BookRank

Reading order

Fairyland reading order

Catherynne M. Valente

  1. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making2011
  2. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There2012
  3. The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two2013
  4. The Boy Who Lost Fairyland2015
  5. The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home2016
7.97.9 / 10
130 ratings
Score
5 volumes
Volumes
2011–2016
Published
about 24 h
Reading time
Completed
Status
Fantasy
Genre

Quick answer

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
Start withThe Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making2011 · Volume 1 of 5
Open the volume →Buy the first volumeListen to the audiobook

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Publication order

5 volumes2011–2016Completed

  • Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland books, which began as a novel she published online chapter by chapter: September, a twelve-year-old from Omaha, is carried off by the Green Wind to Fairyland, where she meets a book-loving dragon called A-Through-L and a wicked Marquess.
  • Lyrical, witty and old-fashioned in the best way, like the classic children’s fantasies it honours.
  • Five books; read in order, starting with The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making.

A plan for the whole series

5 volumes, 1,308 pages, about 24 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 5 weeks.

Stages

2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 4, 2026, 4 days later than in one go.

  1. Stage 118 habout 3 weeksby November 22, 2026
  2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 26, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  3. Stage 26 h8 daysby December 4, 2026
    • 5. The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home2016 · 320 pages · 6 h
  4. The end of the series
    December 4, 2026
In one goNovember 30, 2026about 5 weeks
In stages, with breaksDecember 4, 2026about 5 weeks · +2 h of other books

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

How this plan is calculated

The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →

Every volume in order

Read: 0 of 5
  1. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making
    The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making2011 · 130 ratingsStart here
    8.08.0 / 10
  2. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There
    The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There2012 · 48 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  3. The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two
    The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two2013 · 27 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  4. The Boy Who Lost Fairyland
    The Boy Who Lost Fairyland2015 · 21 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet
  5. The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home
    The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home2016 · 16 ratings · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet

Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026

Extras, short stories and spin-offs

Not needed to follow the main story — read them after the series or skip them.

  • The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland, for a Little While2011

Frequently asked questions

Which Fairyland book is the longest?

“The Girl Who Raced Fairyland All the Way Home” is the longest at 320 pages; the shortest is “The Boy Who Lost Fairyland” with 235 pages.

What should I read after Fairyland?

After the main series: The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland, for a Little While.