4th Grade Chapter Books
These Books are the best chapter books, suitable for the fourth grade reading level. This list is intended for independent readers.
[1]
The One and Only Ivan
illus. Castelao, Patricia
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
Winner of the Newberry medal. Do I even need to review it. Sadly, I like about half of the recent medals, and the other half are adult books. Ivan is a gorilla who is loosely based on a actual cage confined gorilla who paints pictures. There is one scene the parent reader might want to edit out: when Ivan tells how his gorilla troop was killed, there is a graphic description of gorilla heads and hands being chopped off. Otherwise the book is great for young impressionable minds.
Recently Added
[2]
Poppy
illus. Floca, Brian
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
An animal story where animals act true to their nature. A group of mice live under the dictatorship of an owl, who occasionally eats the mice.
[3]
The World According to Humphrey
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
Another good book about rodents. This time a class pet hamster, Humphrey. This one is semi-realistic: the hamster is intelligent but he can not communicate with humans. He does have a talent for helping humans out. In fact, his purpose seems to be to solve the problems of all the humans around him.
[4]
The SOS File
Byars, Betsy; Myers, Laurie; Duffey, Betsy
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
A collection of short stories. Each child in a first grade class writes a story about an emergency that they had. All of the stories were pretty good, but one struck me. It was about a girl who was left in a dumpster at birth, was rescued, and when she was older went looking for her rescuer.
[5]
Gloria Rising
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
Everyone of Cameron's books we have read are excellent. Parents who like good role models will especially like her books. Gloria is a little girl who wants to be an astronaut. The main conflict is between Gloria and her fourth grade teacher, who is the epitome of strict, old style way of teaching.
[6]
Frindle
illus. Selznick, Brian
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
This is one of those read aloud books that can be enjoyed on various levels. The six year old will enjoy it, the 12 year old, and most of all the adult. The book shows the power of an idea, and how in America, an idea can be worth a million bucks, even when it comes from a kid. Also, the book explains the rudiments of linguistics, how words are formed in an interesting and practical approach. Finally, the book shows us the ideal teacher. The amazing thing is that with all this non-fiction stuff, the book is actually really fun to read.
[7]
Eoin Colfer's The Legend of Spud Murphy (Series)
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
Each book of this series has a legend that gets debunked. In Spud, two brothers are punished by being forced to spend the summer in the library, with the meanest librarian on earth. Well, she is pretty mean but it all turns out good in the end.
[8]
The Monster's Ring: A Magic Shop Book (Series)
illus. Coville, Katherine
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
A boy buys a ring from a strange shop which turns him into a dragon whenever he turns the ring. He gets back at the school bully. However, things don't work out when he can't turn back into a boy.
[9]
Because of Winn-Dixie
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
This is a story of a little girl, growing up with her father, after her mother abandoned them. Winn-Dixie is a stray, friendly dog who helps her make new friends. With this subject matter, it is not surprising that this book is so emotional.
[10]
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
illus. Ibatouline, Bagram
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
Edward is a porcelain rabbit, who can not move, but has thoughts and emotions. He gets swept through time (the story lasts around one generation) and touches the lives of various people. I judge a book by its ending, mostly. This one has a good ending.
[11]
The Giants and the Joneses
illus. Swearingen, Greg
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
A twist on Jack And Bean Stalk, but written from the point of view of a young female giant. The book is action-packed, but an interesting feature is the use of language. Donaldson created a giant language (with a dictionary at the back of the book) that kids will have loads of fun deciphering from context.
[12]
The Hundred Dresses
illus. Slobodkin, Louis
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
This is a classic book about an immigrant Polish family who move into an narrow minded small town. The writing style is a little old, but it is worth reading and explaining the language to a young child.
[13]
A Picture for Marc
illus. Trueman, Matthew
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
A child biography of Marc Chagall. This really explains what art is all about, why it is important, and why artists do it.
[14]
Babe
illus. Rayner, Mary
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
Babe is a pig who desperately tries to avoid the slaughter house. He is adopted by a mother sheep dog, and is determined to become useful on the farm by herding sheep. Though you can read this book to a preschooler, it is a little longer and more complicated then most of our other choices, so choose this book after your child is already comfortable listening to 100 page chapter books.
[15]
Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things
illus. Pham, LeUyen
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
Alvin Ho has severe anxiety. He has never talked at school. Not even to answer a question, and not to any other kids. Outside of school he talks fine, though he is anxious about quite a few things.
[16]
Gossamer
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
I liked this book but it is a little on the abstract side for a young child. Gossamer is a dream giver, a tiny creature whose purpose is to give people good, healing dreams. The book deals with child abuse.
[17]
Number The Stars
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
There are not all that many introductory fictional books about the Holocaust suitable to read to a third grader. This is one of them. Why? Because it takes place in Denmark, and not Poland. In other words, it tells the story of how the people of Denmark and Sweden saved many of their Jewish citizens. The book also explains the concept of courage to a really young child. Lowry is a great author. Her classic, The Giver, is a great read for an adult or young adult, NOT FOR CHILDREN.
[18]
The Doll People (Series)
illus. Selznick, Brian
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
There are many toy stories out there, but for some reason I don't get sick of them. Just because toys are alive, does not determine the story, especially when the toys really stand for people. The novel under review is 255 pages long with many of Selznick's great illustrations. There isn't all that much text on each page, but nevertheless, this is a very long read aloud. I would only recommend it to an advanced listener. The book is also deep: when dolls are made, they must take an oath of secrecy to stay alive. If a human suspects they are alive, they fall into doll state, 24 hours of immobility. If they are reckless, they can fall into permanent doll state: death. Parents will enjoy it.
[19]
Judy Moody (Series)
illus. Reynolds, Peter
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
Judy Moody is a third grader that often gets into strong moods. She has a little brother, Stink, who also has a series of chapter books (see the preschool chapter book list). In fact, Stink is often the butt of some hilarious practical jokes. Overall, the books are humorous for kids, and to the adult, thanks to some clever puns.
[20]
The Dragon's Child
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
A little dragon falls off of his mother's back as they are fleeing danger (he is too young to fly). An orphan slave girl secretly cares for him until he grows and one day, saves her from danger. It is a good, simple adventure story that is not scary, but interesting and has some emotional depth.
[21]
Tuk and the Whale
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
Takes place in the Canadian Arctic Circle in the 1600s. Europeans and Inuit collaborate to hunt bowhead whale, a very large dark-colored whale. The narrative is exciting, and from the point of view of an adolescent boy, Tuk. I thought the book was appropriate to read to a kindergardener, but they do kill whales in the story, and that is gruesome.
[22]
Wayside School Stories
illus. Mccauley, Adam
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
This is a collection of loosely tied short stories that take place in school. All the stories are interesting. Most are strange; some have lessons; some poke fun at society. Both the young and old will enjoy these stories, though at different levels.
[23]
The Houdini Box
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
One could also classify this book as a picture book. This book tells a story of a little boy who idolizes the Great Houdini. The boy meets Houdini and is invited to learn some of his secrets, but never gets the chance....
[24]
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
I call this book: the worlds thickest picture book. The book measures roughly 526 pages, with something like 200 illustrations. When one does the subtraction one comes up with roughly 300 pages of text; however many text pages have only a few lines, and many pages are blank. What I am trying to say is that the book looks formidable, but it is quite possible to read the book to a preschooler. You can do it in 3-4 days, even. The illustrations are wonderful, and the story is complex and suspenseful. The writing is clear. It tells the story of an orphan who lives inside the walls of a Paris train station in 1931, fixing clocks and an automaton.
[25]
Chocolate Fever
illus. Fiammenghi, Gioia
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
Chocolate Fever is a great example of an excitingly, developed story that a really young listener could enjoy. A boy eats too much chocolate and gets a strange measles-like disease. He is on the run from the police when he meets a truck driver pulling---you guessed it---chocolate. The truck driver is a black man and racism is discussed. In America, today, racism and segregation against black people is not so public as it was years ago, so when reading this to a young child you should explain this when it comes up in the story.
[26]
Fourth Grade Rats
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
Usually coming of age stories deal with the boundary between childhood and adulthood. Fourth Grade Rats details the experiences of two boys as they mature in, fourth grade, from immaturity to a little more mature. Well written and poignant
Recently Added
[27]
The Castle in the Attic
chapter book
Grade Reading Level 4
audiobook CD
A young boy is given a miniature castle by his beloved nanny who is returning to England. The castle turns out to be magical, containing a live knight. A classical quest adventure ensues. The book is a little dated, but it is a nice happy, non-scarey adventure, suitable for young ones.