Emily Brown Books in Order

The Emily Brown picture books follow a small girl with a big imagination and her beloved old grey rabbit, Stanley. Each story starts in a very ordinary place, a kitchen, a bedroom, a back garden, then takes a sideways step into adventure as Emily and Stanley treat every day as an excuse to travel oceans, cross deserts, or visit outer space.

In That Rabbit Belongs To Emily Brown, they are happily scuba diving and rocket flying together when the royal footman for Queen Gloriana the Third knocks at the door. The Queen wants Emily’s rabbit, whom she calls Bunnywunny, and offers newer, shinier toys in exchange. Emily refuses again and again, even after the Queen’s soldiers resort to stealing Stanley in the night, and finally shows the lonely monarch how you make a toy truly special, by loving it and taking it on your own adventures.

Emily Brown and the Thing finds Emily and Stanley trying to get to sleep when a huge, upset “Thing” turns up outside their window. It cannot sleep because of all the scary thoughts in its head. The trio trek through dark woods and over rooftops to fetch medicine, milk, and teddy bears, only to discover that what the Thing really needs is someone to listen and reassure it. Later books bring in new worries, from an over busy parent in Emily Brown and the Elephant Emergency to a gloomy teddy bear who cannot believe anyone will ever like him in Cheer Up Your Teddy Bear, Emily Brown!.

Each book stands alone, but they share familiar rhythms, repeated phrases, and Neal Layton’s loose, collage based artwork. Photographs, scribbles, and splashes of paint are layered together so that Emily’s imagined landscapes and the everyday details of her home sit side by side. That mix lets children see how ordinary objects can fuel huge adventures, and how a cardboard box can easily become a space rocket.

Although the stories are funny, they quietly touch on big feelings. They talk about the fierce love children can have for a favourite toy, the way anxiety can make the world feel scary at night, and how parents’ busyness can leave a child feeling forgotten. Emily herself is steady and practical. She is patient with queens and Things, but also completely firm about her own boundaries.

For adults, the books are easy to read aloud, with sound effects, songs, and chances for dramatic voices. For children, they are invitations to go off and build forts, stage rescues, and write letters like the ones Emily receives at the end of her adventures. Taken together, the Emily Brown series feels like a reassurance that imagination is not just welcome, it is a powerful way to solve problems and to be kind.