Valentine's Day book series in reading order

by Wendi Silvano

by Leslie Meier

by Ben M. Baglio

by Jane O’Connor

Wendi Silvano writes early readers and picture books, averaging 32 pages a volume. Turkey Trouble is the one recorded series, running to Turkey's Fall Fumble (2026) with Turkey's Leprechaun Trap scheduled for 2027. The wider catalogue holds 113 titles dated 2000 onward, opening with Pancakes for Breakfast and taking in the Duck and Goose books of 2004 to 2006. Holidays supply much of the subject matter: Valentine's Day, Santa Claus and turkeys all appear in the record.

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.

Charles M. Schulz was an American cartoonist, born in Minneapolis in 1922 and working until his death in 2000. Schulz created the comic strip Peanuts, whose cast includes Charlie Brown and Snoopy, after developing an earlier strip called Li'l Folks from 1947. United Features Syndicate renamed the redeveloped strip Peanuts and began publishing it in October 1950. The book catalogue holds 781 titles, from More Peanuts in 1954 to Snoopy, the Story of My Life in 2025, gathered into collections such as The Complete Peanuts and Peanuts Every Sunday.

Joan Holub, born in Texas in 1956, has written and illustrated over 180 children's books and also publishes as Rita Book and Brad Bucks. The catalogue lists 184 Holub titles from If You Were There When They Signed the Constitution (1987) to This Little Engineer (2023), with a median length of 48 pages. Subject tags include Greek mythology, Greek goddesses, stories in rhyme, schools and ants. Holub series include Goddess Girls, Mini Myths, Ant Hill, Doll Hospital, Young Princesses Around the World and Smart About History.

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.

Jane O'Connor is the writer of Fancy Nancy, a children's picture book series begun in 2005 and illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser. The first Fancy Nancy book stayed on the New York Times Best Seller list for nearly 100 weeks, and the series grew past 100 titles and 50 million copies sold, with translations into 20 languages including Hungarian and Hebrew. Nancy moved into chapter books in April 2012 with Nancy Clancy: Super Sleuth. The catalogue lists 134 O'Connor books from Yours Till Niagara Falls, Abby (1979) to Besties for Eternity (2025), across series such as Lulu the Witch, Sir Small and Miranda Bookman.

Leslie Meier's listed books run from 1991 to 2026, opening with Mistletoe Murder / Mail Order Murder and reaching Countdown to Christmas Murder. Meier's series are Lucy Stone and Carole and Poopsie Mystery. Lucy Stone appears in the subjects alongside women sleuths, reporters, librarians and Maine. Other titles include Tippy Toe Murder (1994), Trick or Treat Murder (1996), Back to School Murder (1997) and Turkey Day Murder (2000). Meier is still publishing.

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.

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.

Barbara Park (1947-2013) was an American children's author. Junie B. Jones, a kindergartner and later a first grader, is Park's best-known creation and heads the largest series in the catalogue. Family life and what happens to children at school are the recurring subjects, and the books are humorous and short at around 78 pages. Fifty-one titles are catalogued, from Don't Make Me Smile (1981) through Skinnybones (1982) and The Kid in the Red Jacket (1987) to Junie B. My Valentime (2013). Park allowed no adaptations of the work beyond stage plays.

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.

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.

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.

Nancy Krulik writes for children, and the catalogue lists Grades 1-3 as the reading level. Series credited to Krulik include Katie Kazoo, Switcheroo, How I Survived Middle School, Magic Bone, Princess Pulverizer and Project Droid, and George Brown, Class Clown appears among the characters. Subjects range across magic, schools, friendship, dogs, robots and humorous stories. The most recent listed book is Fangs for Having Us! (2021), and the catalogue marks the output as dormant.

Ben M. Baglio, born in New York City in 1960, is an American author who created the brief for two children's book series, Animal Ark and Dolphin Diaries. Animal Ark features Mandy Hope, the child of vets, who helps injured animals and solves animal mysteries. Dolphin Diaries follows a Florida family of marine biologists who study dolphins around the world. Commissioned writers produced the books under Baglio's instruction, and UK editions used the pseudonym Lucy Daniels. The catalogue also lists Animal Ark Pets, Animal Ark Hauntings and Pet Finders Club.

Ron Roy, born 1940, is an American children's writer working mostly in mystery. Three series carry the name: A to Z Mysteries from 1997, Capital Mysteries from 2001 and Calendar Mysteries from 2009, with A to Z Animal Mysteries and an A to Z Super Edition line alongside. Roy taught fourth grade in Connecticut for ten years, sold a first book in 1978 and wrote full time after that. The catalogue holds 90 titles dated 1978 to 2024, short at a median 84 pages, and reaches Dolphin Detectives (2024).

Norman Bridwell

88 books

Clifford the Big Red Dog is Norman Bridwell's creation, introduced in Clifford, the Big Red Dog (1963). Bridwell was an American author and cartoonist who lived from 1928 to 2014. 88 catalogued books run through to Big New Friend (2021), taking Clifford to the circus and to Hollywood, through Halloween and Christmas, and into counting and riddle books. The median title runs 32 pages and the 1990s were the busiest decade.

James Preller writes for readers in grades 1 to 3, and the Jigsaw Jones Mysteries are the core of the list: most titles begin The Case of, from The Case of Hermie the Missing Hamster (1998) to The Case of the Hat Burglar (2019). Preller worked as a copywriter at Scholastic before publishing his first book in 1986, and has used the pen names Mitzy Kafka, James Patrick and Izzy Bonkers. Bystander and Six Innings sit outside the mystery series. The 38 catalogued books run to a median of 74 pages.