The ''Books of Bayern'' is a young adult fantasy series written by [[ShannonHale Shannon Hale]].

''The Goose Girl'', is the first volume in the series and is based on the Grimm's Tale [[Literature/TheGooseGirl original]]. The book is told through the perspective of the Crown Princess [[OverlyLongName Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee of Kildenree]], or better known as Ani/Isi to her friends. The story starts with Princess Anidori traveling from her home kingdom to the kingdom of Bayern to marry the prince and hopefully bring peace to their two nations. Halfway there, she is betrayed by her company as they attempt to [[BrideAndSwitch murder her and replace her with her lady in waiting]], [[BitchInSheepsClothing Selia]]. Ani escapes, but then must make her way to Bayern alone. Fearful of Selia and her guards who still want her dead, Ani [[RichesToRags disguises herself as a city worker]] who tends to the geese as she plots a way to convince the king of her true identity. Three sequels feature the friends Ani meets among the city workers.

Volumes in the series:
* ''The Goose Girl'' (2003)
* ''Enna Burning'' (2004)
* ''River Secrets'' (2006)
* ''Forest Born'' (2009)
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!!Tropes

* ActionGirl: Enna
* ApronMatron: Razo and Rinna's mother, the matriarch of a large and unruly family. Five of her seven children are bigger than she is, but guess who's unquestionably in charge?
* AwesomenessByAnalysis: Razo.
* BadassNormal: Finn, and arguably Razo with his slinging skills
* BlondeBrunetteRedhead: Isi the blonde, Enna the brunette, and Dasha the redhead.
* BlowYouAway: [[spoiler:Ani/Isi]]
* BreakTheCutie: Ani hasn't been able to catch a break since she was a little kid.
* BrideAndSwitch: Selia's plan in ''Goose Girl''.
* CharmPerson: See below.
* CompellingVoice: all people-speakers, including Selia, Sileph, and [[spoiler:Rinna]]
* CoolHorse and SapientSteed: Falada
* DeadGuyOnDisplay: [[spoiler:Falada]] in ''The Goose Girl''
* EatsBabies: Subverted in River Secrets coming from both Tira and Bayern.
* FairyTale: ''The Goose Girl'' is based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same name.
* FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: [[spoiler:Falada]], and the suggestion of what happens to [[spoiler:Selia]] in the end of ''The Goose Girl''.
** [[spoiler: Until we find out in Forest Born that Selia use people-speaking to escape death and a pig was put in her place. ]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: Bayern for Germany.
* FourTemperamentEnsemble: Isi as Sanguine, Enna as Choleric, Dasha as Phlegmatic, and Rinna as Melancholic.
* HeartIsAnAwesomePower: In the first three books, we have heroines who learn to control [[BlowYouAway air]],[[MakingASplash water]], and [[PlayingWithFire fire]], respectively. And then we have Rin, who can [[TalkingToPlants talk to trees.]] Lame, right? Until the climax, when she figures out that trees don't perceive time, and uses it to dodge arrows. ''She turned herself into freakin' '''''[[Film/TheMatrix Neo]]''''' with the power of tree-talking.''
* HijackedByGanon: [[spoiler:In the fourth book, Selia shows up again after having supposedly been executed at the end of the first book]]...and as if that wasn't enough, the same character claims to have been indirectly responsible for the events of books 2 and 3 as well.
* IKnowWhatYouFear: The series includes several characters, mostly antagonists, who are capable of knowing exactly what one fears (mainly things like public humiliation or loss of control, which are the things behind fears like acrophobia or arachnophobia) and also what a person wants, desires, or intends. Their power also gives them the ability to know precisely what to say in order to get what they want. Yeah. It's really no wonder they're mostly Bad Guys.
* InterSpeciesFriendship: Falada and Ani.
* MakingASplash: [[spoiler:Dasha]]
* MeaningfulName: Enna, who in later books is a [[spoiler:fire speaker]] — the name "Enya" is gaelic for Little Fire or Flame, while "Ena" is Gaelic for "bright and shining".
* ParentalAbandonment: Ani
* PerfectlyArrangedMarriage: [[spoiler:Ani and Geric]] in ''The Goose Girl''
* PlayingWithFire: [[spoiler:Enna]]
* PrinceAndPauper: Ani and Selia
* PrincessClassic: Ani, but [[TropesAreNotBad in a good way]].
* RealNameAsAnAlias: Ani's full name is Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee. When she goes into hiding, she calls herself Isi. She's called Isi in all subsequent books, since all the other protagonists know her by that name.
* SurvivorGuilt: Ani struggles with this after the murders of the men who were loyal to her. Also Talone to some extent, when he thinks Ani is dead.
* SpeaksFluentAnimal: In the series, people born with various gifts can gain Elemental Powers by learning the languages of the elements. Those who learn the "languages" of animals, trees, and people can control those things too. Animal-speaking is really only used in the first book, The Goose Girl, with Ani being able to talk to birds and her horse.
* TalkingToTheDead: Ani to [[spoiler:Falada]] in ''The Goose Girl''
* TheDragon: Ungolad
* ThePowerOfFriendship: Not really of the magical variety, but friendship and teamwork are always important themes.
* TwoPersonLoveTriangle: [[spoiler:Ani and Geric]] in ''The Goose Girl''
* WigDressAccent: Ani when arriving in Bayern.