The Land of Stories
#254.36 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 9 books Status Complete 2012–2021 Reading commitment High Chris Colfer Last reviewed 2026-10-27
Overview
Chris Colfer’s middle-grade series sends twelve-year-old twins Alex and Conner Bailey through a book of fairy tales into a world where every story is real, populated by the grown-up versions of Red Riding Hood, Goldilocks, Jack and the Evil Queen. Across six novels (2012–2017) the twins discover their family’s roots in that world and defend it from a series of villains, ending in a battle that spills into New York. A prequel trilogy, A Tale of Magic… (2019–2021), follows Brystal Evergreen, the future Fairy Godmother, in the same world centuries earlier, at a time when magic itself is outlawed.
Portal fantasy, Fairy-tale retelling · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (9 works) counts toward ranking
The Land of Stories Chris Colfer
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Wishing Spell | 2012 | 1 | core | 4.26 (166,119 ratings) |
 | The Enchantress Returns | 2013 | 2 | core | 4.42 (80,393 ratings) |
 | A Grimm Warning | 2014 | 3 | core | 4.44 (67,730 ratings) |
 | Beyond the Kingdoms | 2015 | 4 | core | 4.41 (59,402 ratings) |
 | An Author's Odyssey | 2016 | 5 | core | 4.41 (51,076 ratings) |
 | Worlds Collide | 2017 | 6 | core | 4.48 (43,965 ratings) |
Six novels following the Bailey twins in the fairy-tale world, 2012-2017.
A Tale of Magic... Chris Colfer
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | A Tale of Magic... | 2019 | 1 | core | 4.27 (29,287 ratings) |
 | A Tale of Witchcraft... | 2020 | 2 | core | 4.33 (14,997 ratings) |
 | A Tale of Sorcery... | 2021 | 3 | core | 4.34 (10,465 ratings) |
Prequel trilogy set centuries before The Land of Stories, following Brystal Evergreen, 2019-2021.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Land of Stories? The Land of Stories's Core Canon is 9 books.
- What is the reading order for The Land of Stories? Publication order, starting with The Wishing Spell. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Land of Stories finished? Complete (2012–2021).
- How much reading does The Land of Stories take? High reading commitment (estimated from 9 Core Canon books).
- How is The Land of Stories ranked? #25 in this site's official ranking, based on 523,434 reader ratings across 9 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #25?
Ranked #25 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.36 across 9 core books.
- Backed by 523k reader ratings.
- 0.01 behind #24, Troy.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.46.
Why explore this universe?
Top-tier rated · 9 books · Complete · 523k ratings · Ranks #25 overall
Good choice if you want a long-running portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (9 Core Canon books)
- The Wishing Spell (2012)
- The Enchantress Returns (2013)
- A Grimm Warning (2014)
- Beyond the Kingdoms (2015)
- An Author's Odyssey (2016)
- Worlds Collide (2017)
- A Tale of Magic... (2019)
- A Tale of Witchcraft... (2020)
- A Tale of Sorcery... (2021)
Documented internal/story order
- The Wishing Spell (2012)
- A Tale of Magic... (2019)
- The Enchantress Returns (2013)
- A Tale of Witchcraft... (2020)
- A Grimm Warning (2014)
- A Tale of Sorcery... (2021)
- Beyond the Kingdoms (2015)
- An Author's Odyssey (2016)
- Worlds Collide (2017)
Awards (verified)
- Parents' Choice Award (Gold Award), 2020: won: A Tale of Magic...
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Suggestions computed from what The Land of Stories and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Fablehaven Portal fantasy / Urban fantasy · Ongoing · High commitment · 4.28
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- Harry Potter Portal fantasy · Complete · High commitment · 4.52
- Nevermoor Portal fantasy / Cozy fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.39
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.36 across 523,434 ratings on 9 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: The Land of Stories (Chris Colfer, 9 books) accepted 2026-10-27
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
Last reviewed: 2026-10-27
Rule: Core Canon = the six Land of Stories novels (The Wishing Spell to Worlds Collide) and the three novels of the A Tale of Magic… prequel series, which share one fairy-tale world and are counted together. In-world companion books, guidebooks, the fairy-tale treasury and the picture books are not registered.