Below is the complete list of L. J. Smith’s Wildworld books in order. For this series, the chronological reading order is the same as the order of publication.
Publication Order of Wildworld Books
About Wildworld
L.J. Smith’s Wildworld series is a two-book children’s fantasy adventure about four siblings who discover that their ordinary California community stands beside the last gateway to a parallel realm where magic, legendary creatures, and ancient rivalries remain alive. Published before Smith became widely known for The Vampire Diaries and Night World, the books already display several qualities that would define her later fiction: young protagonists discovering hidden abilities, supernatural worlds existing beside everyday life, powerful female characters, and loyalty tested by temptation and fear.
The Night of the Solstice introduces Alys, Charles, Janie, and Claudia Hodges-Bradley. Their adventure begins when Claudia encounters a fox that is actually the familiar of Morgana Shee, a powerful sorceress who has guarded the remaining passage between Earth—called the Stillworld—and the Wildworld. That passage can be crossed through enchanted mirrors, but Morgana has been betrayed and imprisoned on the other side.
Her enemy, Cadal Forge, intends to use the Winter Solstice to escape the Wildworld and extend his power into the human realm. With little preparation and no adults available to rescue them, the siblings must enter the parallel world, understand its unfamiliar rules, and free Morgana before the approaching solstice makes Cadal’s plan possible.
The opening novel gives each child a different response to the discovery of magic. Claudia’s sympathy for animals first draws the family into the crisis, while Janie proves particularly receptive to sorcery. Alys emerges as a natural leader and warrior, though her confidence is repeatedly tested by the responsibility of protecting the others. Charles brings his own intelligence and scepticism to a group whose survival depends on cooperation rather than one chosen hero.
Wildworld is not presented as a harmless escape from ordinary life. Its beauty exists alongside unstable regions, predatory creatures, rival magical powers, and beings whose loyalties cannot be judged by appearance. Smith balances this danger with the domestic friction among the siblings. They argue, underestimate one another, and respond differently to fear, yet their family bond becomes the quality their enemies find hardest to exploit.
Heart of Valor begins approximately eighteen months later. The siblings believe the passage between the Stillworld and Wildworld has been closed, but a powerful California earthquake suggests that the boundary is becoming unstable. Morgana travels north to investigate, leaving the children vulnerable when her rival Thia Pendriel begins moving against them.
Thia possesses the Heart of Valor, a stolen magical gem that gives her immense power. The sequel places greater emphasis on the abilities the children began developing during their first journey. Janie must prove herself as a sorceress, Claudia’s communication with animals becomes increasingly useful, and Alys faces trials connected to a legendary sword. Their earlier adventure has prepared them to recognize magical danger, but it has also made them targets within a conflict that now threatens both worlds.
The two novels form one direct progression and should be read in publication order. The Night of the Solstice establishes Morgana, the mirror passages, and the Hodges-Bradley children’s first encounter with Wildworld; Heart of Valor assumes that history and expands the consequences. Some official material describes the books as the Wildworld Trilogy, but only these two volumes were commercially published. No third completed installment followed them.
Together, the books form a concise portal-fantasy sequence about children discovering that courage is not an individual gift. Each sibling possesses different strengths, but neither world can be protected until they learn to trust abilities—and family members—they previously failed to understand.