Books Your Child Should Read Before Fourth Grade

Fourth Grade Reading

Reading in school and at home is important for many reasons like language acquisition, communication and the sharing of information and ideas. A book takes the reader on a journey and opens up a lifetime of knowledge and information. Reading requires continuous practice, development, and refinement. Children who grow up reading books stand out by the way they think and act from those who have not been exposed to reading. Reading paves the way to education and wisdom. It has been proven that children who are introduced to reading at an early age seem to have a better understanding of phonics, achieve language skills with ease, have an abounding vocabulary and possess greater mental abilities. Get excited about words and the world to be discovered.

Below is a list of simple books your child should be able to read going into the fifth grade. Plus: books on the history of the United States, books on the geographic regions of the United States, folk tales of other cultures, ocean communities, rock cycle, effects of weathering, and light and sound.

Independent Reading

• Dear America series by various authors
• 39 Clues series by various authors
• The Magic Half by Annie Barrows
• Blown Away by Joan Hiatt Harlow
• The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein
• Looking for Me by Betsy Rosenthal
• Castle of Shadow by Ellen Renner
• Gifts From The Gods by Lise Lunge-Larson
• Dogtag Summer by Elizabeth Partridge
• The Silver Bowl by Diane Stanley
• Pammy the Pig by Pam Fisher

Other suggestions: (Books listed below are from the 2014-2015 Sunshine State Young Reader's Award) 

• Dorko the Magnificent by Andrea Beaty
• Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson
• Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein
• The Adventure of Beanboy by Lisa Harkrader
• The Adventures of South Pole Pig by Chris Kurtz
• Elvis and the Underdogs by Jenny Lee
• Capture the Flag by Kate Messner
• Hooper Finds a Family by Jane Paley
• When Life Gives You O.J. by Erica Perl
• Abby Carnelia's One & Only Magic Power by David Pogue
• Stranded by Jeff Probst
• The Sasquatch Escape by Suzanne Selfors
• Rump: The True Story of Rumpelstiltskin by Liesl Shurtliff
• King of the Mound by Wess Tooke
• 8 Class Pets + 1 Squirrel + 1 Dog = Chaos by Vivian Vande Velde
• My Near-Death Adventures (99% True) by Alison DeCamp

You will discover helpful resources and information on the Hellokids.com Reading channel. Keep your mind wide open!