Beany Malone series

The Beany Malone series is Lenora Mattingly Weber's most popular book series. There are 14 books in the series, which takes Beany (real name: Catherine Cecilia) from childhood through marriage and motherhood. Beany and her family also make occasional appearances in Weber's next series, the Katie Rose and Stacy Belford series.

The first Beany Malone book, "Meet the Malones," was published in 1943 and is the only Malone book in which Beany herself is not the central character. Weber focused on Beany's older sister, Mary Fred Malone, and introduced the Malone family and friends. By the second book, 1948's "Beany Malone," she had decided to focus instead on Mary Fred's younger sister.

The Malone family's mother, Mary, has passed away by the time the series opened. Their father, Martie Malone, is a well-known newspaper columnist in Denver, Colorado and gives his children a great deal of independence. He eventually marries an artist, Adair, and the sudden way he springs his marriage on his children is a subject of much drama. His children are, from oldest to youngest, Elizabeth, Johnny, Mary Fred and Catherine Cecilia, aka Beany. Martie is an honest man and a hard worker, and expects much from his motherless brood, especially young Beany, who is a capable cook and homemaker by the time she can lift a frying pan.

The series was originally published from 1943 to 1969 by the Thomas Y. Crowell Company, and republished in 1999 by Image Cascade Publishing. Books in the series, each of which will eventually have its own Wikia page, are:
 * Meet the Malones. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1943/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Beany Malone. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1948/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Leave it to Beany! New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1950/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Beany and the Beckoning Road. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1952/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Beany Has a Secret Life. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1955/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Make a Wish for Me. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1956/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Happy Birthday, Dear Beany. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1957/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * The More the Merrier. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1958/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * A Bright Star Falls. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1959/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Welcome Stranger. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1960/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Pick a New Dream. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1961/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Tarry Awhile. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1962/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Something Borrowed, Something Blue. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1963/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.
 * Come Back, Wherever You Are. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Co., 1969/Image Cascade Publishing, 1999.