10 books · 1 series
Dungeon Adventure Books for Kids: Dungeon Under Elm Street
Explore the ten-book Dungeon Under Elm Street reading order, where a basement entrance leads Maya and her friends from first-floor monsters to the purpose of the dungeon itself.
Maya Chen discovers that her suburban basement contains an entrance to a real dungeon. Her first party begins with slimes, cave rats, and a strange creature named Bug, but every deeper floor introduces a different challenge and more evidence that the dungeon is not simply a source of monsters and loot.
Across ten books, the party learns crafting, competes with rival delvers, confronts puzzle bosses, crosses frozen caverns and underground jungles, and deals with monsters escaping into the neighborhood. The changing environments make exploration visible, while the continuing mystery asks who built the dungeon and what responsibility comes with the power to enter it.
Read Floor One first and continue through The Last Floor. Party relationships, rivalries, Bug's role, and the purpose of the living Core develop across the full arc, making the numbered order the clearest route through the mystery.
Spoiler-light reading path
The Dungeon Under Elm Street reading path
- 1
Enter through the basement
Floor One introduces Maya's party, the neighborhood entrance, early monsters, and the bond between Maya and Bug.
- 2
Learn to craft and retry
Floor Five and The Boss Floor add a crafting system, rival delvers, failed attempts, and a boss whose solution depends on earlier exploration.
- 3
Share the dungeon responsibly
The Rival Party and The Deep Floors widen both the human conflict and the range of environments below the first section.
- 4
Protect the world above
Dungeon Break, The Core, and Betrayal Floor connect the party's choices underground to dangers reaching their neighborhood.
- 5
Learn why the dungeon exists
The Architect and The Last Floor reveal the dungeon's intended purpose and unite former rivals against the threat it was built to prepare for.
Books in this guide
Follow the adventure
Open any book for its premise, age range, format details, and a numbered reading order for the complete series.
Floor One
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 1
Floor Five
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 2
The Boss Floor
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 3
The Rival Party
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 4
The Deep Floors
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 5
Dungeon Break
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 6
The Core
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 7
Betrayal Floor
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 8
The Architect
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 9
The Last Floor
Dungeon Under Elm Street Book 10
Behind the stories
GameLit, illustrations, and world building
These articles explain the mechanics and creative decisions behind the series without replacing the stories themselves.
What Is GameLit and Why Kids Love It
GameLit is one of the fastest-growing genres in middle grade fiction. Here is what it is, why it works, and how it connects to the games kids already play.
Building a Magic System Kids Can Follow
GameLit books need systems that feel like real games. Here is how I design progression mechanics that are fun to read without being confusing.
How I Plan a Ten-Book Series
Writing one book is hard. Planning ten that work as a complete arc is a different challenge entirely. Here is the framework I use.
Why Every Book Has Illustrations (And How They Get Made)
Middle grade readers expect visual moments. Here is how illustration briefs become the black-and-white images in every Cole Decker book.
Common questions
Before choosing a series
How many Dungeon Under Elm Street books are there?
Dungeon Under Elm Street is presented as a ten-book series, from Floor One through The Last Floor.
Does the series take place entirely underground?
The dungeon drives the adventure, but the entrance is in Maya's suburban home and later events connect the underground threat directly to the neighborhood above.
What kind of game mechanics appear in the series?
The documented series arc includes dungeon floors, party roles, monsters, loot, crafting, bosses, puzzle keys, changing biomes, rival parties, and a living Core.