Pearl S. Buck Reading Order

5 books (1965–2002)

Pearl S. Buck's Anthologies series comprises five complete collections published between 1965 and 2002, spanning folklore, short fiction, biographical narratives, and holiday stories. The series should be read in publication order, beginning with Fairy Tales of the Orient and progressing through Ten Modern American Short Stories, Great Biographies featuring P.T. Barnum, Pearl S. Buck, Adolf Hitler, and the Adams family, The Clay Marble with Connections, and concluding with Home for Christmas: Stories for Young and Old. These varied anthologies blend young adult and nonfiction content, offering readers diverse literary selections across different genres and time periods.

Start with Fairy Tales of the Orient, the first of 5 books in the Anthologies series.

#	Title
1	Fairy Tales of the Orient 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Ten Modern American Short Stories 1965Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Great Biographies: P.T. Barnum, Pearl S. Buck, Adolf Hitler, John Quincy and Louisa Adams 1987Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	The Clay Marble, with, Connections 1998Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Home for Christmas: Stories for Young and Old 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

4 books (1932–1995)

Pearl S. Buck's Children's series comprises four books published between 1932 and 1995, presenting a complete collection that should be read in publication order. The series includes The Young Revolutionist, The Big Fight, Little Fox in the Middle, and A Field of Rice, offering young adult readers stories grounded in Buck's distinctive storytelling tradition.

Start with The Young Revolutionist, the first of 4 books in the Children's series.

#	Title
1	The Young Revolutionist 1932Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Big Fight 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Little Fox in the Middle 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	A Field of Rice 1995Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1931–1935)

Pearl S. Buck's House of Earth trilogy spans four years and traces the rise and fall of a Chinese family across three generations. The complete series consists of The Good Earth, Sons, and A House Divided, which should be read in publication order to follow the family's transformation from peasant farmers to wealthy landowners. These novels form a continuous narrative arc that explores themes of tradition, ambition, and social change in early twentieth-century China.

Start with The Good Earth and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Good Earth 1931Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Sons 1932Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	A House Divided 1935Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

23 books (1936–2012)

Pearl S. Buck's non-fiction series comprises 23 books published between 1936 and 2012, exploring themes of culture, social issues, and personal reflection. The series begins with The Exile and should be read in publication order to follow the author's evolving perspectives across decades. This complete collection includes biographical works, essays on international affairs, and meditations on family and society, spanning from mid-twentieth century through the early 2000s.

Start with The Exile, the first of 23 books in the Non-Fiction series.

#	Title
1	The Exile 1936Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Fighting Angel: Portrait of a Soul 1937Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Chinese Novel 1939Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	Of Men and Women 1941Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Freedom for India Now! 1942Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	American Argument 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	The Child Who Never Grew 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	My Several Worlds 1954Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Tell the People: Talks with James Yen About the Mass Educational Movement 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	A Bridge for Passing 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	Joy of Children 1964Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	For Spacious Skies(With: Theodore F. Harris) 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	The People of Japan 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Kennedy Women 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	China As I See It 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Pearl Buck's America 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	American Unity and Asia 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	China Past and Present 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Pearl S. Buck's Oriental Cookbook 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	What America Means to Me 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Argument Argument 2007Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	New Evidence of the Militarization of America 2011Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	How It Happens 2012Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

2 books (2002–2020)

Pearl S. Buck's Picture series consists of two complete books published across two decades, beginning with Christmas Day in the Morning in 2002 and concluding with The Christmas Mouse in 2020. Both works should be read in publication order for the intended reading experience. This pair of young adult-oriented stories blends Buck's storytelling with thematic elements suitable for holiday and seasonal reading.

Start with Christmas Day in the Morning and read in order.

#	Title
1	Christmas Day in the Morning 2002Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Christmas Mouse 2020Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

3 books (1981–2018)

Pearl S. Buck's collection of three short stories and novellas spans from 1981 to 2018 and is now complete. These works should be read in publication order, beginning with The Old Demon, followed by The Enemy and The Refugees. Buck's explorations of human experience and conflict across cultures remain compelling entries in her broader literary legacy.

Start with The Old Demon and read in order.

#	Title
1	The Old Demon 1981Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Enemy 1986Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Refugees 2018Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

22 books (1933–1985)

Pearl S. Buck's Short Story Collections series comprises 22 books published between 1933 and 1985, exploring diverse themes from Asia to Christmas traditions to biblical narratives. The series is complete and should be read in publication order, beginning with The First Wife and Other Stories. These collections span fiction, children's stories, and retellings, showcasing Buck's range as a writer across multiple genres and cultural perspectives.

Start with The First Wife and Other Stories, the first of 22 books in the Short Story Collections series.

#	Title
1	The First Wife and Other Stories 1933Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	Today and Forever: Stories of Japan 1941Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	Once Upon a Christmas 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	One Bright Day and Other Stories for Children 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	Fourteen Stories 1961Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	With a Delicate Air and Other Stories 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	To My Daughters, With Love 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	The Good Deed and Other Stories of Asia Past and Present 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	Pearl S. Buck: The Complete Woman 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Story Bible, Volume I: The Old Testament 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Story Bible, Volume II: The New Testament 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	A Gift for the Children(With: Elaine Scull) 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Pearl S. Buck's Book of Christmas 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	Words of Love 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	East and West 1975Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	Hearts Come Home and Other Stories 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Mrs. Stoner and the Sea and Other Works 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	Secrets of the Heart 1976Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	The Lovers and Other Stories 1977Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Woman Who Was Changed and Other Stories 1979Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	A Pearl Buck Reader, Vol. 1 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	A Pearl Buck Reader, Vol. 2 1985Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible

42 books (1930–2013)

Pearl S. Buck's 42 standalone novels span from 1930 to 2013, each offering independent stories that can be read in any order, though publication order provides a chronological perspective on the author's evolving themes and style. The collection includes works published under her own name as well as several titles released under the pseudonym John Sedges, encompassing fiction across young adult and literary fiction genres. While these books stand alone as complete stories, reading them in publication order beginning with East Wind: West Wind allows readers to trace Buck's artistic development across nearly a century of American and international literature. This comprehensive collection represents the author's diverse explorations of family, cultural conflict, and human relationships across multiple continents and time periods.

Start with East Wind: West Wind, the first of 42 books in the Standalone Novels series.

#	Title
1	East Wind: West Wind 1930Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
2	The Mother 1933Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
3	The Big Wave 1938Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
4	This Proud Heart 1938Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
5	The Patriot 1939Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
6	Other Gods 1940Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
7	Portrait of a Marriage 1940Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
8	Dragon Seed 1941Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
9	The Promise 1943Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
10	The Long Love(As: John Sedges) 1944Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
11	The Townsman(As: John Sedges) 1944Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
12	Voices in the House(As: John Sedges) 1944Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
13	Pavilion of Women(As: John Sedges) 1946Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
14	The Angry Wife 1947Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
15	Peony 1948Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
16	The Bondmaid 1949Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
17	Kinfolk 1950Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
18	God's Men 1951Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
19	Bright Procession(As: John Sedges) 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
20	The Hidden Flower 1952Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
21	Come, My Beloved 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
22	The Man Who Changed China 1953Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
23	China Sky 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
24	Imperial Woman 1956Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
25	Letter from Peking 1957Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
26	Command the Morning 1959Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
27	The Christmas Ghost 1960Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
28	The Devil Never Sleeps 1962Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
29	The Living Reed 1963Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
30	Death in the Castle 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
31	The Time is Noon 1966Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
32	Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 1967Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
33	The New Year 1968Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
34	The Three Daughters of Madame Liang 1969Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
35	Mandala 1970Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
36	Chinese Story Teller 1971Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
37	The Beech Tree and Johnny Jack and His Beginnings 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
38	The Goddess Abides 1972Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
39	All Under Heaven 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
40	Far and Near 1973Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
41	The Rainbow 1974Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible
42	The Eternal Wonder 2013Buy 🇺🇸🎧 Audible