🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Varian Johnson
An American writer, the author Varian Johnson is a novelist currently largely working within the field of young adult literature, as he has become a highly prolific figure within the industry, with a variety of different titles under his belt and a clear advocate for both him and his craft. Clearly holding a gift for the form, he has an ability for creating characters that resonate with the reader, allowing them to immerse themselves in the story-lines with far more fluidity than that of other writers. With a definite ability for writing as well, he manages to craft situations and protagonists that relate on a universal level, as his books are translated all over the globe.
All Book Series by Varian Johnson
Red Polka Dot in a World Full of Plaid
Series opener · book 1 of 5 · published 2005
Playing the Cards You're Dealt
Latest in the series · book 5 of 5 · published 2021
Immortal Guardians
Series opener · book 1 of 8 · published 2015 Anthology · Eliot Schrefer
The Dragon's Eye
Latest in the series · book 8 of 8 · published 2018 Anthology · Sarwat Chadda
What Was the Hindenburg?
Series opener · book 1 of 67 · published 2013 Anthology · Kevin McVeigh,David Groff,Janet B. Pascal
What Was the Battle of Gettysburg?
Book 2 of 67 · published 2013 Anthology · John Mantha,Jim O'Connor,James Bennett
What Was the Gold Rush?
Book 3 of 67 · published 2013 Anthology · Joan Holub,Tim Tomkinson
What Was the March on Washington?
Book 4 of 67 · published 2013 Anthology · Tim Tomkinson,Kathleen Krull
What Was the Boston Tea Party?
Book 5 of 67 · published 2013 Anthology · Lauren Mortimer,Kathleen Krull
What Was Pearl Harbor?
Book 6 of 67 · published 2013 Anthology · John Mantha,Patricia Brennan Demuth
What Was the Alamo?
Book 7 of 67 · published 2013 Anthology · Meg Belviso,David Groff,Pam Pollack
What Was the Underground Railroad?
Book 8 of 67 · published 2013 Anthology · Yona Zeldis McDonough,Lauren Mortimer
What Was Pompeii?
Book 9 of 67 · published 2014 Anthology · John Hinderliter,Jim O'Connor,Who Hq
What Was Ellis Island?
Book 10 of 67 · published 2014 Anthology · David Groff,Patricia Brennan Demuth
What Is the Statue of Liberty?
Book 11 of 67 · published 2014 Anthology · John Hinderliter,Joan Holub
What Is the Panama Canal?
Book 12 of 67 · published 2014 Anthology · Janet B. Pascal
What Was the Lewis and Clark Expedition?
Book 13 of 67 · published 2014 Anthology · Megan Stine,Who HQ
What Was D-Day?
Book 14 of 67 · published 2015 Anthology · Patricia Brennan Demuth,David Grayson Kenyon
What Is the World Series?
Book 15 of 67 · published 2015 Anthology · Gail Herman
What Was Hurricane Katrina?
Book 16 of 67 · published 2015 Anthology · John Hinderliter,Robin Koontz
What Were the Salem Witch Trials?
Book 17 of 67 · published 2015 Anthology · Dede Putra,Joan Holub
What Is the Super Bowl?
Book 18 of 67 · published 2015 Anthology · David Groff,Dina Anastasio
What Was the Great Depression?
Book 19 of 67 · published 2015 Anthology · Dede Putra,Janet B. Pascal
What Are the Summer Olympics?
Book 21 of 67 · published 2016 Anthology · Gail Herman
What Is the Declaration of Independence?
Book 22 of 67 · published 2016 Anthology · Jerry Hoare,Michael C. Harris
What Were the Twin Towers?
Book 23 of 67 · published 2016 Anthology · Ted Hammond,Jim O'Connor
What Was the Great Chicago Fire?
Book 24 of 67 · published 2016 Anthology · Janet B. Pascal
What Was the San Francisco Earthquake?
Book 25 of 67 · published 2016 Anthology · Dorothy Hoobler,Thomas Hoobler
What Was the Age of the Dinosaurs?
Book 26 of 67 · published 2017 Anthology · Megan Stine,Gregory Copeland
What Was the Wild West?
Book 27 of 67 · published 2017 Anthology · Stephen Marchesi,Janet B. Pascal
What Is Rock and Roll?
Book 28 of 67 · published 2017 Anthology · Gregory Copeland,Jim O'Connor
What Was the Ice Age?
Book 29 of 67 · published 2017 Anthology · Nico Medina,David Groff
What Are the Ten Commandments?
Book 30 of 67 · published 2017 Anthology · Yona Zeldis McDonough
What Is the World Cup?
Book 31 of 67 · published 2018 Anthology · Stephen Marchesi,Bonnie Bader
What Was the Titanic?
Book 32 of 67 · published 2018 Anthology · Gregory Copeland,Stephanie Sabol
What Was the Holocaust?
Book 33 of 67 · published 2018 Anthology · Jerry Hoare,Gail Herman
What Is Climate Change?
Book 34 of 67 · published 2018 Anthology · John Hinderliter,Gail Herman
What Is the Constitution?
Book 35 of 67 · published 2018 Anthology · Patricia Brennan Demuth
What Is the Women's Rights Movement?
Book 36 of 67 · published 2018 Anthology · Deborah Hopkinson
What Were the Roaring Twenties?
Book 37 of 67 · published 2018 Anthology · Jake Murray,Michele Mortlock
What Is the Stanley Cup?
Book 38 of 67 · published 2019 Anthology · Gregory Copeland,Gail Herman
What Was Stonewall?
Book 39 of 67 · published 2019 Anthology · Nico Medina,Jake Murray
What Is NASA?
Book 40 of 67 · published 2019 Anthology · Ted Hammond,Sarah Fabiny
What Was the Vietnam War?
Book 41 of 67 · published 2019 Anthology · Jim O'Connor
What Was the Berlin Wall?
Book 42 of 67 · published 2019 Anthology · Nico Medina,Stephen Marchesi
What Were the Negro Leagues?
Book 43 of 67 · published 2019 Co-authored · Stephen Marchesi
What Are the Paralympic Games?
Book 44 of 67 · published 2020 Anthology · Andrew Thomson,Gail Herman
What Was the Bombing of Hiroshima?
Book 45 of 67 · published 2020 Anthology · Jess Brallier
What Is LEGO?
Book 46 of 67 · published 2020 Anthology · Ted Hammond,Jim O'Connor,Who Hq
What Is a Presidential Election?
Book 47 of 67 · published 2020 Anthology · Douglas Yacka
What Is the Civil Rights Movement?
Book 48 of 67 · published 2020 Anthology · Sherri L. Smith
What Is Nintendo?
Book 49 of 67 · published 2021 Anthology · Andrew Thomson,Gina Shaw
What Was the Age of Exploration?
Book 50 of 67 · published 2021 Anthology · Catherine R. Daly,Jake Murray
What Is Congress?
Book 51 of 67 · published 2021 Anthology · David Malan,Jill Abramson
What Is Black Lives Matter?
Book 52 of 67 · published 2021 Anthology · Lakita Wilson
What Are the Winter Olympics?
Book 53 of 67 · published 2021 Anthology · Jake Murray,Gail Herman
What Was the Plague?
Book 54 of 67 · published 2021 Anthology · Dede Putra,Roberta Edwards,Who Hq
What Was the Harlem Renaissance?
Book 55 of 67 · published 2021 Anthology · Sherri L. Smith
What Are Castles and Knights?
Book 56 of 67 · published 2022 Anthology · Dede Putra,Sarah Fabiny
What Is the AIDS Crisis?
Book 58 of 67 · published 2022 Anthology · Nico Medina
Who Was the Greatest?: Muhammad Ali
Book 59 of 67 · published 2022 Anthology · Gabe Soria
What Is the Supreme Court?
Book 60 of 67 · published 2022 Anthology · Gregory Copeland,Jill Abramson,Who Hq
Who Is the Man in the Air?: Michael Jordan
Book 61 of 67 · published 2022 Anthology · Gabe Soria
What Was Reconstruction?
Book 62 of 67 · published 2022 Anthology · Sherri L. Smith
What Is the Women's World Cup?
Book 63 of 67 · published 2023 Anthology · Ted Hammond,Gina Shaw
What Was the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921?
Book 64 of 67 · published 2023 Anthology · Caleb Gayle
What Was World War I?
Book 65 of 67 · published 2023 Anthology · Nico Medina,Dede Putra
What Was the Donner Party?
Book 66 of 67 · published 2023 Anthology · Ben Hubbard
What Was the Children's Blizzard of 1888?
Latest in the series · book 67 of 67 · published 2023 Anthology · Dede Putra,Steve Korté
Generation Wonder: The New Age of Heroes
Latest in the series · book 4 of 4 · published 2022
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Varian Johnson?
An American writer, the author Varian Johnson is a novelist currently largely working within the field of young adult literature, as he has become a highly prolific figure within the industry, with a variety of different titles under his belt and a clear advocate for both him and his craft. Clearly holding a gift for the form, he has an ability for creating characters that resonate with the reader, allowing them to immerse themselves in the story-lines with far more fluidity than that of other writers. With a definite ability for writing as well, he manages to craft situations and protagonists that relate on…
Which Varian Johnson series should I start with?
The best place to start is the What Was...? series, the earliest of Varian Johnson's multi-book series: it opens with What Was the Hindenburg? (2013) and runs to 67 books across 2013–2023, ending with What Was the Children's Blizzard of 1888? (2023).
How many books has Varian Johnson written?
Varian Johnson has 89 books catalogued in this guide, published between 2005 and 2023. 79 of them belong to 5 named series — the largest being the What Was...? series with 67 books — and 10 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Varian Johnson's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Varian Johnson's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are What Was...? (2013–2023, 67 books), The Great Greene Heist (2014–2016, 2 books) and American Girl: Girl of the Year 2017 (2017, 1 book).
How are Varian Johnson's books organised into series?
This guide splits Varian Johnson's 89 books into 5 named series and 10 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: What Was...? (67 books, 2013–2023); The Great Greene Heist (2 books, 2014–2016); American Girl: Girl of the Year 2017 (1 book, 2017); Spirit Animals: Fall Of The Beasts (8 books, 2015–2018); Twins (1 book, 2020).