Most Recommended Books

Track reading, wishlists & new-book alerts

Get
Skip to content
Share:

Will Hobbs Books in Order

Explore Will Hobbs books in order, with summaries, series background, and simple guidance on where to start with his outdoor adventures.

Last updated: July 14, 2026

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases (at no extra cost to you).

View

Will Hobbs books in publication order

Sort:

23 books

Changes in Latitudes

by Will Hobbs

1988

During a family vacation in Mexico, sixteen-year-old Travis learns about endangered sea turtles while realizing his own family is in trouble. A week that begins with sun and escape becomes a painful lesson in loss, responsibility, and love.

Bearstone

by Will Hobbs

1989

Fourteen-year-old Cloyd Atcitty is sent to work for an aging Colorado rancher. A trip to reopen an old gold mine brings Cloyd face-to-face with a threatened grizzly and a trophy hunter, testing his courage and loyalty.

Downriver

by Will Hobbs

1991

Jessie and six teens ditch their outdoor program, borrow rafting gear, and launch into the Grand Canyon without adults or a map. Huge rapids, injuries, pursuit, and rising conflict turn their escape into a serious survival test.

The Big Wander

by Will Hobbs

1992

Fourteen-year-old Clay stays in the Southwest after his brother gives up their search for a missing uncle. With a burro and a dog, he crosses remote canyon country and finds his uncle caught up in a fight to save wild horses.

Beardance

by Will Hobbs

1993

Cloyd and Walter return to Colorado's high country in search of a lost gold mine. When orphaned grizzly cubs need help, Cloyd stays behind in the advancing winter and takes on a dangerous fight for their survival.

Kokopelli's Flute

by Will Hobbs

1995

At an ancient cliff dwelling, thirteen-year-old Tep Jones finds a bone flute abandoned by artifact thieves. Its magic traps him in an animal's body each night, and he must uncover the site's secrets to save himself and his ill mother.

Far North

by Will Hobbs

1996

A float-plane failure strands Gabe Rogers and his boarding-school roommate, Raymond Providence, in Canada's Northwest Territories. With winter closing in around Deadmen Valley, two boys from different cultures must rely on each other to stay alive.

Beardream

by Will Hobbs

1997

When spring arrives, every mountain bear wakes except the Great Bear. Worried that he may starve, a village boy called Short Tail climbs into the mountains and enters a magical dream in search of him.

Ghost Canoe

by Will Hobbs

1997

After a shipwreck off Cape Flattery, lighthouse keeper's son Nathan refuses to believe there were no survivors. With his Makah friend Lighthouse George, he follows eerie clues through sea caves toward a mystery involving treasure, betrayal, and murder.

River Thunder

by Will Hobbs

1997

Jessie, Troy, and the crew from Downriver return to the Grand Canyon when the Colorado River is running at historic flood levels. Jessie wants to row her own raft, but huge rapids and old tensions demand real teamwork.

Bearstone And Other Selected Works

by Will Hobbs

1998

This classroom-oriented collection centers on Bearstone, Hobbs's story of troubled Ute teenager Cloyd Atcitty and an elderly Colorado rancher. Their mountain journey, a hidden mine, and a threatened grizzly become a test of trust and responsibility.

Howling Hill

by Will Hobbs

1998

Hanni, a young wolf pup, is swept away from her pack on a river log. Alone in the snowy North, she must face dangerous water and wind, find her way home, and discover the howl inside her.

The Maze

by Will Hobbs

1998

Fourteen-year-old Rick is on the run when he reaches Utah's redrock Maze and meets a biologist releasing California condors. When threatening men arrive, Rick risks his life to protect his new friend and the endangered birds.

Jason's Gold

by Will Hobbs

1999

After hearing news of Yukon gold, fifteen-year-old Jason Hawthorn races north toward the Klondike. With Jamie, a rescued husky, and even young Jack London crossing his path, he must survive the Chilkoot Pass and a punishing river journey.

Down the Yukon

by Will Hobbs

2001

Jason Hawthorn and Jamie Dunavant join a race from Dawson City toward Nome, where another gold rush is beginning. Dangerous rivals, the Yukon River, and open sea stand between Jason and his plan to win back his family's sawmill.

Wild Man Island

by Will Hobbs

2002

Separated from his sea-kayaking group in southeast Alaska, Andy Galloway reaches remote Admiralty Island. While searching for answers about his archaeologist father's death, he encounters wolves, bears, a mysterious hunter, and a cave full of danger.

Jackie's Wild Seattle

by Will Hobbs

2003

Visiting Seattle, fourteen-year-old Shannon helps her uncle at a wildlife rescue center, saving animals from dangerous situations. When her uncle is injured, Shannon steps up while trying to understand troubled volunteer Tyler and the secrets surrounding him.

Leaving Protection

by Will Hobbs

2004

Robbie finally gets a dream job deckhanding on an Alaskan salmon boat, but his captain has a hidden agenda. A hunt for valuable Russian possession plaques and a violent storm leave Robbie wondering whether he knows too much.

Crossing the Wire

by Will Hobbs

2006

Falling crop prices push fifteen-year-old Victor Flores to leave Mexico and seek work in the United States. Without money for smugglers, he rides trains, hides on trucks, and crosses the Arizona desert in a desperate bid to help his family.

Go Big or Go Home

by Will Hobbs

2008

A meteorite crashes through Brady Steele's roof in South Dakota, and he and his cousin Quinn claim the extraordinary space rock. Rival boys, a possible discovery of alien life, and Brady's alarming symptoms turn the find into a threat.

Take Me to the River

by Will Hobbs

2010

Dylan travels to Big Bend to paddle the Rio Grande with his cousin Rio. A hurricane, border tension, and a frightened kidnapped boy pull them into danger as floodwaters turn their remote canyon trip into a race for survival.

Never Say Die

by Will Hobbs

2013

In Canada's Arctic, Inuit teen Nick Thrasher joins his newly met half brother on a caribou expedition down the Firth River. After disaster strikes, they must survive the tundra while a dangerous grizzly-polar bear hybrid stalks them.

City of Gold

by Will Hobbs

2020

In 1900 Colorado, fifteen-year-old Owen follows a rustler across the mountains after his family's mules are stolen. His search leads to Telluride, a determined girl named Molly, and the dangerous world around Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch.

Where to start with Will Hobbs

For mountain adventure and wildlife: BearstoneBeardance
For whitewater danger and group drama: DownriverRiver Thunder
For historical gold-rush adventure: Jason's GoldDown the Yukon
For tense contemporary survival stories: Far NorthGhost CanoeWild Man Island

Bearstone books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Bearstone"

    Bearstone

    by Will Hobbs

    1989Bearstone, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Beardance"

    Beardance

    by Will Hobbs

    1993Bearstone, Book 2

Bearstone books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Bearstone"

    Bearstone

    by Will Hobbs

    1989Bearstone, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Beardance"

    Beardance

    by Will Hobbs

    1993Bearstone, Book 2

Jason's Gold books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Jason's Gold"

    Jason's Gold

    by Will Hobbs

    1999Jason's Gold, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Down the Yukon"

    Down the Yukon

    by Will Hobbs

    2001Jason's Gold, Book 2

Jason's Gold books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Jason's Gold"

    Jason's Gold

    by Will Hobbs

    1999Jason's Gold, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Down the Yukon"

    Down the Yukon

    by Will Hobbs

    2001Jason's Gold, Book 2

River books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Downriver"

    Downriver

    by Will Hobbs

    1991River, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "River Thunder"

    River Thunder

    by Will Hobbs

    1997River, Book 2

River books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Downriver"

    Downriver

    by Will Hobbs

    1991River, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "River Thunder"

    River Thunder

    by Will Hobbs

    1997River, Book 2

Will Hobb's Picture Books books in order

Explore this series
  1. Book cover for "Beardream"

    Beardream

    by Will Hobbs

    1997Will Hobb's Picture Books, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Howling Hill"

    Howling Hill

    by Will Hobbs

    1998Will Hobb's Picture Books, Book 2

Will Hobb's Picture Books books in chronological order

  1. Book cover for "Beardream"

    Beardream

    by Will Hobbs

    1997Will Hobb's Picture Books, Book 1
  2. Book cover for "Howling Hill"

    Howling Hill

    by Will Hobbs

    1998Will Hobb's Picture Books, Book 2

Will Hobbs collections, short stories, and related book types

Collections

  1. Book cover for "Bearstone And Other Selected Works"

    Bearstone And Other Selected Works

    by Will Hobbs

    1998

Standalone Will Hobbs books

  1. Book cover for "Changes in Latitudes"

    Changes in Latitudes

    by Will Hobbs

    1988
  2. Book cover for "The Big Wander"

    The Big Wander

    by Will Hobbs

    1992
  3. Book cover for "Kokopelli's Flute"

    Kokopelli's Flute

    by Will Hobbs

    1995
  4. Book cover for "Far North"

    Far North

    by Will Hobbs

    1996
  5. Book cover for "Ghost Canoe"

    Ghost Canoe

    by Will Hobbs

    1997
  6. Book cover for "The Maze"

    The Maze

    by Will Hobbs

    1998
  7. Book cover for "Wild Man Island"

    Wild Man Island

    by Will Hobbs

    2002
  8. Book cover for "Jackie's Wild Seattle"

    Jackie's Wild Seattle

    by Will Hobbs

    2003
  9. Book cover for "Leaving Protection"

    Leaving Protection

    by Will Hobbs

    2004
  10. Book cover for "Crossing the Wire"

    Crossing the Wire

    by Will Hobbs

    2006
  11. Book cover for "Go Big or Go Home"

    Go Big or Go Home

    by Will Hobbs

    2008
  12. Book cover for "Take Me to the River"

    Take Me to the River

    by Will Hobbs

    2010
  13. Book cover for "Never Say Die"

    Never Say Die

    by Will Hobbs

    2013
  14. Book cover for "City of Gold"

    City of Gold

    by Will Hobbs

    2020

Author bio

Will Hobbs was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1947, but his childhood was rarely still. His father was in the Air Force, and the family lived in the Panama Canal Zone, Virginia, Alaska, California, and Texas. Those moves gave him a feel for wide-open country early on, especially during his years in Alaska.

Alaska stayed with him. He later wrote about loving its mountains, rivers, fishing, baseball, and books, interests that show up again and again in his fiction. His young characters are often far from home, learning the rules of a place where weather, water, animals, and distance all matter.

The outdoors wasn't just scenery for Hobbs. It was the point.

He studied English at Stanford University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1969 and a master's degree in 1971. After he and his wife, Jean, moved to southwestern Colorado, both found work in schools. Hobbs spent 17 years teaching reading and English, including years in the Durango area, before becoming a full-time writer in 1990.

Teaching gave him a practical sense of what young readers might actually want from a story. He wrote books with momentum, clear stakes, and characters who have to make choices when the adults aren't able to solve things for them. His first novel, Changes in Latitudes, arrived in 1988, sending a teenager and his family to Mexico amid a story involving endangered sea turtles.

Then came the mountains, rivers, canyons, and cold country.

In Bearstone and Beardance, Ute teenager Cloyd Atcitty finds a hard-won connection with an older rancher and the threatened grizzlies of Colorado's high country. Downriver follows a group of teenagers rafting the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon without adults, maps, or permission. In Far North, two boys from very different backgrounds must survive a Canadian winter after a plane emergency leaves them stranded near the Nahanni River.

Hobbs also enjoyed putting young people inside real history. Jason's Gold sends fifteen-year-old Jason Hawthorn toward the Klondike during the gold rush, while City of Gold takes readers to 1900 Colorado, where a boy pursues stolen mules through mining country and into the orbit of Butch Cassidy's gang. Later books such as Crossing the Wire and Never Say Die pair fast-moving survival plots with questions about family, work, borders, wildlife, and climate.

His work earned a long list of reader and book awards. Seven of his novels were named Best Books for Young Adults, and Downriver and Far North were included on a major list of the twentieth century's best young adult books. Ghost Canoe received the Edgar Award for Best Young Adult Mystery.

Hobbs and Jean spent years backpacking and running rivers, often returning to places that shaped his settings. He lived in Durango, Colorado, for many years and died there on March 31, 2025. His books leave behind a simple invitation: get outside, pay attention, and keep going when the route gets rough.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

Comments

Did we miss something? Have feedback?

Help us improve this page by sharing your thoughts

We only use your email to notify you about replies.

All comments are moderated.

Discover and track your reading on the go

Track your reading, manage wishlists, and get notified when new books are added.