🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Karen Hesse
Karen S. Hesse is a renowned poet and children’s fiction and historical fiction author. The author was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952 and had a very difficult childhood living in row houses with very little privacy. Growing up, she was a shy girl who felt different from the other girls and never felt a sense of belonging. She had many friends but she could never feel close enough to trust anyone with her deepest secrets. Consequently, she was a very lonely girl who spent much of her time lost in the worlds of the books she read. It was the reading she did during this time that fueled her imagination and made her into the bestselling author she is today. While Karen S.
All Book Series by Karen Hesse
A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin
Series opener · book 1 of 2 · published 1999
The Young Hans Christian Andersen
Latest in the series · book 2 of 2 · published 2005
When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864
Series opener · book 1 of 44 · published 1996 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620
Book 2 of 44 · published 1996 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
Winter Of Red Snow: The Revolutionary War Diary Of Abigail Jane Stewart
Book 3 of 44 · published 1996 Anthology · Kristiana Gregory
I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly: The Diary of Patsy, a Freed Girl, Mars Bluff, South Carolina, 1865
Book 4 of 44 · published 1997 Anthology · Joyce Hansen
A Picture Of Freedom
Book 5 of 44 · published 1997 Anthology · Patricia McKissack
Early Sunday Morning: the Pearl Harbor Diary of Amber Billows, Hawaii, 1941
Book 6 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
Dreams in the Golden Country: The Diary of Zipporah Feldman, a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903
Book 7 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
West to a Land of Plenty: The Diary of Teresa Angelino Viscardi
Book 8 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Jim Murphy
Standing in the Light: The Captive Diary of Catharine Carey Logan, Delaware Valley, Pennsylvania, 1763
Book 9 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Mary Pope Osborne
A Line in the Sand: The Alamo Diary of Lucinda Lawrence
Book 10 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Sherry Garland
Voyage on the Great Titanic: The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic 1912
Book 12 of 44 · published 1998 Anthology · Ellen Emerson White
The Great Railroad Race: The Diary of Libby West, Utah Territory 1868
Book 13 of 44 · published 1999 Anthology · Kristiana Gregory
My Heart is on the Ground
Book 14 of 44 · published 1999 Anthology · Ann Rinaldi
The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow: The Diary of Sarah Nita, a Navajo Girl
Book 15 of 44 · published 1999 Anthology · Ann Turner
A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin
Book 16 of 44 · published 1999
Color Me Dark: The Diary of Nellie Lee Love, the Great Migration North
Book 17 of 44 · published 2000 Anthology · Patricia McKissack
A Coal Miner's Bride: The Diary of Anetka Kaminska, Lattimer, Pennsylvania, 1896
Book 18 of 44 · published 2000 Anthology · Susan Campbell Bartoletti
My Secret War: The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck, Long Island, New York 1941
Book 19 of 44 · published 2000 Anthology · Mary Pope Osborne
One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping: The Diary of Julie Weiss, Vienna, Austria to New York 1938
Book 20 of 44 · published 2000 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
Christmas After All: The Great Depression Diary of Minnie Swift, Indianapolis, Indiana 1932
Book 21 of 44 · published 2001 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
Valley of the Moon: The Diary of María Rosalía de Milagros, Sonoma Valley, Alta Valley, California, 1846,
Book 22 of 44 · published 2001 Anthology · Sherry Garland
Seeds of Hope: The Gold Rush Diary of Susanna Fairchild, California Territory 1849
Book 23 of 44 · published 2001 Anthology · Kristiana Gregory
My Face to the Wind: The Diary of Sarah Jane Price, a Prairie Teacher, Broken Bow, Nebraska 1881
Book 24 of 44 · published 2001 Anthology · Jim Murphy
When Christmas Comes Again: The World War I Diary of Simone Spencer
Book 25 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Beth Seidel Levine
My Secret War : The World War II Diary of Madeline Beck
Book 26 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
A Time for Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C. 1917
Book 27 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Kathryn Lasky
Where Have All the Flowers Gone?
Book 28 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Ellen Emerson White
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: The Diary of Bess Brennan, The Perkins School for the Blind, 1932
Book 29 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
Survival in the Storm: The Dust Bowl Diary of Grace Edwards, Dalhart, Texas 1935
Book 30 of 44 · published 2002 Anthology · Katelan Janke
So Far From Home: the Diary of Mary Driscoll, an Irish Mill Girl, Lowell, Massachusetts, 1847
Book 31 of 44 · published 2003 Anthology · Barry Denenberg
Love Thy Neighbor: The Tory Diary of Prudence Emerson
Book 32 of 44 · published 2003 Anthology · Ann Turner
Land of the Buffalo Bones: The Diary of Mary Ann Elizabeth Rodgers, An English Girl in Minnesota
Book 33 of 44 · published 2003 Anthology · Marion Dane Bauer
All the Stars in the Sky
Book 34 of 44 · published 2003 Anthology · Megan McDonald
Look to the Hills: The Diary of Lozette Moreau, a French Slave Girl, New York Colony 1763
Book 35 of 44 · published 2004 Anthology · Patricia McKissack
Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, a Shirtwaist Worker, New York City 1909
Book 36 of 44 · published 2004 Anthology · Deborah Hopkinson
I Walk in Dread: The Diary of Deliverance Trembley, Witness to the Salem Witch Trials, Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1691
Book 37 of 44 · published 2004 Anthology · Lisa Rowe Fraustino
The Fences Between Us: The Diary of Piper Davis, Seattle, Washington, 1941
Book 38 of 44 · published 2010 Anthology · Kirby Larson
With the Might of Angels: The Diary of Dawnie Rae Johnson, Hadley, Virginia, 1954
Book 41 of 44 · published 2011 Anthology · Andrea Davis Pinkney
Behind the Masks: The Diary of Angeline Reddy, Bodie, California, 1880
Book 42 of 44 · published 2012 Anthology · Susan Patron
Down the Rabbit Hole, Chicago, Illinois, 1871: The Diary of Pringle Rose
Book 43 of 44 · published 2013 Anthology · Susan Campbell Bartoletti
A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906
Latest in the series · book 44 of 44 · published 2013 Anthology · Judy Blundell
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Karen Hesse?
Karen S. Hesse is a renowned poet and children's fiction and historical fiction author. The author was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1952 and had a very difficult childhood living in row houses with very little privacy. Growing up, she was a shy girl who felt different from the other girls and never felt a sense of belonging.
Which Karen Hesse series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Dear America series, the earliest of Karen Hesse's multi-book series: it opens with When Will This Cruel War Be Over?: The Civil War Diary of Emma Simpson, Gordonsville, Virginia, 1864 (1996) and runs to 44 books across 1996–2013, ending with A City Tossed and Broken: The Diary of Minnie Bonner, San Francisco, California, 1906 (2013).
How many books has Karen Hesse written?
Karen Hesse has 72 books catalogued in this guide, published between 1991 and 2022. 44 of them belong to 1 named series — the largest being the Dear America series with 44 books — and 28 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Karen Hesse's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Karen Hesse's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Dear America (1996–2013, 44 books).
How are Karen Hesse's books organised into series?
This guide splits Karen Hesse's 72 books into 1 named series and 28 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Dear America (44 books, 1996–2013).