Finding chapter books for fourth graders is fun, because by this stage, most nine-year-olds are good readers. some of them still like to see a few pictures in their chapter books, but others can read up to 200 pages of fiction (or more). Whatever your fourth grader’s reading level is, I’m pretty sure you’ll find a couple or more books for them among these 50-Chapter Books for Fourth Graders. I’ve separated the ones with illustrations from the chapter books that don’t.
The non-illustrated chapter books I’ve chosen are technically “middle grade books” for ages 8-12. but these selections are suitable for younger readers because they feature younger protagonists, fewer pages of text, a less intense theme, and a “young” voice.
You are reading: Chapter books for 4th graders
let’s get started. click on the book covers to go to their amazon pages.
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4th grade chapter books – with illustrations
jada sly, artist & spy
Published: May 14, 2019
Ten-year-old jada sly is an artist and spy in training. When he’s not studying the art of his idols like Jackie Ormes, the first known African-American cartoonist, he’s chronicling his training as a spy and other observations in his art journal.
Back home in New York City, after living in France for five years, Jada is ready to embark on her first and biggest espionage adventure yet. she plans to tour new york city in search of her missing mother, even though everyone thinks her mother died in a plane crash. except jada, who is sure her mother was a spy too.
With the stakes high and danger lurking around every corner, Jada will use one espionage technique after another to unravel the mystery of her mother’s disappearance, some with hilarious results. after all, he is still learning.
ballerina ladybug
Published: May 5, 2020
Katarina, ten years old, is a girl from New York City, but the bustle of the city leads her to feel that she is made for more than her daily routine. her big dream? to become a prima ballerina.
With the help of some new friends, Katarina finally puts on her first pair of ballet shoes and is more than determined to make it work. but her feet don’t quite move the way she’d like, her twists and turns make her dizzy, and her classmates aren’t exactly welcoming. When the head of the dance studio announces that there will be a competition to win a spot at an upcoming international dance camp, Katarina knows this could be her big chance to make her ballerina dreams come true. Does this little ballerina have what it takes to stand out in the world of ballet and go unnoticed?
ellie, engineer
Published: January 16, 2018
ellie is an engineer. With a utility belt strapped over her favorite skirt (who says you can’t wear a dress and have two kinds of screwdrivers handy, just in case?), she invents and builds amazing creations in her backyard workshop. her. Along with her best friend kit, Ellie can do anything. As Kit’s birthday approaches, Ellie doesn’t know what present to get until the girls overhear Kit’s mom talking about her present: the dog that Kit always wanted! Ella Ellie plans to make an amazing doghouse, but her plans get so elaborate that she has to enlist the help of the neighborhood boys and girls, though the two groups don’t get along. Can Ellie pull off her biggest project yet, all while keeping a secret from Kit?
allergic
Published: March 2, 2021
A coming-of-age graphic novel featuring a girl with severe allergies who just wants to find the perfect pet!
at home, maggie is the stranger. her parents are worried about preparing for a new baby, and her younger brothers are twins and are always in her own world. Ella Maggie loves animals and thinks the answer is a new puppy to call her own, but when she goes to select one of hers on her birthday, she breaks out in hives and rashes. She is highly allergic to anything she has fur on!
Can Maggie outwit her allergies and find the perfect pet? With illustrations by Michelle Mee Nutter, Megan Wagner Lloyd draws inspiration from her own experiences with allergies to tell a moving story of family, friendship, and finding a place to belong.
the great peach experiment 1
Published: April 6, 2021
sweet summer has taken an unexpected turn. . .
After a tough year, Lucy, Freddy and Herb Peach are ready for the holidays. Lucy wants to read all the books on the summer reading list. Freddy wants to work on his art projects (when he’s not stuck in summer school). herb wants to swim every day.
then their father makes a big announcement: one of the inventions their mother came up with before she passed away has been sold, and now they’re millionaires!
but dad has more important plans than spending the money on fun things or investing it. he has bought a used food truck. The Peaches are going to spend the summer touring the country selling pies. It will be the great peach experiment: a summer of bonding while living out one of mom’s dreams. summer plans, sunk. And there’s one more problem dad has neglected: none of them know how to bake. . . .
pawcasso
Published: May 25, 2021
every saturday, pawcasso trots around town with a basket, a shopping list, and cash to buy groceries for his family. one day, she passes eleven-year-old jo, who is looking out the window of her house, bored and alone. Amazed by the sight of an adorable dog carrying a basket by himself, Jo follows Pawcasso, and when a group of kids from her school see her next to him, they mistake her for Pawcasso’s owner.
Excited to make new friends, Jo reluctantly hides the truth and agrees to let “her” dog model for an art class attended by the kids. what can go wrong? But what starts out as a chihuahua-sized lie quickly turns into a great dane when animal control receives complaints about a dog roaming the streets off-leash. With Pawcasso’s freedom at stake, is Jo willing to reveal the truth and risk her newfound friendships?
ways to make sun
Published: April 28, 2020
ryan hart has a lot on his mind: school, self-image, and especially family. His father finally has a new job, but money is tight. that means some changes, like selling his second car and moving to a new (old) house. but ryan is a girl who knows how to make mishaps shine. as her brother says when he raps about her, she has the talent that matters the most: it’s a talent you don’t see, she’s nice, not bad!
ryan tries to see the best in people, to be a good daughter, a good sister, a good friend. But even if her life isn’t all she wants, when her older brother angers her, her parents don’t fully understand, and the unexpected happens, she always finds her way, with grace and wit. and lots of sun.
farah sweeps fifth grade
Published: January 1, 2020
farah and her best friend, allie liu, are excited to submit their applications to the magnet academy, where they both hope to attend sixth grade. But when new girl Dana Denver shows up, Farah’s world is turned upside down. When Dana starts bullying Farah’s little brother, Samir, Farah begins to second-guess her decision to drop him off at Harbortown Elementary/Middle School. Determined to handle it on her own, Farah comes up with a plan, a plan that involves lying to those closest to her. Will her lies of hers catch up to her or will farah be able to find a way to take down the bully and rock the fifth grade?
beatrice zinker, reverse thinker
Published: September 19, 2017
hanging from the trees by the knees, doing a handstand. . . for beatrice zinker, the other way around always works. She was definitely in over her head when she and her best friend, Lenny, agreed to wear matching ninja outfits on the first day of third grade. But when Beatrice shows up at school dressed in black, Lenny arrives with a cool new outfit and a cool new friend. What’s worse, she seems to have completely forgotten about the top secret operation they planned!
Can beatrice use her backwards thinking to save the mission, repair their friendship, and turn things around?
calvin coco: problem magnet
Published: March 24, 2009
Calvin Coconut lives near the beach in Kailua, Hawaii, with his mom and little sister. all of his friends also live there.
mom says, “you’re the man of the house, cal.” which means: be responsible. Calvin tries, but fun and trouble follow him wherever he goes, even in the classroom, aka Mr. purdy’s fourth grade boot camp. And how can he be the man of the house after teen Stella-from-Texas arrives to be the live-in nanny and wanders all over Calvin’s territory?
the mouse and the motorcycle
Published: October 24, 2017
In this imaginative adventure from Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary, a young mouse named Ralph is thrown into a world of excitement when a young boy and his shiny toy motorcycle check into the Mountain View Inn.
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When the ever-curious Ralph sees Keith’s red toy motorcycle, he vows to ride it. So when Keith leaves the bike unattended in his bedroom one day, Ralph makes the move on him. but with all this freedom (and speed!) comes many obstacles. Whether it’s fending off a noisy terrier or keeping his nosy cousins away from his new wheels, Ralph has plenty to do! And with a friend like Keith always looking out for him, there’s nothing this little mouse can’t handle.
dara palmer’s great drama
Published: July 5, 2016
dara palmer is destined to be a star and is writing herself the role of a lifetime. In this book, Emma Shevah tells the moving story of one girl’s experience with transracial adoption and high school drama.
Dara yearns for stardom, but when she’s not in the cast of her high school’s music sound production, she becomes suspicious. It can’t be because she’s not the best. she was born to be a famous movie star. It must be because she is adopted from Cambodia and doesn’t look like a typical fraulein. (that’s german for girl).
So irrepressible, Dara comes up with a genius plan to shake up the school: write a play about her own life. then she will have to be the star.
peter reads notes from the field
Published: March 2, 2021
Eleven-year-old Peter Lee has one goal in life: to become a paleontologist. well, maybe two: getting his genius little sister, l.b., to leave him alone. But his summer falls apart when his real-life dinosaur expedition turns out to be a flop, and he watches his dreams vanish in an asthma-inducing cloud of dust.
worse still, his grandmother, hammy, is sick and no one wants to talk to peter or l.b. about that perhaps his days as a scientist are not yet behind him. Armed with notebooks and pens, Peter puts his observation and experimentation skills to the test to see what he can do for Hammy. If he can just make his sister shut up for once, he needs time to come up with a plan.
the mystery of the buried bones (clubhouse mystery book 1)
Published: July 12, 2011
ziggy and his friends rico, rashawn and jerome call themselves the black dinosaurs and share exciting adventures. In the Mystery of the Buried Bones, the boys build a clubhouse in Ziggy’s backyard, where they discover a box of bones while digging to bury his secret treasures. But when the kids try to hide their treasures, they find themselves embroiled in a mystery more intriguing and terrifying than anything they could have imagined. who could have buried a box of bones behind the clubhouse?
alvin ho: allergic to girls, school and other scary things
Published: July 8, 2008
Alvin, an Asian American second grader, is afraid of everything: elevators, tunnels, girls, and most of all, school. he is so afraid of school that, while he is there, he never, ever says a word. But at home he is a very loud superhero named Firecracker Man, brother to Calvin and Anibelly, and a knight in training, so he can be like his father.
danny chung sums it up
Published: September 7, 2021
Eleven-year-old Danny’s life is turned upside down when his Chinese grandmother comes to live with her family in England. Things take a turn for the worse when Danny finds out that he will have to share her room with her, and she took the top bunk! Danny is initially frustrated that he can’t communicate with her because he doesn’t speak English and because he is about to fail math and Nai Nai was actually a math champion in the past. he feels like he and his grandmother have nothing in common. her parents insist that danny help them, so when he stays to take care of nai nai, he drops her off at the bingo hall for the day to get her off his back. but he soon discovers that not everyone is as welcoming as he hoped. . . Through the universal languages of math and art, Danny realizes that he has more in common with his Nai Nai than he thought. Full of heart and humor, Danny Chung sums it up and shows that traversing two cultures is possible and worth the effort, even if it’s not always easy.
solving m
Published: May 28, 2019
When mika starts fifth grade in high school, her orderly life gets complicated. Separated from old friends and starting new classes, Mika is far from her comfort zone. and math class is the most confusing of all, especially when her teacher mr. vann assigns math journals. math art? who ever heard of such a thing?
but when challenges arise at home, mika realizes there are no easy answers. maybe, with a little help from friends, family, and a unique teacher, a math journal can help you solve problems, and not just math ones.
the great shelby holmes
Published: September 6, 2016
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shelby holmes is not your average sixth grader. She’s nine years old, barely five feet tall, and the best detective her Harlem neighborhood has ever seen, always using logic and a bit of courage (which yes, some might call “bossy”) to solve the most difficult crimes. /p>
When eleven-year-old john watson walks downstairs, shelby finds something that has so far eluded her: a friend. Quiet John isn’t sure what to make of Shelby, but he soon runs into his most trusted (read: only) partner in a dog-napping case that will take both their talents to crack.
lexie’s little lie
Published: April 2, 2019
lexie and her cousin eleni are super-crazy-mega-extra-seriously close. they are like twins who are not really twins, if that is possible. But when Lexie tells a terrible and jealous lie, her entire family is divided.
It’s up to Lexie to get them all together and fix her relationship with Eleni. After a few calamitous escapades, Lexie has discovered that there are all kinds of truths and all kinds of lies…but can telling the truth be more painful than telling a lie?
the real mccoys
Published: November 7, 2017
her name is moxie. moxie mccoy.
Bold, stubborn, and miserably self-assured, the world’s greatest fourth-grade detective faces her greatest challenge yet! When someone kidnaps the school’s beloved mascot, Eddie the Owl, Moxie is on the case, but she’s forced to fly solo now that her best friend (and partner in crime solving) has moved on.
moxie must interview her classmates, both as potential new best friends and potential suspects. she finds clues and points her finger, but she can’t save the owl on her own. Enter Moxie’s little brother, Milton. calm, cautious and bored as a butter knife, he knows how to listen.
Can the Royal McCoys form an unlikely alliance and solve the crime of the century?
the stupendously spectacular spelling bee
Published: April 3, 2018
indian wimple can spell. brilliantly every Friday night, she and her family watch the spectacular spelling bee on television. when her touches suggest that she enter the next bee, she feels nothing but fear. She’s sure she’s not good enough, but with the support of her family, she finds the courage to sign up.
There are many obstacles to reach the finals, such as the champion of summer millicent ernestine beauregard, a spoiled rich girl who is not afraid to step on anyone who stands in her way to win. India also needs to overcome stage fright, shyness and anxiety. Packed with adorable characters, new vocabulary words, and more, this is the perfect spelling book for girls ages 8-12.
It all looks pretty dire for India. but with hope, hard work, and a little heart, something splendid could be on the horizon…
camp
Published: April 23, 2019
Olive is sure she’ll have the best time at summer camp with her friend Willow, but as Olive quickly befriends the other campers, Willow struggles to form connections and grows attached to the only person she knows: Olive. . It is more than the olive can bear! The stress of being Willow’s living security blanket begins to wear on Olive and before long… the girls aren’t just fighting, they may not even be friends by the time camp is over. Will the two of them be able to fix things before the final lights go out?
new york times bestselling author and illustrator kayla miller has created an emotional and honest story about living new experiences, learning to step out of your comfort zone, and the satisfaction of blazing your own trails.
cake in the sky
Published: May 14, 2019
When jingwen moves to a new country, she feels like she’s landed on mars. school is torture, making friends is impossible because he doesn’t speak English, and he often gets stuck taking care of his (extremely annoying) little brother yanghao.
To distract herself from loneliness, Jingwen daydreams about making all the cakes on the menu for Pie in the Sky, the bakery her father had planned to open before he unexpectedly passed away. the only problem is that his mother has established an important rule: brothers should not use the oven while she is at work. As jingwen and yanghao bake elaborate cakes, they’ll have to come up with elaborate excuses to keep the cake a secret from mom.
twig and turtle: big move to a small house
Published: October 20, 2020
Sisters ages 8 and 6 named twig and turtle are excited and curious about their new little town in colorado and their cool new little house. his family is united to live more simply and not deplete the earth’s resources. and enjoying nature. But for Twig, that means leaving her foster Great Dane with her grandmother. in the small house, there is hardly enough space for some books and games!
friendly and outgoing tortoise, she sheds with the move and the new life. but twig struggles without her beloved dog. At school, twig has to write about an opinion. and that makes his mind cook. Twig is going to use her writing project to get her big dog back!
magnolia circle mystery
Published: August 3, 2021
What happens when two best friends face the worst summer in the world?
On the first day of vacation, ten-year-old ivy crowden falls down the stairs and breaks her leg. trapped in a cast, she is certain that the summer of hers is doomed. not even teddy, her neighbor and best friend, can cheer her up because she is dealing with her own pain: the loss of a beloved dog.
but when ivy witnesses a possible break-in from her living room window, her summer takes a sudden turn from meh to mysterious. who are the criminals could a classmate be involved? Y . . . uh oh a second mystery is hot on ivy’s heels. indicates the best friends, the best dog and the best chance to save the summer!
4th grade chapter books – not illustrated
wild lake rescue
Published: April 27, 2021
everyone knows that twelve-year-old madison “madi” lewis is not allowed to bring home any more animals. After saving hairless mice, two birds, a rabbit, and a stray cat that ended up destroying the front porch, Madi’s parents decide that if they find one more stray animal in the house, she won’t be allowed to meet Jane Goodall anytime soon. gala event.
But when Madi and her two best friends, Aaron and Jack, rescue cubs from beavers whose mother was murdered, they find themselves at the center of a local conspiracy that is endangering beavers and their habitats. As Madi and her friends race to discover the threat looming over the beavers, Madi must test her skills as an Animal Whisperer, both to raise the orphaned beavers and to stay out of trouble long enough.
the manatee’s best friend
Published: August 3, 2021
becca wong walker may be so shy that most people at school think she doesn’t speak at all, but why should she care? she has more important things to worry about. Missy, the manatee who visits the dock in Becca’s backyard, and Becca’s only friend, hasn’t been seen in a while. When Missy finally returns, he has a new baby with her! Becca wants to be excited, but more than ever, inconsiderate boaters are speeding across the river, putting Missy’s life and her baby in danger.
One day, Becca also sees a dolphin in the river! Bonding with the dolphins and manatees, Becca finally begins to make friends at school. But when Becca makes a video that goes viral, it seems it’s going to be harder than ever to save the manatees…and trying to do so could tear Becca’s newfound friendships apart.
to tell you the truth
Published: June 8, 2021
trixy needs a story, fast, or she’ll fail fourth grade, that’s for sure. but every time you sit down to write, your mind is blank. the only stories she can think of are the ones about grandma, the ones no one else believed, but trixy gulped down like sweet tea. she great she’s gone now, buried under the lilac bush on the family plot, so it’s not like trixy is hurting anyone to claim one of those stories as her own, is she?
That stolen story turns out to be a big hit, and soon everyone in town wants trixy to tell them a story. before long, all that remains is the story she swore never to share, the one that made Grandma’s face cloud with sadness. Trying to find a way out of this tangled mess, Trixy and Ella’s friend Raymond de Ella hit the road to follow the twists and turns of Grandma’s past. maybe then trixy can write a story of her own, one that is the honest truth.
elvis and the current world
Published: August 24, 2021
Most shelter animals dream of coming home to a forever family. but for elvis, being chosen by mrs. Pemberton is a nightmare. he has been separated from her sister, etta, and is determined to return to the shelter to find her. Despite himself, Elvis is curious about ten-year-old Georgina Pemberton, who builds Lego skyscrapers in her bedroom while navigating her parents’ separation. The longer he is in his new home, the more he begins to recognize new feelings: admiration for Georgina’s creations, affection for the other pets, and even empathy for the Pembertons, despite his inability to listen.
as georgina sets out to build her most important skyscrapers yet, the twin towers, elvis realizes that perhaps both humans and animals can take a page from georgina’s great book on american architecture and “build a world of their own choosing”, even if the choices are not what they initially expected.
president of the entire fifth grade
Published: October 5, 2010
start counting your votes. . . and your friends. When Brianna Justice’s heroine, celebrity chef Miss Delicious, talks about her at her school and attributes her own success to being president of her fifth-grade class, Brianna decides she should do the same. She just knows that becoming class president of hers is the first step towards her own pastry empire!
But when new student Jasmine Moon announces she’s also running for president, Brianna learns she may have more competition than she bargained for. Will Brianna be able to stick to her plan to work with her friends to win the election fairly? Or will she take the opportunity to steal Jasmine’s votes by revealing an embarrassing secret?
This hilarious and heartfelt novel will appeal to any reader with big dreams and the determination to achieve them.
just jillian
Published: February 1, 2022
Jillian, a fifth grader, will do almost anything to be inconspicuous, including keeping quiet even when she has the right answer. after losing a classroom competition because she doesn’t want to talk, she sets out to win the school’s biggest competition from her. But coming out of her shell is easier said than done, and Jillian has just one month to keep the promise she made to her grandmother and prove to herself that she can speak up and show everyone the real me of she.
A warm and family-friendly middle-grade debut novel about family, friendship, and finding the confidence to break free from the crowd and be who you really are.
words with wings
Published: September 1, 2013
gabby’s world is full of fantasies. however, what started as an escape from his parents’ arguments has now taken over his life. But with the help of a new teacher, Gabby the dreamer could become Gabby the writer, and the words that captivated her could allow her to fly into the air. Written in vivid and accessible poems, this remarkable novel in verse is a celebration of imagination, friendship, a girl’s indomitable spirit, and a teacher’s ability to reach out and change a life.
the magnificent mya tibbs
Published: January 26, 2016
Nine-year-old Mya Tibbs is so excited for the best week of the entire school year: Spirit Week! she and her mega-popular best friend, naomi jackson, even made a pinky promise to be spirit week partners so she could win the grand prize: special vip tickets to the fall festival!
But when the mate choice goes terribly wrong, Mya is paired with badass Connie Tate, the school’s biggest bully. and she can’t get out of it.
good sauce.
now naomi is furious with mya for breaking a promise, even though mya couldn’t help it, and everyone at school insults her. Can mya work with mean connie to win the vip tickets and get her best friend back?
these unlucky stars
Published: March 2, 2021
ever since her mother left a few years ago, annie has felt like the outsider in her family. her dad and her brother are practical and organized, they just don’t understand the way she thinks, in lines and colors. Wherever she goes, she feels like an outsider, even at school, so she has been reluctant to approach anyone.
When an attempted “ding-dong-ditch” goes awry, Annie finds herself stuck making amends with Gloria, the eccentric old lady she molested. As she begins to connect with Gloria and her missing puppy, it becomes clear Gloria won’t be able to live alone much longer. But it’s this brief and important friendship that gives Annie the confidence to let people in and see how rich life can be when she decides to create her own luck and chart her own path to happiness.
stef soto taco queen
Published: January 17, 2017
estefania “stef” soto can’t wait to shake off the onion and cilantro hug of tia perla, her family’s taco truck. she wants nothing more than for daddy to have a regular job and for aunt pearl to be a distant memory. then maybe everyone in school will stop seeing her as the taco queen.
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But when her family’s livelihood is threatened, and it looks like her wish will finally come true, Stef surprises everyone (including herself) by becoming the unlikely champion of the truck. In this funny and heartwarming novel, Stef will discover what matters most and finally adopt an identity that even includes her old Aunt Pearl.
more middle grade food books
side stories of the school by the wayside
Published: May 26, 1998
Accidentally built on its side and thirty stories high (the builder said he was very sorry for the mistake), the wayside school has some of the most extravagant classes in the city, especially on the thirtieth floor. That’s where you’ll meet bebe, the fastest cartoonist in art class; john, who only reads backwards; myron, the best class president in history; and sammy, the new guy, is a real rat.
More than fifteen million readers have laughed at the witty and hilarious stories of the school by the wayside. so, what are you waiting for? come visit wayside school! Kids ages 7 to 13 will zip through these chapter books, giggling throughout the fast, funny, silly but relatable stories.
jayla jumps
Published: September 1, 2020
When eleven-year-old Jayla finds out that her mother used to be a double Dutch champion, she is shocked. her mother, who is under doctor’s orders to lower her blood pressure, could she move like this?!? Jayla decides to follow in her mother’s footsteps, thinking maybe the double dutch can make her stand out from her big, quirky family. As she forms a team at school and prepares to compete, Jayla discovers that the Double Dutch is so much more than just jumping rope, and it could change her life in ways she never imagined. Packed with hilarious family dynamics and plenty of jump rope action, Jayla follows a girl’s quest to keep her mother healthy and find her place in her community.
the 141st street vanderbeekers
Published: October 3, 2017
The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It’s practically a member of the family. So when their lonely, cantankerous landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince the dreaded beiderman how awesome they are. and all is fair in love and war when it comes to keeping your home.
not if I can help it
Published: July 30, 2019
willa likes certain things to be a certain way. her socks have to be soft. . . and she definitely can’t have any irritating labels on the inside. she loves the crunch of popcorn and nachos. . . but she is disgusted by the crunch of a small carrot. and viscous foods? those are the worst.
willa can handle all of these things, but there are some she can’t handle, like the big news about her father. he has been keeping a big secret from her. . . that he has been dating ruby’s mother, willa’s best friend. Willa doesn’t like the idea of them being together. and he doesn’t like the idea of uniting families. and she doesn’t like the idea of her best friend turning into her sister overnight. Will he accept all these changes? Not if she can help it!
the fourteenth goldfish
Published: August 26, 2014
galileo. newton oppenheimer.science sauce can change the world. . . but can you go too far? Ellie, eleven, has never liked change. she misses fifth grade. she misses her old best friend. she even misses her dear goldfish. Then one day a strange boy shows up. is bossy is in a bad mood. and curiously. . . he looks a lot like ellie’s grandfather, a scientist who has always been a bit obsessed with immortality. could this pimply kid really be grandpa melvin? Has he finally found the secret of eternal youth?
something to say
Published: July 14, 2020
Eleven-year-old Jenae has no friends, and that’s fine with her. she’s so good at being invisible at school, she’s almost like she has a superpower, like her idol astrid dane. At home, Jenae has lots of company, like her no-nonsense mom; her older brother Malcolm, who is home from college after a basketball injury; and her beloved grandfather, gosh.
Then a new student shows up at school: a boy named Aubrey with fiery red hair and a smile that won’t give up. Jenae can’t understand why he keeps showing up wherever he wants him to go. the more she tries to push him away, the more he seems determined to be her friend. Despite herself, Jenae begins to get used to having him around her.
But when the two pair up for a class discussion about their school’s proposed name change, Jenae knows this new friendship has an expiration date. Aubrey is desperate to win and earn a coveted spot on the debate team.
There’s just one problem: Jenae would do almost anything to avoid speaking in front of an audience, even risking the first real friendship she’s ever had.
a practical guide to getting lost
Published: April 14, 2020
sutton is having problems with the robot. his minibot is supposed to be able to get through a maze in less than a minute, but he must have made a coding mistake. Which is frustrating for a science-minded girl like Sutton, almost as frustrating as the fact that her mother probably won’t be home in time for Sutton’s 10th birthday.
luis spends his days writing exciting stories about brave kids, but there’s not much inspiration you can find when you’re cooped up all day. he is allergic to bees, afraid of dogs and has an overprotective mother. so luis can only dream of daring adventures in nature.
sutton and luis couldn’t be more different from each other. except now that their parents are dating, these two have to find something in common. Will they be able to navigate a path they never planned to explore?
the four stars
Published: July 10, 2014
meet gladys gatsby: new york’s toughest restaurant critic. (just don’t tell anyone he’s in sixth grade). Gladys Gatsby has been cooking gourmet dishes since she was seven years old, only her fast food-loving parents have no idea! She is now eleven years old, and after a crème brûlée accident (just a small fire), Gladys is deprived of the kitchen (and her allowance). she is devastated, but soon finds the perfect opportunity to pay her parents back when they mistakenly contact her to write a restaurant review for one of the world’s largest newspapers. But in order to meet her deadline and keep her dream job, Gladys must fight her way into the heart of her sixth-grade arch-nemesis and sneak into New York City, all while keeping the identity of hers! of her in secret! easy as pie, right?
isaiah dunn is my hero
Published: August 18, 2020
isaiah is now the big man in the house. but it’s much harder than his father made it seem. his little sister charlie asks too many questions and mom has gone totally silent.
Luckily, Isaiah can count on his best friend, the cunning one, who always has a plan to get around the rules. Also, his angel classmate has some good ideas of her own, once he stops bothering Isaiah.
And when the going gets really rough, there’s Dad’s Journal, full of stories about the amazing Isaiah Dunn, a superhero who gets his powers from beans and rice. isaiah wishes his father’s stories were real. He could use those powers right now!
nikki tesla and the ferret proof death ray (genius element #1)
Published: July 9, 2019
“let the official record show that I, nikki tesla, had no intention of destroying the world.”there are a limited number of times a child can invent an instrument of global destruction without being punished. . So when Nikki’s death ray accidentally blows up her room (if you can call a pet ferret with an itchy trigger finger an accident), she’s sent to the only place that can handle her. the genius academy is a school for the greatest brains in history. leo davinci? charlotte darwin? bert einstein? all extraordinary. Yet even among her fellow prodigies, Nikki feels like an outsider thanks to a terrible secret she can’t let anyone find out. never. But when her death ray is stolen from her, Nikki must stop worrying about fitting in and learn to be nice to her new classmates. Because it doesn’t take a genius to track down a thief around the world, outwit the authorities, and keep a fries-crazy ferret happy. she needs them all.
crenshaw
Published: September 22, 2015
jackson and his family have been through tough times. there is no money for rent. and not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister and his dog may have to live in their minivan. again.
crenshaw is a cat. he is big, he is frank and he is imaginary. He has come back into Jackson’s life to help him. but is one imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?
beloved author katherine applegate proves in unexpected ways that friends matter, real or imagined.
save me a seat
Published: May 10, 2016
joe and ravi may be from very different places, but they’re both stuck in the same place: school.
Joe has lived in the same town his whole life and was doing just fine until his best friends moved out and left him alone.
Ravi’s family just moved to the US from India, and he’s having a hard time figuring out where he fits in.
joe and ravi don’t think they have anything in common, but soon they have a common enemy (the biggest bully of their kind) and a common mission: to take control of their lives in the course of a single madness. week.
susie b. won’t back down
Published: October 5, 2021
susie b. has a lot to say. like it’s not fair that she has to be called susie b. instead of just susie. or about how polar bears are in danger of extinction. or how the usual geniuses always get picked for cool stuff about kids like her with butterflies for brains. and it’s because susie b. has so much to say about these important things that she’s running for student council president!
If she’s president, she can stand up for the underdog just like her heroine and partner susie b., susan b. anthony. (And, okay, maybe the opportunity to give big speeches to the whole school with a microphone is another bonus.) But when the more usual genius also enters the student council race, Susie realizes this may be a tougher fight to win than she is. thought. Worse yet, Susie discovers that Susan B. Anthony wasn’t as good as he seems in the story, and she did some pretty terrible things to try to help her own cause. Soon, Susie has to make her own tough decisions. But one thing is for sure: whatever happens, Susie B. will not back down.
more high school books for children
power forward
Published: May 8, 2018
4th grader zayd saleem has some serious hoop dreams. he’s not just going to be a professional basketball player. he is going to be a star. a legend. The first Pakistani-American boy to make it to the NBA. he knows this deep down in his soul. it is his destiny. there are just a few little things in the way of it.
for starters, zayd is only on team d. (d stands for development, but to zayd it always feels like a bad grade or something). Not to mention, he’s a bit skinny, even for the fourth grade team. But his best friend, Adam, is on the gold team, and Zayd’s dream is for the two of them to play together.
His mom and dad don’t get it. they want him to practice his violin much more than his jump shot. When he is caught skipping his violin lessons to practice, Zayd’s parents impose the ultimate punishment: he has to hang up his high-tops and is no longer allowed to play basketball.
As the gold team tryouts draw closer, Zayd has to find the courage to stand up for himself and pursue his dream.
freddy’s care and care
Published: October 5, 2021
georgia weathers’s worry machine has been on fire ever since her mom, blythe, left in lyle lenczycki’s blue sedan. Earlier that day, Blythe gave Georgia a bearded dragon named Freddy. Georgia is convinced that if she loves Freddy enough, her blythe will come home.
Georgia is not the only one with family problems. the parents of ella’s friend maria garcia de ella have happily moved out of the house and into a trailer in the yard. roland park is the new kid in town. As a child in the foster care system who stays with the Farley family, he is certain that his stay is temporary. When the three friends discover an abandoned glass house in the woods, it becomes his secret hideaway: a place of his own, free from parents and trouble. but glass can break.
When everything around you feels out of your control, the question is what can you hold on to? And what do they have to let go of? Turns out there are a few things, and lizards, that they can count on.
There they are: 50 of the best chapter books for fourth graders, including illustrated and non-illustrated options. Whether you’re looking for sports books, food books, books about blended families, dance books, or books about death and grief, there are options for every reader on this list.
what are your favorite fourth grade chapter books? Which of these selections are you excited to read? I’d love to know!
See Also: 10 great maps of fantasy worlds! | Historical Novels and Epic Fantasy