The Books of Bayern
#2294.09 in the official ranking · 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. The opening novel, Shannon Hale's debut The Goose Girl (2003), reworks the Brothers Grimm tale of the same name: Crown Princess Ani travels to Bayern to marry its crown prince, is usurped along the way by a jealous lady-in-waiting, and must reclaim her identity while working as a goose girl, aided by a gift for communicating with animals and the wind. The following novels, Enna Burning (2004), River Secrets (2006), and Forest Born (2009), shift focus to other young women within the same kingdom and its wider world. The Goose Girl won the 2003 Josette Frank Award, was named to the American Library Association's Top 10 for Young Adults, and was a finalist for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award.
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? #229 in this site's official ranking, based on 253,803 reader ratings across 4 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #229?
Ranked #229 in the official ranking.
- 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 #228, Stardust (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 4 books · Complete · 254k ratings · Ranks #229 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 Wrath and the Dawn Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Low commitment · 4.04
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.