Captivating Book Series for 4th Graders

I truly loved this graphic novel about three friends who start a dog-walking business. It feels true to kids (feels like something I would’ve LOVED as a child who adored The Babysitters’ Club), and I enjoyed seeing the ethnic diversity and the parental involvement in this story. If you have kids who love animals or have an entrepreneurial streak, this book is for them. It’s also delightfully short, and this is a series I totally plan to keep up with since every book is from a different girl’s perspective.

When his family moves in the middle of the school year, Stanley wishes he could be invisible because being the new kid is too hard. Then he’s caught in a spill during the science fair and his wish comes true: he’s invisible. There’s only one problem: the kid who made the potion is not pleased! Can Stanley escape his wrath? This is such a fun sci-fi graphic novel for kids who love funny books with plenty of hijinks. 

This hilarious spy story of a boy recruited by the Queen of England to retrieve England’s crown jewels is ridiculous in the best way. The illustrations and humor in this one make it perfect for young readers who love funny chapter books.

Meet the Vanderbeekers! They’re a biracial family living in Harlem, New York. With five kids, including a pair of twin girls, each kid has plenty of characters to identify with. This series is warm and cozy and each installment features the Vanderbeeker kids trying to accomplish a unique goal. The first book is all about getting their grumpy neighbor to warm up to them. This first Vanderbeekers book is set in the days before December 25th, so the winter holiday vibes are top-notch. 

Mia Tang is a ten-year-old Chinese immigrant who lives in a motel with her parents in the 1980s. They run the motel for its crooked owner, Mr Yao. Mia runs the front desk, and soon, she realizes that her parents use the motel to protect undocumented immigrants. I highly recommend this debut by Kelly Yang. It deals with heavier topics like racism, class prejudice, the value of diligence, and the struggles of immigrants in a dignified, relatable way for kids.

Olive “clicks” with everyone in the fifth grade—until one day she doesn’t. When a school variety show leaves Olive stranded without an act to join, she begins to panic, wondering why all her friends have already formed their own groups . . . without her. With the performance drawing closer by the minute, will Olive be able to find her own place in the show before the curtain comes up? I’ve read and loved nearly all the books in this graphic novel series! 

This series follows kids who play sports and their challenges on and off the pitch. The first book follows a boy whose strict team doesn’t allow for much fun — even though he loves to dance. Can he find a way to still play on his terms? Greenwald is known for his sports stories and this series is perfect for the younger sport-loving crowd.

Evan and Jessie Treski are siblings 14 months apart. Evan has great people skills, while Jessie seems to be on the spectrum and struggles with understanding social cues. However, she’s very book-smart. She knows math and is business savvy. The siblings do a lemonade stand every summer — a highlight for Jessie. This year, though, after discovering that Jessie is skipping a grade into the fourth grade with him, Evan seems mad at her. He’s even teaming up with another classmate to sell lemonade and leaving Jessie out. Before the kids know it, they’re in an all-out war to see who makes the most profit. I loved all the business tips in this book, and I know some people dislike books with sibling drama, but this one explores some important emotional themes, and Evan and Jessie eventually find their way to each other again. There’s also a graphic novel adaptation coming soon — I read an advance copy and loved it!

Chance is a three-legged dog at the Dogtown shelter, where able-bodied and robot dogs compete for attention. Things start to change when a new robot dog, Metal Head, comes to the pound. First off, he’s determined to run away (return home). So he hatches a plan with Chance and her mouse best friend to help an older dog get adopted in exchange for helping him escape. But things do not go to plan, and Chance, her mouse friend, and Metal Head spend a night on the streets on an emotional adventure. As someone who isn’t into animal books, I’m shocked by how much I liked this one. It’s charming, beautifully plotted, and full of suspense, heartwarming characters, and plenty of heart. It also has sweet illustrations and concise chapters. 

Fourth grader Mya Tibbs is excited for Spirit Week! She has made plans to partner with her best friend Naomi Jackson. So, you can imagine Mya’s terror when she’s partnered with Mean Connie, and Connie refuses to trade partners. But as Mya works with Connie, she realizes that things aren’t as she’s thought. The Magnificent Mya Tibbs: Spirit Week Showdown is a sweet, realistic story of friendship, family, and forgiveness.

This adorable graphic novel follows four kids on their journeys to find a beloved pet and the animal rescue center, where they converge as the pets bring joy to their lives. It’s a great mash-up of PAWS meets Allergic and is perfect for young (capable) readers as young as the second grade. 

Cam, Gabe, and Abby are best friends at Arithmos Elementary and call themselves the Prime Detectives — a nod to their skill and love for math. In the first installment of this series, the kids solve several mysteries, from poisoned cookies to failed ziplines — all related to the appearance of a new set of triplet classmates. Is there more to the case than meets the eye? This book has so much math! I don’t even like math but I loved seeing how cleverly these kids solved the mysteries using their math chops. Perfect for the math lover (or kid you want to trick into liking math).

When a Biltmore resident’s prized jewels are stolen, amateur detective Elodie LaRue is summoned to solve the case… even though she’s just a kid. Together with a new stunt-obsessed friend and her dog Carnegie, Elodie must get to the bottom of the heist in this charming, illustrated young middle grade novel. I can see this being a cozy read-aloud for mystery fans, and since it’s the first in a new series, young readers will be thrilled to see Elodie in the subsequent stories. 

This book is a good step up from the Wimpy Kid books and is all about a kid investigating whether or not a puppet on the finger of one of his classmates actually has magical powers. If your kids love funny stories set at school about friendship, this is a good option.

With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks—or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp?

This is an entertaining graphic novel about cousins Maya and Riley (Black and Muscogee), who end up living with their grandmother when Maya’s parents are deployed, and Riley’s parents move back in with her grandmother. At school, the girls quickly realize that their vice principal is suspicious, slashing arts, robotics and any budgets possible in favor of increasing the number of detention classrooms. With their grandmother’s advice about using their voices firm in their mind, the girls hatch a plan to expose VP Balderdash’s schemes. I loved many things about this series starter, including the natural, subtle way both girls share about their heritage and how they find home and community with their grandmother. This is also super short (under 200 pages), and the superhero and planning scenes feel like something out of a Spy Kids movie.

This fun SHORT series opener is immediately reminiscent of friendship group books like The Babysitters Club. Gigi and her two friends, Zeina and Caroline, start a tutoring club in the library to help them save up some cash for an art summer camp. Gigi’s parents think being an artist is not a promising career option and would rather she focus on math and the sciences, so she neglects to tell them about the club and her plan. The girls add wannabe goth Emma to their team, and business begins. They must navigate business planning, crushes, tricky clients, and worried parents to keep their business (and friendship) afloat. The vibes were so sweet in this one, and kids who love entrepreneurial stories, books by Debbi Michiko Florence, and friendship-based realistic fiction will love it. 

Ryan Hart and her family are moving to a new (old) house because her dad lost his post office job, and his new job doesn’t pay as much. Still, there are small joys. She doesn’t have to change schools and is still close enough to one of her best friends. With the new house, and selling one of their cars, her parents can better deal with their financial struggles. Throughout this slice-of-life book, Ryan learns to believe in herself, enjoy public speaking, be a bigger person, and love herself. Renee Watson’s Ways to Make Sunshine is an absolutely delightful early middle-grade book with a memorable protagonist.

Omar is a young Muslim boy with a huge imagination. He and his family (his mom, dad, and two siblings) are adjusting to a new move (new house, new school) and approaching the month of Ramadan. Unfortunately, the adjustment process is NOT smooth. First, there’s a neighbor who doesn’t seem to like Omar’s family and a bully at school who keeps making fun of him. Things come a head when Omar and Daniel, the bully get lost together during a school trip. Can Omar escape all this trouble he keeps attracting? Accidental Trouble Magnet (Planet Omar #1) is a charming chapter book about the life of a Muslim imaginative boy during Ramadan, adjusting to a new school, befriending a bully, and navigating family/sibling relationships.

This book by comedian Kate McKinnon is a delightful riot. Set in a quirky world where a group of girls get invited to join a school of etiquette that is really a training school for female mad scientists who will save the world, this book took me on the most fun rollercoaster plot and the audiobook is EXCELLENT!