The Books of Bayern
#2074.09 of 664 ranked universes · full ranking
Books 4 books Status Complete 2003–2009 Reading commitment Medium Shannon Hale Last reviewed 2026-08-21
Overview
A fairy-tale-inspired fantasy quartet set in and around the kingdom of Bayern, each novel following a different young woman, published between 2003 and 2009.
Fairy-tale retelling · For YA
Core Canon: Reading Order (4 works) counts toward ranking
The Books of Bayern Shannon Hale
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Goose Girl | 2003 | 1 | core | 4.14 (141,706 ratings) |
 | Enna Burning | 2004 | 2 | core | 4.00 (45,593 ratings) |
 | River Secrets | 2006 | 3 | core | 4.05 (37,762 ratings) |
 | Forest Born | 2009 | 4 | core | 4.04 (28,742 ratings) |
Four novels set in the same kingdom, each centered on a different young woman.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Books of Bayern? The Books of Bayern's Core Canon is 4 books.
- What is the reading order for The Books of Bayern? Publication order, starting with The Goose Girl. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Books of Bayern finished? Complete (2003–2009).
- How much reading does The Books of Bayern take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 4 Core Canon books · ~700 pages).
- How is The Books of Bayern ranked? #207 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 253,803 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #207?
Ranked #207 of 664 ranked universes.
- Average reader rating of 4.09 across 4 core books.
- Backed by 254k reader ratings.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 4 rated core books rate within 0.14 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #206, The Books of the Raksura (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Well rated · 4 books · Complete · 254k ratings · Ranks #207 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length fairy-tale retelling fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (4 Core Canon books)
- The Goose Girl (2003)
- Enna Burning (2004)
- River Secrets (2006)
- Forest Born (2009)
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)
- Josette Frank Award (Fiction), 2004: won: The Goose Girl
- Mythopoeic Fantasy Award (Children's Literature), 2004: finalist: The Goose Girl
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Suggestions computed from what The Books of Bayern and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
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- The Hollow Kingdom Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.06
- The Folk of the Air Romantasy / Fairy-tale retelling · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.14
- Six Crimson Cranes Fairy-tale retelling / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.07
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.09 across 253,803 ratings on 4 Core Canon books. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit The Books of Bayern (Shannon Hale) accepted 2026-08-21
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-08-27
Rule: Core Canon is all four novels.