The 4th grade reading list includes books with unfamiliar words to help students develop word identification strategies. Other 4th grade reading goals include emphases on increasing reading comprehension, literary analysis, vocabulary, and improved grammar. Skip straight to the recommended 4th grade reading list.
Fourth grade can be a fun time for your budding readers. This is the year students will expand upon the reading concepts they learned in grade three. In grade four, students deepen their use and understanding of the English language. This includes an increase in both oral and written presentations.
An Overview of Fourth Grade Reading
Reading curriculum for the fourth grade goes a bit beyond just reading. Lessons throughout the year will also concentrate on writing, speaking and grammar. Together, these lessons help the student understand how to use reading as research in order to create their own presentations.
The writing process is also emphasized in the fourth grade. By the end of the year, students should be able to read informational texts, understand their meaning, and use the information to create original written assignments consisting of multiple paragraphs.
Reading Goals for the Fourth Grade
- Improved Word Recognition
By now, your child should be able to read age-appropriate multi-chapter books on their own. They should have plenty of exposure by now to a wide variety of reading materials including literary works, informational text and more. Fourth grade is a time to expose them to an even wider world of reading.
This means they’re likely to encounter unfamiliar words. Throughout the year, the fourth grade curriculum is geared towards developing word identification strategies. These include:
- Understanding graphophonic, syntactic and semantic word identification strategies
- Using reference materials including dictionaries, thesauruses and glossaries
- Using root words, prefixes and suffixes to infer word meanings
- Increased Reading Comprehension
Beyond individual words, students will start to analyze written material as a whole. This includes understanding the difference between fact and opinion, recognizing point of view and becoming proficient in how to use information taken from text.
These comprehension strategies include the ability to:
- read for difference purposes (reading to gather information, reading for fun, etc.)
- summarize major plot points
- understand the order of events in a story, as well as understand how to identify missing items in an event sequence
- re-read a passage quickly by locating key words in order to answer specific questions about the text
- differentiate between facts and opinion
- understand authorial intent
- Expanded Literary Analysis
Fourth grade students are now capable of understanding and experiencing different types of text. In third grade, the concentration was on myths, tall tales and contemporary fiction with a clear moral lesson. In fourth grade, texts become more sophisticated while still retaining some of those lessons. The main goal is to provide an easily identifiable subtext which fourth graders can understand.
The recommended fourth grade reading list includes books in the following genres:
- Fiction: novels, legends, myths, folklore, sci-fi, fantasy
- Non-fiction: informational books, autobiographies, diaries and journals
- Poetry: formal haiku, limerick, stanzas
- Drama: plays, short skits
As students are exposed to more types of text, they’ll also learn the characteristics of a variety of genres. Fourth graders are capable of recognizing the basic conventions of fiction, nonfiction, biography, autobiography. Advanced students may also expand that list to include fantasy, science fiction, fairy tales, fables, legends, myths, historical fiction and more. As a homeschool teacher, you have a lot of leeway in selecting text which appeals to your child.
- Increased Vocabulary
As your child begins to read and write in a variety of styles his or her vocabulary will likely increase naturally. You want to help this process with a variety of vocabulary instruction. As the year continues, you want to help your student:
- Understand the difference between synonyms, antonyms, homonyms and homophones
- Determine the correct meaning of homonyms based on context
- Increase the overall number of recognized words
- Improved Grammar and Usage
By the end of fourth grade, students should have a pretty good grip on a lot of Standard English conventions. This includes a basic understanding of:
- Pronouns
- Subject consistency
- Subject/verb tense consistency
- Verb tense consistency
4th Grade Reading List
While third grade does emphasize correct spelling and punctuation, these lessons are also important in fourth grade. This year students will also learn about correct capitalization. This includes capitalization inside sentences as well as the proper use of capitalization for magazines, newspapers, composition titles, organizations and more.
Are you searching for a 4th grade reading list to supplement your child’s other studies? Here are some recommended books for fourth grade students.
We included a list of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and classic novels that you may even remember reading when you were younger. If you missed them as a kid, you may still enjoy them now.
Click on the story name link for a book description and reviews from Amazon if you want to learn more.
Contemporary Fiction
These are multi-chapter books in a variety of genres. Your fourth grader will be able to follow these stories, but they also contain words which will be unfamiliar. This provides great opportunities for your student to learn new words contextually.
How Tia Lola Came to (Visit) Stay (The Tia Lola Stories)
Strange Case of Origami Yoda (Origami Yoda 1)
The World According to Humphrey
Kinda Like Brothers
Because of Mr. Terupt
Room One: A Mystery or Two
Hate That Cat: A Novel
The Lemonade War (The Lemonade War Series)
Salsa Stories
The Magician’s Elephant
The Spiderwick Chronicles: The Complete Series
Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything in It
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
The Homework Machine
When Mules Flew on Magnolia Street
Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Book 1
Inside Out and Back Again
Dumpling Days (A Pacy Lin Novel)
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
Ruby Lu, Brave and True
Rain Reign (Ala Notable Children’s Books. Middle Readers)
11 Birthdays: A Wish Novel (Willow Falls)
Shiloh (The Shiloh Quartet)
Wonder
Big Nate Triple Play Box Set: Big Nate: In a Class by Himself, Big Nate Strikes Again, Big Nate on a Roll
Becoming Naomi León (Scholastic Gold)
The Complete Wreck (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Books 1-13)
Fourth Grade Rats
No Girls Allowed (Dogs Okay) (Secrets of a Lab Rat Book 1)
The Blossoming Universe of Violet Diamond
Peace, Locomotion
Informational Books
These non-fiction books are a great way to introduce a variety of new subjects to your student. They’ll gain an even stronger grasp on how to learn by reading.
Millions, Billions, & Trillions: Understanding Big Numbers
Bugged: How Insects Changed History
Shimmer & Splash: The Sparkling World of Sea Life
Buried Beneath Us: Discovering the Ancient Cities of the Americas
Buried Sunlight: How Fossil Fuels Have Changed the Earth
Haunted Histories: Creepy Castles, Dark Dungeons, and Powerful Palaces
Locomotive (Caldecott Medal Book)
The Wolves Are Back
The Ultimate Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
The Reasons for Seasons
Bones: Skeletons and How They Work
The Case of the Vanishing Honeybees: A Scientific Mystery (Sandra Markle’s Science Discoveries)
Remember: The Journey to School Integration (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards))
National Geographic Readers: Polar Bears
How to Clean a Hippopotamus: A Look at Unusual Animal Partnerships
Volcano Rising
Discovering Black America: From the Age of Exploration to the Twenty-First Century
Separate Is Never Equal: Sylvia Mendez and Her Familys Fight for Desegregation (Jane Addams Award Book (Awards))
Insect Detective: Read and Wonder
Fantasy/Science Fiction
The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet (The Secrets of Droon, Book 1)
Jinx
Dragon Castle
The Fairy Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm, Book 1)
How to Train Your Dragon: How to Break a Dragon’s Heart (Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III)
Half Magic
The Dream Stealer
Zita the Spacegirl
Warriors Power of Three Box Set Volumes 1 to 6
A Wrinkle in Time (Time Quintet)
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
The New Kid at School (Dragon Slayers’ Academy, No. 1)
The Magic Thief
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
The Night Fairy
The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere, Vol. 1)
City of Fire (City Trilogy)
[City of Ice (City Trilogy)] [Author: Laurence Yep] [July, 2012]
Historical Fiction
American Girl – History Mystery series:
Hoofbeats of Danger (Mysteries Through Time)
The Night Flyers (Mysteries Through Time)
American Girl (History Mysteries) 1-3
Voices at Whisper Bend (Mysteries Through Time)
Farmer Boy: Full Color Edition (Little House)
The Fighting Ground
Journey to Freedom
Night Journeys
The Orphans’ Journey series by Arleta Richardson:
Looking for Home (Orphan’s Journey)
Whistle-Stop West (The Orphans’ Journey Series)
Prairie Homestead (The Orphans’ Journey Series)
Sarah, Plain and Tall
The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee’s Story
General Fiction
Tuck Everlasting
Charlotte’s Web
The Door in the Wall
The Secret Garden (HarperClassics)
A Secret Garden is a Common Core “Text Exemplar” for the fourth grade reading level that just celebrated its 100th anniversary. This edition is illustrated by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
The Enormous Egg
Alice in Wonderland
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Little Prince
The Black Stallion
Gentle Ben (Puffin Modern Classics)
Hang Tough, Paul Mather (A Harper Trophy Book)
The Indian in the Cupboard
James and the Giant Peach
The Mandie Collection, Volume 1: Mandie and the Secret Tunnel/Mandie and the Cherokee Legend/Mandie and the Ghost Bandits/Mandie and the Forbidden Attic/Mandie and the Trunk’s Secret (Mandie 1-5)
Mandie and the Abandoned Mine (Mandie, Book 8)
Mandie and the Fiery Rescue (Mandie, Book 21)
Mandie and the Ghost Bandits (Mandie, Book 3)
Mandie and the Forbidden Attic (Mandie, Book 4)
Mandie and the Schoolhouse’s Secret (Mandie, Book 26)
Mandie and the Cherokee Legend (Mandie, Book 2)
Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Mr. Popper’s Penguins
Paint Brush Kid (Stepping Stone, paper)
Song of the Trees (Logan Family Saga)
Stone Fox
The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh
General NonFiction
The Astronomy Book: Study Guide (Wonders of Creation)
Dinosaurs by Design
From Sea to Shining Sea for Children: Discovering God’s Plan for America in Her First Half-Century of Independence, 1787-1837
The Light and the Glory for Children : Discovering God’s Plan for America from Christopher Columbus to George Washington
Sounding Forth the Trumpet for Children
The Weather Book: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the USA’s Weather
Poetry
The Echoing Green, by William Blake is listed as a Common Core “Text Exemplar” for the fourth grade reading level. Search for it on YouTube (also spelled “Ecchoing Green”) and find your favorite version. For aspiring song writers: there’s a young woman who wrote her own music to the poem and recorded it for others to watch.
All God’s Children: A Book of Prayers
Cricket Never Does: A Collection of Haiku and Tanka
Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry
The Oxford Book of Christmas Poems
Poetry in the Holy Bible: Psalms 1, 8, 23, 24, 46, 91, 100, 119:1-8, 121, 150
Poem Stew (Harper Trophy Book)
Poems for Youth
Click here to see recommended books for other grade levels…
Conclusion
Fourth grade is a very exciting time. Your child can now understand more complicated forms of storytelling. The stories you and your child read together are likely going to be equally entertaining to both of you! While you’ll still want to read aloud to your child, this year you’ll also want to encourage your fourth grader to read to you. Fourth grade also includes accompanying lessons on story structure, grammar and genres. Overall, fourth grade is the year where your child gains a deeper understanding of the various types of texts and how they can create a more well-rounded individual.
Just a note to let you know that we do not receive any compensation from publishers or authors for placement of any books listed here. However, we may receive a commission for purchases made through affiliate links.
Click here to see recommendations for other grades and age level.
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