Reading order
The Books of Bayern reading order
1- 8.08.0 / 10145 ratings
- Score
- 4 volumes
- Volumes
- 2003–2009
- Published
- about 25 h
- Reading time
- Completed
- Status
- Fantasy
- Genre
Quick answer
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Publication order
4 volumes2003–2009Completed
- Shannon Hale’s fantasy series begins with The Goose Girl, a full-length retelling of the Grimm fairy tale: Princess Ani, who can speak with birds, is betrayed by her lady-in-waiting on the way to her wedding and must tend geese in a foreign city while she finds her voice.
- The later books each follow one of her friends and their own gift.
- Read in order; The Goose Girl is the only one with enough ratings so far, and they are good.
A plan for the whole series
4 volumes, 1,432 pages, about 25 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 12, 2026, 9 days later than in one go.
- Stage 119 habout 4 weeksby November 23, 2026
- 1. The Goose Girl
- 2. Enna Burning
- 3. River Secrets
- BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.0
- Stage 27 h10 daysby December 12, 2026
- 4. Forest Born
- The end of the series
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
Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 29, 2026
Frequently asked questions
Which The Books of Bayern book is the longest?
“The Goose Girl” is the longest at 400 pages; the shortest is “River Secrets” with 304 pages.
What should I read after The Books of Bayern?
Other series by Shannon Hale: Princess Academy.
