The Wildwood Chronicles
#5473.80 of 664 ranked universes · 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 (2011-2014).
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? #547 of 664 ranked universes on this site, based on 54,106 reader ratings across 3 Core Canon books. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #547?
Ranked #547 of 664 ranked universes.
- 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 #546, The Tales of Alvin Maker (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 #547 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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Suggestions computed from what The Wildwood Chronicles and each of these worlds have in common on record (subgenre, audience, shape, reading commitment and score), not a documented narrative connection.
- Inkheart Portal fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.94
- Magisterium Portal fantasy / Epic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.03
- Fairyland Portal fantasy / Fairy-tale retelling · Complete · Medium commitment · 4.02
- Time Quintet Portal fantasy / Mythic fantasy · Complete · Medium commitment · 3.98
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.