Betty MacDonald Books in Order

Where to Start Reading Betty MacDonald

Betty MacDonald is best remembered for two distinct styles of writing: her dry, laugh-out-loud memoirs of mid-century American life, and her magical, humorous children's stories. Because these two categories cater to completely different audiences, your starting point depends on what you are looking for:

• For Adult Readers (Memoirs): Start with The Egg and I (1945). This bestselling memoir introduces MacDonald's sharp wit, her self-deprecating style, and the legendary local characters (including Ma and Pa Kettle) that made her a household name.
• For Young Readers (Children's Fiction): Start with the original Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (1947). This collection of whimsical chapters is the perfect introduction to the magical nanny who lives in an upside-down house and cures children of their bad habits.
• For Fans of Classic Holiday Tales: Start with the standalone children's novel Nancy and Plum (1952), a heartwarming, Dickensian survival story set during the Christmas season.

The Memoirs: Publication vs. Chronological Order

MacDonald's memoirs are deeply episodic and read like a long conversation with a close friend. While she wrote them as standalone books, they collectively form a chronological autobiography. However, she did not publish them in the exact order that the events occurred. For the most satisfying narrative flow, readers can choose between two distinct orders.

Option 1: Publication Order (Recommended for First-Time Readers)

Reading the memoirs in the order they were published allows you to experience MacDonald's growth as a writer. This is how the public originally fell in love with her voice, starting with her time on the farm and jumping back and forth through her timeline.

1. The Egg and I (1945) – Details her marriage to her first husband and their attempts to run a primitive chicken farm in the late 1920s.
2. The Plague and I (1948) – Focuses on her nine-month battle with tuberculosis at a Seattle-area sanatorium in the late 1930s.
3. Anybody Can Do Anything (1950) – Recounts her struggles to find work in Seattle during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
4. Onions in the Stew (1955) – Describes her life with her second husband, Donald, and her teenage daughters on Vashon Island during the 1940s and 1950s.
5. Who, Me? The Autobiography of Betty MacDonald (1959) – A posthumous collection containing selected extracts and chapters from her four primary memoirs.

Option 2: Chronological Order (Recommended for Biography Enthusiasts)

If you want to follow Betty's life story in the exact sequence the events actually happened, follow this chronological timeline. This order helps resolve the overlapping timelines of her Depression job-hunting and her tuberculosis diagnosis.

1. The Egg and I – Covers her life from 1927 to 1931, ending with the breakdown of her first marriage and her departure from the Chimacum Valley chicken farm.
2. Anybody Can Do Anything – Covers the period from 1931 to approximately 1941, focusing on her family support system, job-hunting, and business endeavors during the Depression.
3. The Plague and I – Covers her diagnosis and treatment at the Firland Sanatorium between 1937 and 1938. Chronologically, this occurs in the middle of the timeline described in Anybody Can Do Anything.
4. Onions in the Stew – Covers 1942 through the mid-1950s, detailing her second marriage, moving to Vashon Island, and raising her daughters during World War II and the post-war era.

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle Series

The Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books are highly episodic, meaning they do not have a strict continuous plot. Each chapter features a different child with a specific behavioral problem (such as selfishness, pickiness, or refusing to go to bed) and the clever, magical cure Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle provides. While they can be read in any order, reading them by publication date is the traditional approach.

The Original Series by Betty MacDonald

1. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (1947) – Introduces Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, her upside-down house, her late pirate husband, her magic trunk, and classic cures like the Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure.
2. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic (1949) – Features more magical remedies, including the Thought-Taker Cure and the Whispering-Habit Cure.
3. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm (1954) – Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle moves to a farm outside town, using farm life and animals to help cure children of bad habits like showing off.
4. Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (1955) – The final book fully written by MacDonald, featuring the Crybaby Cure and the Show-Off Cure.

The Expanded and Spin-off Universe

• Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Won't-Pick-Up-Toys Cure (1998) – This is not a new story, but rather a standalone, heavily illustrated picture book edition of the Hubert Prentiss story from the original 1947 book, featuring art by Bruce Whatley.
• Happy Birthday, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (2007) – Published nearly 50 years after MacDonald's death, this fifth book was completed by her daughter, Anne MacDonald Canham, utilizing notes, outlines, and unfinished manuscripts left behind by her mother.
• The Missy Piggle-Wiggle Spin-offs (2016–2018) – Co-authored by children's novelist Ann M. Martin and Annie Parnell (Betty MacDonald’s great-granddaughter), this contemporary spin-off trilogy follows Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's young, modern grandniece, Missy Piggle-Wiggle, as she takes over the upside-down house.

Standalone Children's Fiction

In addition to her episodic series, MacDonald wrote one standalone children's novel, Nancy and Plum (1952). The story follows two orphaned sisters who are sent to a boarding school run by the cruel and greedy Mrs. Monday. It is widely considered a holiday classic, beginning and ending on Christmas Eve, and is highly recommended as a standalone read for children and adults who enjoy classic orphanage and family tales.

Crucial Author Identification Note

When searching online databases, libraries, or digital retailers, readers will often see the anthologies Get Out of My Crotch! (2013) and Jew-ish: True Stories of Love, Latkes, and L'chaim (2020) listed under Betty MacDonald's bibliography. These are the works of a contemporary writer, actor, and artist also named Betty MacDonald. The classic author of The Egg and I passed away in 1958 and has no connection to these modern collections.