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fantasy
Series · fantasy
The Land of Stories
The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer has 6 known books (11 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (2012).
- Books
- 6 known books (6 novels + 5 companions)
- Published
- 11
- First published
- 2012
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Fantasy
- Last checked
Start here: The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell (2012) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell
The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell opens the The Land of Stories series, first published in 2012. It is followed by The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: The Wishing Spell - Book 2:
The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns
The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns (2013) continues the single, continuous story twins Alex and Conner Bailey began in The Wishing Spell, deepening the fairy-tale-wide prophecy and the sprawling cast of reimagined classic characters. At 528 pages, it's the second of Chris Colfer's six-book series and must be read in sequence.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns - Book 3:
The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning
Coming after The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns and before The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms, The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning was published in 2014.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: A Grimm Warning - Book 4:
The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms
The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms (2015) continues the ongoing quest of twins Alex and Conner Bailey through Chris Colfer's fairy-tale world, following A Grimm Warning as the fourth entry in the single continuous story. At 128 pages, it's notably shorter than the volumes around it.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: Beyond the Kingdoms - Book 5:
The Land of Stories: The Curvy Tree
The Curvy Tree (2015) is an illustrated picture book set in Chris Colfer's Land of Stories world, one of several companion volumes published outside the main six-book numbered sequence. At 40 pages, it expands the fairy-tale mythology the twins Alex and Conner Bailey encounter in the novels.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: The Curvy Tree - Book 6:
The Land of Stories: The Mother Goose Diaries
The Mother Goose Diaries (2015) is a companion novella narrated as Mother Goose's own diary entries, expanding Chris Colfer's Land of Stories world outside the main six-book numbered sequence. It runs 122 pages, published alongside The Curvy Tree in 2015.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: The Mother Goose Diaries - Book 7:
The Land of Stories: Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty
Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty (2015) is an in-world etiquette and advice guide narrated by Queen Red Riding Hood, one of several companion volumes Chris Colfer published alongside the main Land of Stories novels. It runs 112 pages, outside the six-book numbered sequence.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: Queen Red Riding Hood's Guide to Royalty - Book 8:
The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey
The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey (2016) is the fifth book in the single continuous story of twins Alex and Conner Bailey, escalating the stakes of the fairy-tale-wide prophecy as Chris Colfer's series heads toward its conclusion. It runs 464 pages, following the companion volume A Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: An Author's Odyssey - Book 9:
The Land of Stories: A Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales
The Land of Stories: A Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales precedes The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide in the The Land of Stories series, published in 2016.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: A Treasury of Classic Fairy Tales - Book 10:
The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide
The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide (2017) concludes the six-book main series, resolving the fairy-tale-wide prophecy and Alex's growing magical destiny that Chris Colfer built across the twins' quest since The Wishing Spell. It runs 457 pages, the final numbered novel before the spin-off series A Tale of Magic.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Land of Stories: Worlds Collide - Book 11:
Trollbella Throws a Party: A Tale from the Land of Stories
Trollbella Throws a Party (2017) is an illustrated picture book following the troll character Trollbella, one of several companion volumes Chris Colfer published alongside the main Land of Stories novels. At 32 pages, it's the shortest entry in the series, released the same day as Worlds Collide.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Trollbella Throws a Party: A Tale from the Land of Stories
About The Land of Stories
Twins Alex and Conner Bailey fall through a magic book left by their grandmother and land in the Land of Stories, a fairy-tale world where every classic story -- Cinderella, Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks -- actually happened, and its characters have gone on living their lives long after "happily ever after." What starts as a mission to find a way home becomes a sprawling quest involving a fairy-tale-wide prophecy, warring kingdoms, an escaped villainess called the Evil Queen, and Alex's own growing magical destiny.
Chris Colfer (best known as an actor from Glee) writes the twins as a genuinely well-balanced pair -- bookish, magically-gifted Alex and practical, sarcastic Conner split narrative focus fairly evenly, and their sibling dynamic anchors a plot that otherwise sprawls delightfully across dozens of reimagined fairy-tale characters and settings. The tone stays fun and fast-moving even as the stakes escalate across the six books, mixing genuine fairy-tale wonder with contemporary humor.
The series was a bestseller on release and has spawned a full expanded universe, including the prequel-adjacent spin-off series A Tale of Magic, cementing Colfer's fairy-tale mythology as one of the more ambitious modern additions to the portal-fantasy genre for middle-grade readers.
Frequently asked questions
How many Land of Stories books are there?
Six, published between 2012 and 2017. The main series is complete.
What order should I read The Land of Stories in?
Publication order, starting with The Wishing Spell. It's one continuous story, so the books must be read in sequence.
Is The Land of Stories finished?
Yes, the six-book main series concluded with Worlds Collide in 2017.
What is A Tale of Magic and should I read it first?
It's a separate three-book spin-off series set earlier in the same world. It's best read after the main Land of Stories series, not before.
What age group is The Land of Stories for?
Roughly ages 8-12, similar to other portal-fantasy series for middle-grade readers.
If you like The Land of Stories
Reading order last verified .