Katherine Paterson Books in Order

In twelfth-century Japan, thirteen-year-old Muna leaves home to find the samurai father he has never known. His only clue is a chrysanthemum tattoo, and the search pulls him into war, loyalty, and danger in the capital.

Takiko, daughter of a slain samurai, resents her mother's new husband and dreams of escape at court. But as civil war erupts around her, love, duty, and survival collide in this vivid story set in medieval Japan.

Young Jiro becomes an apprentice at a puppet theater in Osaka, where art, hunger, and street violence all press close. His curiosity about a mysterious outlaw named Saburo draws him into danger beyond the stage.

Jess Aarons wants to be the fastest runner in fifth grade, but new neighbor Leslie Burke changes his life in bigger ways. Together they build Terabithia, a secret kingdom of imagination, until sudden tragedy forces Jess to grow.

Brilliant, sharp-tongued Gilly Hopkins lands in yet another foster home and immediately starts plotting her escape. Her plan to find her birth mother forces her to face the difference between the life she imagines and the people who actually love her.

Nine Christmas stories bring together ordinary people, hard circumstances, and moments of unexpected grace. It is a compact holiday collection about loneliness, hope, and the surprising ways people can help one another.

Written for Christmas Eve readings, this collection follows ordinary people through loss, family strain, and hard choices. Paterson keeps the tone humane and hopeful, finding the season's meaning in troubled modern lives.

Growing up on a Chesapeake Bay island, Louise feels pushed into the shadows by her adored twin sister, Caroline. This is a piercing coming-of-age story about jealousy, family, and the hard work of becoming your own person.

In these essays and reflections, Paterson writes about reading, writing, her literary influences, and the experiences that fed her fiction. It is a thoughtful look at how a working writer thinks and learns.

After being rescued from kidnappers, peasant boy Wang Lee is swept into a rebel movement bent on toppling the Manchu emperor. As war spreads, he must learn what loyalty, faith, and violence really demand.

James has a gift for music, but the thought of performing makes him sick with fear. When his family pushes him toward country stardom as Jimmy Jo, fame, school, and a mysterious stranger make everything feel even less safe.

Katherine and John Paterson explore the flowers, fruits, and plants that appear in the Bible, pairing scripture with botany, history, and art. It is part devotional book, part reference, and part visual feast.

Translated by Katherine Paterson, this Japanese folktale follows a kind old man and his greedy wife as they make separate visits to a sparrow they once harmed. Each receives exactly the sort of reward their character deserves.

Eleven-year-old Park wants the truth about the father who died in Vietnam and the family that never talks about him. A trip to his grandfather's Virginia farm brings him face to face with secrets he did not expect.

Marvin is heartbroken when his family moves to a new farm and Rosie, his mean but beloved cow, is sold. When she returns, smaller than ever and still full of trouble, Marvin has to adjust to a different life.

This essay collection brings together Paterson's thoughts on reading, writing, censorship, childhood, and the personal experiences behind her books. It is a lively, reflective companion for readers who want to hear her speak in her own voice.

In this graceful retelling of a Japanese folktale, kitchen maid Yasuko frees a captured mandarin duck and pays dearly for her kindness. She and the servant Shozo face death, but mercy has a way of changing the story.

In 1843, Lyddie leaves hardship on a Vermont farm for the factories of Lowell, Massachusetts, determined to earn enough to save her family. The work is brutal, the freedom partial, and every gain comes at a cost.

Vain Prince Raphael cannot claim his crown until he marries a woman equal to him in beauty, wit, and wealth. Clever Rosamund, helped by a magical wolf, shows him that true equality asks something of him too.

This collaborative history collection looks across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas on the eve of Columbus's voyage. Essays by several writers, including Katherine Paterson, help young readers see how large and varied the world already was.

Written for young readers, this nonfiction book explores identity, belonging, purpose, and neighborliness through Christian teaching and stories from Paterson's own life. It asks big questions in a calm, direct way.

After her father's death, Vinnie is stuck living with her grandmother in Virginia and can barely manage her own anger and grief. Her unlikely friendship with troublemaking Lupe gives her a chance to change, if she does not ruin it first.

These twelve Christmas stories were originally written for Paterson's husband to read to his congregation on Christmas Eve. They are modern, humane pieces about disappointment, danger, birth, kindness, and the stubborn arrival of hope.

This volume combines *Gates of Excellence* and *The Spying Heart*, bringing together Paterson's essays on children's books, reading, imagination, and craft. It is a strong place to start if you want her nonfiction voice.

Abandoned as a small child and raised on a poor farm, Jip thinks he understands his place in the world. Then a caged madman, a suspicious stranger, and a shocking discovery about his parentage put his life at risk.

Paterson retells the Hebrew Bible story of Balaam from the donkey's side, where the true danger is visible before any human sees it. It is a lively, thoughtful tale about greed, warning, and unexpected wisdom.

Christmas is coming, and Marvin wants to make the best present ever for his parents, something that will really last. It is a warm family story about love, effort, and a child's hope to get things just right.

When her mother falls ill, Celia sets out with a grumpy dog to find the healing water her mother remembers from childhood. Along the way, kindness to sad and strange creatures becomes the key to her quest.

John and Katherine Paterson reflect on biblical symbols and stories, from rock and light to Jacob and Esau, alongside radiant paintings. The book aims to make big spiritual ideas concrete and approachable.

Raised in the wilderness, Parzival knows nothing of Arthur's court until a chance meeting with knights changes everything. His journey from foolish beginner to Grail seeker turns old legend into an inviting adventure.

At the close of the nineteenth century, preacher's son Robbie has decided he is done with both God and good behavior. One reckless plan pushes him into a choice that could cost someone a life, and force him to grow up fast.

Princess Miranda is the one truly wakeful person in a kingdom where sleepiness rules. Using brains instead of dreamy passivity, she works out how to help her people and claim the place that should be hers.

On his first day of school, Marvin feels lost, embarrassed, and scared, especially when he realizes the other children can already read. Paterson turns that quiet fear into a reassuring story about shame, effort, and small triumphs.

Josh already hates his move to Vermont, his new stepfamily, and the bully waiting at school. Then he discovers the local dogs can talk, and that their own pack troubles are getting almost as dangerous as his.

In essays and speeches gathered late in her career, Paterson writes about literature, imagination, faith, and the hidden child she believes fiction speaks to. It is both personal and practical, especially for readers and teachers.

Not yet twelve, Angel is already caring for her little brother while the adults in her life keep failing them. At a crumbling Vermont farmhouse, a mysterious stranger and the night sky hint that her future could be larger.

In wartime New England, young William longs to do something useful while everyone around him seems busier and braver. When exiled Queen Wilhelmina lives nearby, he finds a small, human way to serve both peace and kindness.

During the 1912 mill strike, Rosa is sent away from Lawrence, Massachusetts, to Vermont for safety while her family stays behind in danger. On the journey she takes responsibility for a secretive boy who seems to be hiding something serious.

Paterson retells the life of Jesus in clear, child-friendly language, drawing together familiar scenes, parables, and promises of God's kingdom. It is a gentle introduction meant for reading aloud and thinking through together.

Meli and her Albanian Muslim family flee violence in Kosovo, endure the hard road of refugee life, and finally reach Vermont. But after 9/11, starting over in America brings a different kind of fear and suspicion.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

This picture book reimagines Saint Francis of Assisi's hymn of praise, inviting children to look at the natural world with wonder and gratitude. Pamela Dalton's intricate cut-paper art gives the whole book a bright, handmade magic.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

A cursed talisman that hardens hearts passes from the Stone Age into the modern world, leaving trouble everywhere it goes. Charles and Unity must outwit its dark pull before it ruins humans, fairies, and animals alike.

A short digital installment in Paterson's Read For Your Life project, collecting one of her speeches or essays about reading, writing, and young people. These brief pieces grew out of her time as National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

This illustrated anthology pairs short texts and poems with original art by celebrated children's book illustrators from around the world, with a foreword by Katherine Paterson. It reads more like a gallery of imagination than a single story.

This holiday collection gathers realistic Christmas-season stories about people finding courage, faith, and hope in the middle of ordinary life. The tone is warm without being sentimental, and grounded in human struggle.

Paterson gathers poems, prayers, and praise songs about gratitude from many traditions, paired with Pamela Dalton's intricate cut-paper art. It is a warm collection for families who want language for thankfulness in every season.

This memoir follows Paterson from her childhood in China to the moment she began winning major literary awards. With photos, letters, and family stories, it shows how real life fed many of the books readers know best.

A Havana teenager volunteers for Cuba's national literacy campaign and heads into the countryside to teach reading. Far from home, she discovers hardship, politics, courage, and the power of sharing what she knows.

Paterson's poetic text imagines the night Jesus was born from a deeply intimate angle, centered on his mother's first welcome. The result is a quiet Christmas picture book full of tenderness and wonder.

Ten-year-old Birdie tries to make a deal with God for her father's safe return from Iraq. As fear, faith, and the long shadow of 9/11 press on her family, she has to face questions no easy prayer can solve.