The Jellybeans Books in Order

The Jellybeans books are friendship stories first. At the center are four girls who are all very different from one another: Bitsy loves art, Emily loves dance, Anna loves books, and Nicole loves soccer. Their names even line up to spell BEAN, and like the candy they adore, they are different flavors that somehow fit perfectly together.

They're different on purpose.

That is the whole series in one sentence. The books never ask the girls to become more alike. Instead, each story starts from the fact that they already have different interests, habits, and strengths, then shows how those differences help them solve problems together. The message is steady but never preachy: friendship does not depend on liking all the same things.

The world of the series is bright, social, and reassuring. The girls return again and again to familiar places, especially Petunia's candy shop, and each book gives them a new shared challenge. In The Jellybeans and the Big Dance, Emily worries that her classmates are too different to work together for a recital. In The Jellybeans and the Big Book Bonanza, the girls head to the library and discover that each one connects with books in her own way. The Jellybeans and the Big Camp Kickoff sends them to summer camp, where Nicole struggles to find the right activity, and The Jellybeans and the Big Art Adventure puts Bitsy's creativity at the center when a mural needs to come together.

What makes the series work is its scale. These are not high-stakes adventures. No one is saving the world. The tension comes from things children know well, fitting in, trying something new, worrying you are not good at the thing everyone else seems to enjoy, or figuring out how to contribute when your strengths are different from your friend's. Because the problems are small and recognizable, the victories feel satisfying.

There is a sweetness to these books, but not a sugary sameness. Each girl gets her own room to shine, and the group dynamic changes depending on whose interest is in the spotlight. The art by Lynn Munsinger adds a lot here. Her animal characters are expressive, active, and easy to tell apart, so the friendships feel lively instead of generic.

The tone stays kind.

The series later expanded into board books like The Jellybeans Love to Dance and The Jellybeans Love to Read, which bring the same four friends to younger readers in shorter form. Across both the picture books and the board books, the appeal is consistent: these are upbeat, approachable stories about cooperation, confidence, and the pleasure of having friends who are not exactly like you.