Need book recommendations for 4th grader

[Maxlee]

I need some book recommendations for DD who is in 4th grade and reading at level Z+ (whatever that means) - need books that are age appropriate and having a hard time finding ones that DD is interested in. Thanks!

[daisysmom]

My 3rd grader just finished a series called "mother daughter book club" that she loved. She reads above grade level, not sure if she still has a letter level, but these were fun and I didn't read them, but I didn't think they were inappropriate.

[anonomom]

Not sure of the reading level, but my 4th grader loved Princess Academy, most of ED Baker's books, and anything by Raina Telgameier. She's currently reading The Girl With The Silver Eyes. And in school, they just read One Crazy Summer.

And of course Harry Potter. :-)

[lines]

My girls love the Wendy Mass books and I think they are all age appropriate. Also the Shannon Hale books. Princess Academy is probably the easiest read of her books but we loved Goose Girl and the followup books to that. My 3rd grader who loves to read loved all of Road Dahl's books.

[rlu]

FWIW, I use www.arbookfind.com as a jumping point for books for DS. We get his AR (ATOS book) level though and I don't know where Z+ fits into that.

Using the advanced search you can use the reading level, "interest level" of lower grade (to keep appropriate for OP, for DS we use middle grades) and narrow by interests in the additional criteria selections. You'll want lower grade for "interest level" to keep them appropriate but that isn't perfect so I do preview books I'm unfamiliar with before giving them to DS. We found a lot of dog books that way.

Asking a librarian is a good idea, but often they can't come up with a list beyond 2 or 3 off the cuff, IME. I have had librarians offer to work on a list for us while we browse. School librarian should be able to tell you what books are in the Z+ reading level for 4th grade and what might be popular in that range.

[ray7694]

I am a certified librarian in an elementary school and at that level I would be most concerned with fostering interest more than worrying about what level the book may be. My son was at a similar place in 4th and I got recommendations from a junior high librarian. If you let a librarian know what she has enjoyed in the past that helps. You can also search things for books similar to Harry Potter etc as an example.

[ang79]

My 9 yr. old DD1 is an avid reader and reads at high level. She currently is into The Sisters Club (same author as the Judy Moody series which she also loved) and Cupcake Diaries. She also likes Abby Hayes and Just Grace series. I saw a 5th grade student reading the Land of Stories series when I was subbing in a school and thought that might appeal to her too, but haven't checked them out from the library yet. It looked similar to the Whatever After series that she read last year (she's waiting for the next book in that series to come out). Grimmtastic Girls is another one she read this past fall I think (she tends to read through these series quickly and then has to wait for the next one in the series to come out).

[georgiegirl]

My DD the same age just finished The Giver. She's looking for a new series also.

[anonomom]

DD loved Land of Stories last year.

My own kid won't read them, but Tamora Pierce has several good series. Just be aware that the Song of The Lioness quartet has characters having sex.

Also, Anne of Green Gables is great for this age.

[Simon]

I agree with focusing on supporting her interests and worrying less about the official levels unless its a concern over choosing books that might be too hard and turn her off to reading.

My DD the same age just finished The Giver. She's looking for a new series also.

Did she read all 3 books? I read the Giver, too, but my Ds read all 3 books and said he liked them.

I agree with Land of Stories and maybe some of these: The Penderwicks, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (+Sequel), The One and Only Ivan, Flora and Ulysses, Wonder, Tuesdays at the Castle.

[HannaAddict]

My son loved The Boys in the Boat and The Martian at that age. He reads anything and everything though, fiction and non-fiction, and more. I agree with others that whatever they are interested in should drive the book selection.


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[SummerBaby]

In fourth grade my DD read Wonder, by RJ Palacio. It is still her favorite book of all time. She also read Bridge to Terabithia in fourth grade. Harry Potter books are also popular for fourth graders.

[lines]

We also love the books by Gordon Korman. Also, dd1 loved the entire Warriors series. They are about cat clans but she really loved it and there are quite a few books in the series.

[Maxlee]

Thanks for all the suggestions! She has read many of them and I will find some of the other ones at the library. I am trying to Encourage her to read books she enjoys and not to worry about the level but I guess they make a big deal about choosing the right level at school (I'm sure for the lower level readers).

[almostmom]

DD is 10, in 4th grade. She reads beyond her grade level, but has recently enjoyed racing through the Cupcake Diary books. She reads about one a day. She can read more challenging books, but these have been fun.
Both my kids have loved (and also raced through) the Wings of Fire series. I think there are 7 books. Once they got used to the language (I find them hard to read out loud!), they both loved them.
Also, The School of Good and Evil.
Check out this list of books. DD has read every one. Most are really good (many have been mentioned above), and it's nice that it shows the grade level:
https://www.salemstate.edu/assets/images/ACA_soe/2016_MCBA_Master_List_and_Grade_Level_Guide.pdf

You can also go back and see other years of MCBA recommended books - we use those lists a lot!

[khalloc]

My DD is 10 and in 4th grade. She is a great reader. Here are a few books we have read recently together (but she could read alone as well)

A Night Divided
Shiloh
A Dog's way Home

[lines]

Okay, one more great book recommendation - Savvy by Ingrid Law .

[Kindra178]

DD is 10, in 4th grade. She reads beyond her grade level, but has recently enjoyed racing through the Cupcake Diary books. She reads about one a day. She can read more challenging books, but these have been fun.
Both my kids have loved (and also raced through) the Wings of Fire series. I think there are 7 books. Once they got used to the language (I find them hard to read out loud!), they both loved them.
Also, The School of Good and Evil.
Check out this list of books. DD has read every one. Most are really good (many have been mentioned above), and it's nice that it shows the grade level:
https://www.salemstate.edu/assets/images/ACA_soe/2016_MCBA_Master_List_and_Grade_Level_Guide.pdf

You can also go back and see other years of MCBA recommended books - we use those lists a lot!

This list is awesome. Thank you.


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[georgiegirl]

My DD LOVES the Wings of Fire series. She's in 4th grade but an advanced reader. She just started the 8th one. I think 10 are planned.


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[baileygirl]

I have a 3rd grader son, but some books he has read this year: mysterious Benedict society series, Narnia series, hobbit, search for WondLa (also a series), zodiac legacy, George's secret key to the universe (series), candy shop war, Calvin and Hobbes, Dahl books.

Eta: his school doesn't do reading level stuff, so I have no idea his reading level or the level of the books.

[citymama]

My DD LOVES the Wings of Fire series. She's in 4th grade but an advanced reader. She just started the 8th one. I think 10 are planned.


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My 4th grader does too!

She also loves the Percy Jackson, Magnus Chase and other Rick Riordan books.

Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles (Dealing with Dragons is the first book).

Raina Telgemeier, Warriors, Harry Potter series.

She loved Half Magic and the Edward Eager books (although she read those in 2nd/3rd grade - if your fourth grader doesn't know them, they're a lot of fun)



Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (+Sequel), The One and Only Ivan, Flora and Ulysses, Wonder, Tuesdays at the Castle.

DD enjoyed these as well. Along those lines:

Brown Girl Dreaming (DD adored this)

Wollstencraft Detective Agency

Esperanza Rising

[dogmom]

My DD in 4th and just started the Hunger Games series. She loves them.

Has she read the Madeline L'engle books from The Wrinkle in Time series? Little less adult.

I started reading Stephen King in 4th grade, the young adult fiction was not as robust back then.

[klwa]

Just throwing out some older books. Has she read any of the Anne of Green Gables series? Or any of the Louisa May Alcott books? (Not just Little Women, but An Old Fashioned Girl, Eight Cousins, Under the Lilacs.) Or Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, A Little Princess, Secret Garden. The books that we read as kids, basically. :)

ETA: DS is in fourth and LOVES the Wings of Fire series as well. :)

[KHF]

My daughter is listening to the Secret Zoo books right now (she's dyslexic, so we use audio books). She's almost to the end of the second one right now and she's really been into them. http://bryanchick.com/#Books

[ang79]

Just throwing out some older books. Has she read any of the Anne of Green Gables series? Or any of the Louisa May Alcott books? (Not just Little Women, but An Old Fashioned Girl, Eight Cousins, Under the Lilacs.) Or Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, A Little Princess, Secret Garden. The books that we read as kids, basically. :)

ETA: DS is in fourth and LOVES the Wings of Fire series as well. :)

DD1 got several of these classics for Christmas. They are the junior novels that you can get at the Target Dollar Spot. We have also read the entire Little House on the Prairie collection together and are now onto the books about her daughter Rose. My girls are in love with these books (and I loved them as a child too!). Another good one we did together as a read aloud but DD1 is now reading herself is Secrets at Sea by Richard Peck. Reminded me of Downton Abby w/ mice :)

[ett]

Caddie Woodlawn, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Phantom Tollbooth, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Because of Winn Dixie, Mr. Popper's Penguins.

The "Who Was" series is if she wants to try non-fiction.

[zukeypur]

DD is 10, in 4th grade. She reads beyond her grade level, but has recently enjoyed racing through the Cupcake Diary books. She reads about one a day. She can read more challenging books, but these have been fun.
Both my kids have loved (and also raced through) the Wings of Fire series. I think there are 7 books. Once they got used to the language (I find them hard to read out loud!), they both loved them.
Also, The School of Good and Evil.
Check out this list of books. DD has read every one. Most are really good (many have been mentioned above), and it's nice that it shows the grade level:
https://www.salemstate.edu/assets/images/ACA_soe/2016_MCBA_Master_List_and_Grade_Level_Guide.pdf

You can also go back and see other years of MCBA recommended books - we use those lists a lot!


There are now 9 Wings of Fire. DD has read them all many, many times.

[daisysmom]

Thanks for this thread - I may check out the Wings of Fire for my DD. She has loved most of these books mentioned on here. Just yesterday my mom sent her the unabridged version of Little Women for her birthday (she had wanted to read it, b/c of the Mother Daughter Bookclub series) and she read it for 2 hours last night.
I am a big believer of mixing classics with "chick lit" or whatever YA equivalent is. The key is getting kids into books, not necessarily the superior writing of the book IMO.

[maestramommy]

My 4th grader is loving the Amulet series. She is also restarting Harry Potter, still reads from the Whatever After series, and has enjoyed the Alvin Fernald series.

[ladysoapmaker]

My 2nd grader is reading Princess Bride. And so I am going to write down many of these titles for when she says what's next. Though she has several of the Tamara Peirce books...

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