Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Curse of the Blue Figurine | 1983 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 2 | The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt | 1983 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 3 | The Spell of the Sorcerer’s Skull | 1984 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 4 | The Revenge of the Wizard’s Ghost | 1985 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 5 | The Eyes of the Killer Robot | 1986 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 6 | The Trolley to Yesterday | 1989 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 7 | The Chessmen of Doom | 1989 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 8 | The Secret of the Underground Room | 1990 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 9 | The Drum, the Doll, and the Zombie | 1994 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 10 | The Hand of the Necromancer | 1996 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 11 | The Bell, the Book, and the Spellbinder | 1997 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 12 | The Wrath of the Grinning Ghost | 1999 | John Bellairs | Buy |
| 13 | The Stone, the Cipher, and the Shadows | 2022 | John Bellairs | Buy |
The Johnny Dixon series runs thirteen books from “The Curse of the Blue Figurine” (1983) through “The Stone, the Cipher, and the Shadows” (2022). Johnny is a shy, studious boy whose friendship with the cranky but kindhearted Professor Childermass leads him into encounters with cursed figurines, evil sorcerers, killer robots, and time travel. Bellairs wrote the first ten books in the series, with Brad Strickland completing unfinished manuscripts and adding new entries after Bellairs’ death.
Key entries include “The Mummy, the Will, and the Crypt” (1983), “The Eyes of the Killer Robot” (1986), and “The Trolley to Yesterday” (1989), which involves actual time travel to Constantinople. The series titles, with their long descriptive names separated by commas, became a Bellairs trademark. Johnny and Professor Childermass are one of the great pairings in children’s fiction, with the professor’s grumpiness balanced by his genuine affection for his young friend.