Jim Button
#684.28 adjusted 4.26 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 2 books Status Complete 1960–1962 Reading commitment Low Michael Ende Last reviewed 2026-10-14
Overview
Michael Ende's Jim Button duology (1960–1962) follows Jim, an orphan boy raised on the tiny kingdom of Lummerland, as he and his friend, locomotive engineer Luke, set off aboard a small train on adventures across dragon-haunted lands that gradually uncover Jim's own royal origins. A foundational work of postwar German children's fantasy, it predates Ende's better-known The Neverending Story by almost two decades.
Portal fantasy, Comic fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (2 works) counts toward ranking
Jim Button Michael Ende
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver | 1960 | 1 | core | 4.26 (9,601 ratings) |
 | Jim Button and the Wild 13; ISBN recorded is the Thienemann edition (28th printing, 1993) of the German original, per the German National Library; the 1962 first edition predates ISBNs. | 1962 | 2 | core | 4.32 (4,284 ratings) |
An orphan boy raised on the tiny island of Lummerland by locomotive engineer Luke sets off aboard Luke's seafaring steam engine on adventures that eventually uncover Jim's own royal origins.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Jim Button? Jim Button's Core Canon is 2 books.
- What is the reading order for Jim Button? Publication order, starting with Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is Jim Button finished? Complete (1960–1962).
- How much reading does Jim Button take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 2 Core Canon books · ~226 pages).
- How is Jim Button ranked? #68 in this site's official ranking, based on 13,885 reader ratings across 2 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #68?
Ranked #68 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.28 across 2 core books.
- A smaller readership (13,885 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 2 rated core books rate within 0.06 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #67, Tortall (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 2 books · Complete · 14k ratings · Ranks #68 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (2 Core Canon books)
- Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver (1960)
- Jim Button and the Wild 13 (1962)
Documented internal/story chronology is recorded for every Core Canon book here, and matches publication order exactly, with no divergence to show separately.
Awards (verified)
- German Youth Literature Prize (Children's Book), 1961: won: Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver
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Suggestions computed from what Jim Button and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Howl's Moving Castle Fairy-tale retelling / Comic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.21
- Nevermoor Portal fantasy / Cozy fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.39
- Skulduggery Pleasant Urban fantasy / Comic fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.35
- The Faraway Tree Portal fantasy / Cozy fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.28
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.28 across 13,885 ratings on 2 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Canon extension: Jim Button (Michael Ende) accepted 2026-09-24
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-09-24
Rule: Core Canon = both novels (1960, 1962), complete duology.