Kristiana Gregory Books in Order
Explore Kristiana Gregory books in order, from Dear America to Cabin Creek Mysteries, with short summaries, series background, and clear where-to-start help.
Last updated: July 4, 2026
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Publication Order
38 books
Jenny of the Tetons
by Kristiana Gregory
1989
In the Teton frontier, orphaned Carrie Hill is taken in by trapper Beaver Dick and his Shoshoni wife, Jenny. Their rough, loving household becomes the place where she learns to live between two worlds.
The Legend of Jimmy Spoon
by Kristiana Gregory
1990
In 1854, restless twelve-year-old Jimmy Spoon sneaks away with two Shoshoni boys in search of adventure. Instead, he finds a new way of life, hard lessons, and deep bonds that change him completely.
Earthquake at Dawn
by Kristiana Gregory
1992
Daisy arrives in San Francisco with photographer Edith Irvine just as the 1906 earthquake destroys the city. Separated from family and surrounded by fire, they fight to survive and record what they see.
Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express
by Kristiana Gregory
1994
Jimmy has the riding skills for the Pony Express, but the job is tougher and riskier than even he imagined. As he races across the frontier, danger is constant and his heart is still tied to the Shoshoni life he misses.
The Stowaway
by Kristiana Gregory
1995
After pirates attack Monterey and kill his father, eleven-year-old Carlito hides aboard their ship to take revenge. What follows is a dangerous sea adventure full of fear, survival, and hard choices.
Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart
by Kristiana Gregory
1996
Eleven-year-old Abigail watches Valley Forge change when General Washington's army arrives for the winter. As her father joins the fight, she faces hunger, fear, and the daily cost of the Revolution at close range.
Across The Wide And Lonesome Prairie
by Kristiana Gregory
1997
Hattie Campbell records her family's 1847 journey west on the Oregon Trail, where every mile brings dust, illness, weather, and loss. Gregory shows both the hope of the journey and its very real cost.
Orphan Runaways
by Kristiana Gregory
1998
After their parents die, brothers Danny and Judd flee a San Francisco orphanage rather than be separated. Their escape to Bodie promises family and freedom, but the mining town they find is rougher than expected.
Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile
by Kristiana Gregory
1999
Young Cleopatra records court danger, exile, and the long reach of Rome while her father fights to keep his throne. Even as a girl, she is already determined to survive and rule Egypt one day.
Elizabeth I: Red Rose of the House of Tudor
by Kristiana Gregory
1999
In diary entries, young Princess Elizabeth tries to stay safe in the dangerous world of Henry VIII's court. Lessons, rivalries, and family fear shape her early years long before she becomes England's queen.
The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory 1868
by Kristiana Gregory
1999
Fourteen-year-old Libby West keeps a diary while the Transcontinental Railroad is being built in Utah Territory. Through her reporter's eye, the race to join the rails becomes vivid, dangerous, and deeply personal.
Five Smooth Stones
by Kristiana Gregory
2001
Nine-year-old Hope begins her diary in Philadelphia in 1776 as the fight between Patriots and Tories reaches her street. With her father gone and her brother on the wrong side, home no longer feels safe.
Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory 1849
by Kristiana Gregory
2001
Susanna Fairchild boards a ship for Oregon, only to have tragedy force her family into Gold Rush California instead. In the chaos of 1849, she learns that survival and character matter more than striking it rich.
Eleanor, Crown Jewel of Aquitaine
by Kristiana Gregory
2002
This diary follows spirited Eleanor from 1136 to 1137, before she becomes queen of France at fifteen. Court lessons, travel, family duty, and her own fierce will shape the girl she is becoming.
My America
by Kristiana Gregory
2002
In Hope's second diary, the Revolutionary War keeps pressing closer to home. As her family faces danger in Philadelphia, Hope must balance loyalty, friendship, and fear while secrets about her father raise the stakes.
When Freedom Comes
by Kristiana Gregory
2004
Now eleven, Hope is living through the turmoil of occupied Philadelphia while enemy soldiers crowd into everyday life. She keeps praying for the safe return of her father and brother as the war drags on.
Catherine, The Great Journey
by Kristiana Gregory
2006
Before she is Catherine the Great, she is Princess Sophie, leaving home for an uncertain future in Russia. Court rules, a new name, and an arranged marriage force her to grow up very quickly.
Bronte's Book Club
by Kristiana Gregory
2008
When Bronte moves to a small California beach town, she starts a book club to make friends. Jealousy and gossip nearly wreck it, but the girls slowly discover what real friendship looks like.
The Clue at the Bottom of the Lake
by Kristiana Gregory
2008
When Jeff spots someone dumping a large bundle into the lake in the middle of the night, the cousins suspect foul play. Pulling the truth to the surface will mean danger, secrecy, and plenty of suspects.
The Haunting of Hillside School
by Kristiana Gregory
2008
A pale girl appears at a schoolhouse window and then vanishes, leaving Claire and her cousins badly shaken. Secret passageways, strange music, and an old portrait turn their school into the center of a ghostly puzzle.
The Legend of Skull Cliff
by Kristiana Gregory
2008
A boy vanishes near Skull Cliff, and the town starts whispering about an old curse. Jeff, David, and Claire are not convinced, but the ransom note and the missing camper make the case harder to untangle.
The Secret of Robber's Cave
by Kristiana Gregory
2008
Lost Island has always been off limits, which makes it irresistible to Jeff and David. With Claire's help, they search for a robber's cave and possible treasure, then find a mystery that is much stranger than legend.
My Darlin' Clementine
by Kristiana Gregory
2009
In an Idaho mining camp in 1866, Clementine dreams of becoming a doctor while dealing with a drunken father, a rough town, and a growing romance. Gregory turns the old ballad into a fuller, tougher story.
The Blizzard on Blue Mountain
by Kristiana Gregory
2009
Jeff, David, and Claire love working at a ski chalet over winter break, until things start vanishing and suspicion falls on them. In a snowbound setting full of icy hazards, they have to clear their names fast.
The Secret of the Junkyard Shadow
by Kristiana Gregory
2009
A shadowy stranger keeps sneaking into the town dump, just as broken things begin disappearing from homes all over Cabin Creek. When the missing items return repaired and repainted, the cousins face a very odd mystery.
Cleopatra
by Kristiana Gregory
2010
This diary-style retelling follows young Cleopatra as court danger, exile, and Roman power close in around her. Even before she is queen, she is sharp enough to see that survival comes first.
Cannons at Dawn
by Kristiana Gregory
2011
Abigail returns in a second diary as her family follows the Continental Army through another brutal winter. Camp life, spies, hunger, and the long road to victory push her toward adulthood fast.
Stalked
by Kristiana Gregory
2011
When fifteen-year-old Rikke arrives at Ellis Island in 1912, she realizes a man from her voyage is stalking her. Stranded in New York, she must earn money, protect herself, and uncover the source of a growing terror.
The Phantom of Hidden Horse Ranch
by Kristiana Gregory
2013
The cousins expect an easy summer at their grandparents' ranch, but arrive to find burned stables, missing horses, and valuables disappearing from the house. Every clue points somewhere strange, and the ranch's phantom may be very real.
Longhand
by Kristiana Gregory
2015
Gregory's memoir looks back on her path from childhood journals to publishing more than thirty books. It is a candid story about writing, rejection, family life, career setbacks, and starting again.
Madame Mustache and the Boys of Bodie
by Kristiana Gregory
2015
After Danny and Judd escape an orphanage and make their way to Bodie, a tenderhearted croupier named Madame Mustache takes them in. In a hard mining town, the brothers search for family and a place to belong.
The Case of the Spying Drone
by Kristiana Gregory
2016
During a spring break camping trip, Jeff, David, and Claire help with a wildlife study that uses a drone. When someone breaks into their tents and another drone starts hovering nearby, the cousins know they are being watched.
Danger on Lost Island
by Kristiana Gregory
2017
A campout on Lost Island goes wrong when the cousins hear the cries of what seems to be an injured baby bear. Then a storm rolls in, their boat drifts away, and the kids are stranded.
A Grateful Harvest
by Kristiana Gregory
2019
Nessa is trying to build a place for herself in Prairie River, but doubt follows her everywhere. When a sudden threat endangers both her and her students, she must prove she can be trusted.
A Journey of Faith
by Kristiana Gregory
2019
Orphaned Nessa flees west on a stagecoach and lands in Prairie River, Kansas with no money and no allies. To survive frontier life, she will need courage, work, and a faith strong enough to carry her.
Hope Springs Eternal
by Kristiana Gregory
2019
Spring brings Albert to Prairie River, and Nessa hopes their old friendship can grow into something more. But time has changed them both, and she must decide what future she truly wants.
The Shadow at Shark Cove
by Kristiana Gregory
2019
Jeff, David, and Claire head to Gray's Beach to visit their cousin Bronte and chase a local sea-monster legend. When something shadowy bumps their boat near Shark Cove, the summer turns into a coastal mystery.
Winter Tidings
by Kristiana Gregory
2019
Just as Nessa starts to feel at home, a visitor from Missouri arrives and threatens to expose the past she has hidden. Through a brutal winter, she must face old fear without losing herself.
Where should I start?
If you want classic Revolutionary War drama: Winter of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary of Abigail Jane Stewart → Cannons at Dawn
If you want westward adventure: The Legend of Jimmy Spoon → Jimmy Spoon and the Pony Express → The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory 1868
If you want Oregon Trail and Gold Rush stories: Across The Wide And Lonesome Prairie → Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory 1849
If you want royal history: Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile → Eleanor, Crown Jewel of Aquitaine → Catherine, The Great Journey
If you want quicker mysteries for younger readers: The Secret of Robber's Cave → The Clue at the Bottom of the Lake → The Legend of Skull Cliff
Author bio
Kristiana Gregory was born in Los Angeles and grew up in Manhattan Beach, California, just a short walk from the ocean. That beach-town childhood shows up again and again in her work, whether she is writing about open country, rough weather, or kids who feel brave one minute and scared the next. She has said that even as a girl she loved making up stories, especially the wild kind she could tell to her younger brother and sister and leave them staring back at her wide-eyed.
She started early.
At eleven, she got a rejection letter for a poem she wrote during math class when she was supposed to be paying attention. Before she ever published a book, she also worked a string of jobs that sound like they could belong to one of her own curious, determined heroines: cafeteria helper, telephone operator, lifeguard, camp counselor, reporter, book reviewer, and columnist. That stretch matters, because it helps explain why her fiction feels both researched and lived-in.
Journalism gave her a habit that never really left. She learned to notice concrete details, ask the next question, and dig until a scene felt real. Later, when she moved into children's fiction, especially historical fiction, that training paid off. Her books often carry the feel of a close-up view of history, not just the famous event, but the smoke, mud, hunger, chores, and private worries that children would have noticed.
Her first novel, Jenny of the Tetons, arrived in 1989 and won the Golden Kite Award for fiction. More books followed quickly, including The Legend of Jimmy Spoon, The Winter of Red Snow, Across The Wide And Lonesome Prairie, and Seeds of Hope. Readers tend to come to Gregory for adventure and stay for the voice. Her young narrators sound like real kids, curious, stubborn, hopeful, and often caught in hard situations that history did not make easy.
She has also written the Royal Diaries entries Cleopatra VII: Daughter of the Nile, Eleanor, Crown Jewel of Aquitaine, and Catherine, The Great Journey. In those books, and in her Dear America novels, she has a knack for making faraway times feel immediate. Big history is there, but so are pets, friendships, sibling trouble, cold rooms, and the daily effort to keep going.
She can write for reluctant readers, too.
That is one reason the Cabin Creek Mysteries have such a loyal following. Gregory created those stories from bedtime tales she once told her two sons about cousins Jeff, David, and Claire. The books are shorter, brisker, and built around cliffhangers, but they still carry the same warmth found in her historical novels. Even when the setting shifts from Revolutionary Philadelphia to a spooky island or a snowed-in ski hill, she keeps the focus on courage, decency, and kids figuring things out for themselves.
Later in her career, Gregory began bringing some of her books back into print and also published Longhand, a memoir about her writing life, family life, setbacks, and second acts. That move fits her work well. She has always seemed interested in the long road, how a person keeps going, how stories begin, and what keeps them alive.
Today she lives in Idaho with her husband, near their grown sons, and has written about life with their golden retrievers too. She still comes across as someone who loves the written word, loves history, and has not lost the part of herself that likes to sit down and ask, what if this happened to a kid? It turns out that question has carried her a very long way.
Edited by
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