The Wildwood Chronicles
#7143.80 in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 3 books Status Complete 2011–2014 Reading commitment Medium Colin Meloy Last reviewed 2026-09-04
Overview
The Wildwood Chronicles is a complete, New York Times bestselling middle-grade portal-fantasy trilogy by Colin Meloy (frontman of the band The Decemberists), illustrated throughout by Carson Ellis. Twelve-year-old Prue McKeel ventures into the Impassable Wilderness, a hidden magical realm adjoining present-day Portland, Oregon, across three novels published between 2011 and 2014: Wildwood, Under Wildwood, and Wildwood Imperium. The trilogy's fully realized wilderness setting, governed by talking animals, rival factions, and its own shadow government, sits directly against the real streets and landmarks of Portland, giving the series a distinctive real-world anchor unusual among portal fantasies for younger readers. Ellis's dense, hand-drawn illustrations run throughout all three volumes rather than serving as occasional inserts, making the books' visual identity as central to their reception as Meloy's prose.
Portal fantasy · For Middle grade
Core Canon: Reading Order (3 works) counts toward ranking
The Wildwood Chronicles Colin Meloy
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Wildwood | 2011 | 1 | core | 3.71 (38,537 ratings) |
 | Under Wildwood | 2012 | 2 | core | 3.99 (9,480 ratings) |
 | Wildwood Imperium | 2014 | 3 | core | 4.05 (6,089 ratings) |
Complete trilogy; all Core Canon.
Quick answers
- How many books are in The Wildwood Chronicles? The Wildwood Chronicles's Core Canon is 3 books.
- What is the reading order for The Wildwood Chronicles? Publication order, starting with Wildwood. Full list and years in the Core Canon table above.
- Is The Wildwood Chronicles finished? Complete (2011–2014).
- How much reading does The Wildwood Chronicles take? Medium reading commitment (estimated from 3 Core Canon books).
- How is The Wildwood Chronicles ranked? #714 in this site's official ranking, based on 54,106 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #714?
Ranked #714 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.80 across 3 core books.
- A smaller readership (54,106 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- Less than 0.01 behind #713, Lessons in Magic and Disaster (a finer tie-break level decides the order).
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
Why explore this universe?
Rated · 3 books · Complete · 54k ratings · Ranks #714 overall
Good choice if you want a moderate-length portal fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
Publication order (3 Core Canon books)
- Wildwood (2011)
- Under Wildwood (2012)
- Wildwood Imperium (2014)
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)
- No awards found for this universe.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.80 across 54,106 ratings on 3 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 Wildwood Chronicles (Colin Meloy) accepted 2026-09-04
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildwood_(novel)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wildwood_Imperium
- Rating-platform source ↗
Last reviewed: 2026-09-04
Rule: Core Canon is the complete three-book trilogy.