The Mennyms
#2934.09 adjusted 4.06 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 5 books Status Complete 1993–1996 Reading commitment Medium Sylvia Waugh Last reviewed 2026-10-23
Overview
Sylvia Waugh's five Mennyms books are about a family of life-sized, sentient rag dolls who live secretly among humans in an ordinary house, created long ago by their human maker, Kate Henshaw, who instilled in them an indomitable life force. Pretending to be an ordinary family, the Mennyms navigate the challenges of daily life while guarding their privacy and their secret, and the series follows them through a threatened motorway that would run through their home, a move, an unfortunate sighting that leaves them under siege and a long wait for the end of all things. The first book won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.
Cozy fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (5 works) counts toward ranking
The Mennyms Sylvia Waugh
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | The Mennyms; First published by Random Century/Julia MacRae Books in 1993; the ISBN recorded is the Greenwillow US edition of 1994. | 1993 | 1 | core | 4.07 (1,265 ratings) |
 | Mennyms in the Wilderness; ISBN recorded is the Greenwillow US edition. ISBN recorded is the Julia MacRae Books first edition (1994); the Greenwillow US edition is 9780688138202. | 1994 | 2 | core | 4.07 (487 ratings) |
 | Mennyms Under Siege; ISBN recorded is the HarperTrophy paperback. | 1995 | 3 | core | 4.07 (352 ratings) |
 | Mennyms Alone; ISBN recorded is the Red Fox paperback of 2014. | 1996 | 4 | core | 4.12 (326 ratings) |
 | Mennyms Alive; ISBN recorded is the Red Fox paperback of 2014. | 1996 | 5 | core | 4.18 (315 ratings) |
Sylvia Waugh's five books of the living rag-doll family.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Mennyms? The Mennyms's Core Canon is 5 books.
- What is the reading order for The Mennyms? Publication order, starting with The Mennyms. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Mennyms finished? Complete (1993–1996).
- How much reading does The Mennyms take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 5 Core Canon books).
- How is The Mennyms ranked? #293 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,745 reader ratings across 5 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #293?
Ranked #293 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 4.09 across 5 core books.
- A smaller readership (2,745 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Remarkably consistent across the whole series: all 5 rated core books rate within 0.11 of each other.
- Less than 0.01 behind #292, Graceling Realm (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Highly rated · 5 books · Complete · 3k ratings · Ranks #293 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length cozy fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (5 Core Canon books)
- The Mennyms (1993)
- Mennyms in the Wilderness (1994)
- Mennyms Under Siege (1995)
- Mennyms Alive (1996)
- Mennyms Alone (1996)
Documented internal/story order
- The Mennyms (1993)
- Mennyms in the Wilderness (1994)
- Mennyms Under Siege (1995)
- Mennyms Alone (1996)
- Mennyms Alive (1996)
Awards (verified)
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, 1994: won: The Mennyms; Year of the award to be confirmed (the book was published in 1993).
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, 1994: won: The Mennyms; 1994 Guardian Children's Fiction Award, per Puffin's description of the book.
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Suggestions computed from what The Mennyms and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Nevermoor Portal fantasy / Cozy fantasy · Ongoing · Medium commitment · 4.39
- The Faraway Tree Portal fantasy / Cozy fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.28
- The Little Grey Men Cozy fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.15
- The Borrowers Cozy fantasy · Complete · Low commitment · 4.03
Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 4.09 across 2,745 ratings on 5 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 Mennyms (Sylvia Waugh) accepted 2026-10-23
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (bibliography) Tier 2
- Wikipedia (Sylvia Waugh) Tier 2
- Reader list on the rating platform (ratings with titles) Tier 2
- Library catalogue note (series summary) Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-10-23
Rule: Core Canon = The Mennyms (1993), Mennyms in the Wilderness (1994), Mennyms Under Siege (1995), Mennyms Alone (1996) and Mennyms Alive (1996).