I’ve collected some of my favorite books for a 4th grader to read. Enter your email address below and I’ll send this printable book list straight to your inbox!
I’m continuing to work on my book lists of 20 titles per year (you can see the previous ones here!) and we finally have a 4th grade list!
I always try a mix of genres, formats, and reading levels, as well as a variety of newer titles and old favorites.
If you’re looking for read-alouds or solo reads, I hope this list gives you some great ideas for your fourth grader!
FAVORITE BOOKS FOR FOUR GRADE STUDENTS
Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston
This is a fantastic book that landed spots on many best of the year lists when it was released. I didn’t want to miss this story of a girl who is determined to find her missing brother and discovers that magic is real in the process. We all loved this one!
Chronicles of Narnia by CS Lewis
During World War II, four siblings are sent to rural London where they must be protected from the war. One of the children finds a wardrobe that has the ability to transport them to a completely different world called Narnia. This series is full of excitement and adventure and has been loved for generations.
Numbering the Stars by Lois Lowry
This WWII historical fiction book was the first chapter I read myself and I still love it all these years later. It’s a quick read – we breezed through it in about a week and it definitely deserves that Newbery sticker.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling
My older daughters listened to it several times last summer. Moving is never fun, but it’s especially unpleasant for Aven, who was born without arms. A new town and a new school mean she’ll have to explain herself repeatedly to a group of strangers. But in her new town, she befriends Conner, who also feels like an outsider at their school. And together, they set out to solve a mystery at the rundown theme park her parents run.
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
This series is quite new (in the last ten years), but it has the feel of a classic and we all loved these stories about four sisters and their summer vacation. There’s a reason these books are LOVED. We have listened to many books in the road trip series and we love them all.
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
I had read this one when I was a kid, but didn’t remember anything about it except that he received a penguin in the mail. Now I’ve read it to my daughters several times and it was so much fun watching the story unfold when neither of us knew how it was going to play out.
Bud, Not Boyfriend by Christopher Paul Curtis
Winner of the Newbery Medal, this unforgettable novel follows ten-year-old Bud Caldwell, a motherless boy on the run during the Great Depression with a suitcase of treasures and a set of his own rules for life. Armed with a major clue about the father he never met (flyers for musician Herman E. Calloway and his band, the Dusky Devastators of the Depression), Bud embarks on a funny and hopeful journey to find his place.
How to Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowl
Ella listened to this entire series and loved every second of it. My sister has three boys and they are obsessed with it too. There are 13 books in the series and these stories of Vikings and dragons are fast-paced and delightful. Don’t miss the audio version!
The Lemonade Wars by Jacqueline Davies
I read this a year ago when I was a school librarian and it was SO popular with my students. Two siblings, Evan and Jessie, are both smart, but in different ways: one is smart in terms of human relationships, while the other is smarter in math. When they each bring their talents to a competition to sell the most lemonade, it’s going to be an all-out battle.
Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein
This is one of those middle grade novels that took the world by storm – it was SO popular and for good reason. Mr. Lemoncello is a world-renowned game designer AND he designed the new city library. And on opening night, there will be a lock-in for children where they will have to solve puzzles to find the hidden exit route. (You can see why it spent 100 weeks on the NYT bestseller list). (Full review here)
National Parks Mystery Series by Aaron Johnson
This 10-book series is perfect for readers who love exploring the great outdoors, treasure hunts, and coded messages! Jake, Wes, Amber and their families embark on a two-month trip to explore ten national parks. But when Jake receives a scrapbook from his late grandfather with a mystery to solve, he must decide whether to solve it alone or trust his friends with the secret.
Ribsy by Beverly Cleary
I’m pretty sure at this point that Bart and I could recite the entire book from memory since Star listened to it on repeat the year she was 3. Beverly Clearly is a master and if you like an audiobook version, hers are just a delight.
By Sid Fleischman’s Large Horn Spoon
We just listened to this book on our trip to Disneyland about a butler and a young boy who sneak aboard a ship from Boston to the California gold fields and our whole family was obsessed with it.
I love this dog by Sharon Creech
I am absolutely OBSESSED with this book and its companion book, I hate this cat. If you think you don’t like poetry, this book will probably convince you otherwise. Jack’s teacher presents the class with some famous poems and asks them to write responses in blank verse, then write their own versions of the poems they enjoyed. The entire book is made up of Jack’s responses to what they read or listened to in class and sometimes his responses to his teacher’s criticism and encouragement (which we never see, since it’s just Jack’s words in the book).
Matilda by Roald Dahl
Bart read this out loud to Ella when she was about four and a half, and they both loved it. It was also one of my childhood favorites, but Bart had never read it, so it was fun to see him experience it for the first time.
Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
This is a super well-made graphic novel, with beautiful illustrations, great characters, and a fun story. This is definitely a winner! Bree is excited for her first day at her new college, until she discovers that the only elective left open is swim team. But how can she tell her friends and her coach that she can’t swim?
Ghost by Jason Reynolds
This one made the Everyday Reading Book Club’s 2025 list! I read the first book in this series years ago and had been meaning to go back for a long time and read all four books in the series about four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team. This is a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics, but only if they can get their act together. Super readable and wonderful. We will only discuss the first one in book club but I plan to read all four!
- Owls in the Family by Farley Mowat
I still remember my mother reading this to us in a small playground in a park in Las Vegas when I was a child. It’s just funny and short (be warned that it may take you a chapter or two to get into it).
El Deafo by Cece Bell
This Newbery Honor title is based on the author’s experience moving to a new school. And it’s an even trickier transition for Cece who is deaf. But when she realizes that her super-powerful hearing aid allows her to hear everything her teacher says – not just in class – Cece starts to feel like a superhero!
Houdini and I by Dan Gutman
My daughters were absolutely fascinated by this book. They didn’t know much about Houdini before this and we all loved the photographs of the real Houdini scattered throughout the book. In this story, Harry is a young boy who lives in the house that Houdini once lived in and loves learning about the famous magician. But things take a surprising turn when he discovers an old flip phone and it starts receiving texts from someone claiming to be the real Harry Houdini.
And if you’d like a printable copy of this list that you can take to your library or a screenshot on your phone for easy access, just enter your email address below and it will arrive straight to your inbox!
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