Works by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Rosie Perera

I would love to see a Walter Wangerin collection, or even just the beginnings -- his most significant books. They are all gems though. (I wrote the entry on Wangerin in the Encyclopedia of Christian Literature, so I'm kind of biased; I've read almost everything he's ever written.)

Amazon.com's bio: "Walter Wangerin Jr. is widely recognized as one of the most gifted writers writing today on the issues of faith and spirituality. Starting with the renowned Book of the Dun Cow, Wangerin's writing career has encompassed most every genre: fiction, essay, short story, children's story, meditation, and biblical exposition. His writing voice is immediately recognizable, and his fans number in the millions. The author of over forty books, Wangerin has won the National Book Award, New York Times Best Children's Book of the Year Award, and several Gold Medallions, including best-fiction awards for both The Book of God and Paul: A Novel. He lives in Valparaiso, Indiana, where he is Senior Research Professor at Valparaiso University."

I would prioritize his books in this order (those marked with an asterisk are available in Kindle):

Must haves:

• *The Book of the Dun Cow (HarperOne, 2003) - fiction
• *The Book of Sorrows (Zondervan, 1996) - fiction; sequel to Book of the Dun Cow
• *Ragman: And Other Cries of Faith (HarperOne, 2004) - short stories / parables / memoirs
• *Little Lamb, Who Made Thee?: A Book about Children and Parents (Zondervan, 2004) - memoirs / short stories

Very Important:

• Miz Lil and the Chronicles of Grace (Zondervan, 2004)
• The Manger Is Empty: Stories in Time (HarperSanFrancisco, 1994)
• *The Book of God (Zondervan, 1998) - the Bible in novel form
• *As For Me And My House: Crafting Your Marriage To Last (Thomas Nelson, 2001)
• Paul: A Novel (Zondervan, 2001)
• *Jesus: A Novel (Zondervan, 2005)
• Mourning Into Dancing (Zondervan, 1996) - on grief
• The Crying for a Vision (Paraclete Press, 2003) - fiction
• Swallowing the Golden Stone: Stories and Essays (Augsburg Fortress, 2001) - overlap of one story with The Manger is Empty
• Orphean Passages (Zondervan, 1996) - hard to categorize; part memoir, part theological meditation, interwoven with a Greek myth
• Whole Prayer (Zondervan, 2001)
• *Preparing for Jesus: Meditations on the Coming of Christ, Advent, Christmas and the Kingdom (Zondervan, 1999)
• *Reliving the Passion (Zondervan, 1992)
• *Letters from the Land of Cancer (Zondervan, 2010) - collected from his series of blog posts in epistolary form during his journey with cancer

Good but less important or I haven't read it yet and can't quite wholeheartedly say it's important (but I'm guessing it is good):

• Measuring the Days: Daily Reflections with Walter Wangerin, Jr. edited by Gail McGrew Eifrig (HarperCollins, 1993) 366 daily meditations culled from his writings over the years
• *In the Days of the Angels: Stories and Carols for Christmas (Waterbrook Press, 2000)
• Saint Julian: A Novel (HarperOne, 2003) - haven't read it yet
• *Naomi and Her Daughters: A Novel (Zondervan, 2010) - haven't read this yet; it came out after I wrote my piece on Wangerin), but I'm assuming it's as good as his other novelized portrayals of biblical stories, despite thew few sub-par Amazon.com reviews
• Father and Son: Finding Freedom (Zondervan, 2008; with his adopted son Matthew Wangerin) - memoir; haven't read this one either, but his other memoir work is excellent
• This Earthly Pilgrimage: Tales and Observations on the Way (Zondervan, 2003) - the combined trilogy of Ragman, Little Lamb, and Miz Lil; redundant if you get those three
• The Simple Truth: A Bare Bones Bible (Group Pub Inc, 1996) - haven't read
• A Miniature Cathedral and Other Poems (HarperCollins, 1987) - a collection of his poetry; I'd give this a pass, but included it just for completeness

Children's books:

• Angels & All Children: A Nativity Story in Words, Music, and Art [With CD] (Augsburg Fortress, 2002)
• The Bedtime Rhyme (Paraclete Press, 2008)
• The Book of God for Children (Zondervan, 1997)
• Branta and the Golden Stone (Simon & Schuster, 1993) - included in Swallowing the Golden Stone
• Elisabeth and the Water-Troll (HarperCollins, 1991) - included in Swallowing the Golden Stone
• I Am My Grandpa's Enkelin (Paraclete Press, 2007)
• In the Beginning There Was No Sky (Augsburg Fortress, 1997)
• Mary's First Christmas (Zonderkidz, 1998)
• My First Book about Jesus (Holmes & Meier, date unknown) - out of print and obscure publisher; wouldn't worry about this one
• Peter's First Easter (Zondervan, 2000)
• Potter (Augsburg Fortress, 1994)
• Probity Jones and the Fear Not Angel (Paraclete Press, 2005)
• Thistle (Augsburg Fortress, 1995)
• Water Come Down (Augsburg, 1999)

Rosie Perera

I realized these probably all would work well in Vyrso, so it should be moved to that forum.