects include fairies, goblins, Jack Frost and two girls, Kirsty Tate and Rachel Walker. The catalogue opens in 2003 with colour-fairy titles such as Ruby the Red Fairy, Amber the Orange Fairy and Fern the Green Fairy, and runs to Nur the Vlogger Fairy (2023). Sub-series include the Weather, Jewel, Party, Pet Keeper, Dance, Ocean and Showtime Fairies. Magic Animal Friends appears under the same name.

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.

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.

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.

Jenny Han

11 books• 4 series

Jenny Han is an American author, screenwriter, executive producer and showrunner, born September 3, 1980. The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy became a Prime Video series that Han adapted, and the To All the Boys trilogy became a Netflix film series. The catalogue lists 11 books from Shug (2006) to Always and Forever, Lara Jean (2017). The Summer I Turned Pretty (2009), Burn for Burn (2012) and To All the Boys I've Loved Before (2014) appear in the list. Burn for Burn, To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Clara Lee are the named series.

Dan Gutman

198 books• 23 series

Dan Gutman is an American writer of mainly children's fiction, born in 1955. The best-known lines are the My Weird School books, The Genius Files and the Baseball Card Adventures, which began with Honus & Me. The catalogue holds 198 books from It Ain't Cheating If You Don't Get Caught (1990) to Mrs. Towne Is a Clown! (2026), including early baseball titles such as Baseball Babylon (1992). Subjects include schools, teachers, baseball, time travel and humorous stories.

Lisa Greenwald writes for middle-grade readers about friendship, school and adolescence. My Life in Pink & Green (2009) opens 29 catalogued books that reach You'll Find It All Still Here (2025). Six series divide the list: Pink & Green, TBH, Friendship List, Seagate Summers, Ellie's Deli and Fortune Tellers. Bullying, secrets, best friends, early dating and family life supply the material.

Ann Brashares

19 books• 3 series

Ann Brashares, born on 6 March 1967, is an American young adult novelist best known for The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. The catalogue lists 19 Brashares books, among them Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2001), The Second Summer of the Sisterhood (2003), Girls in Pants (2005), Forever in Blue (2007) and The Last Summer (2007). The World at Midnight (2026) is the newest title. Westfallen is the other Brashares series on record. Subjects include friendship, best friends, jeans, summer and coming of age.

Lisi Harrison

41 books• 10 series

Lisi Harrison is a Canadian author of young adult fiction, known for three series: The Clique, Alphas and Monster High. The Clique (2004) opens a catalogue of 41 titles, with middle schools, cliques, friendship and competition in the subject tags, and monsters, boarding schools and prejudice beside them. Graphic novels, a Clique Summer Collection and the Graveyard Girls follow. Two Truths and a Lion (2023) is the most recent title.

Rob Buyea is an American children's author, born in 1976, best known for the Mr. Terupt novels. Because of Mr. Terupt (2010) opens that series and took an E.B. White Read Aloud Award in 2011; Mr. Terupt Falls Again (2012), Saving Mr. Terupt (2015) and Goodbye, Mr. Terupt (2020) follow. The Perfect Score (2017), The Perfect Secret (2018) and The Perfect Star (2019) make a second series, and What Comes Next (2021), The Daredevils (2022) and Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth-Grade Year (2024) complete a catalogue of 10. Schools, classrooms, teachers and friendship are the subjects. Buyea studied biology and education at Syracuse University, wrestled for its team, and lives in North Andover, Massachusetts.