Class Readaloud Books for 4th Graders

When hyperactive kid CJ gets into his fourth-grade class, he’s terrified of Ms. Crane, his new teacher, thanks to all the rumors he’s heard about her. But Ms. Crane turns out to be refreshingly different than he expected. She’s nice to him and doesn’t get frustrated when he interrupts, blurts answers, or can’t sit still. So when he discovers that some teachers are trying to get Ms. Crane to leave the school, CJ decides to stand up for her. This book about community and the power of a teacher who believes in you is SO SWEET and will make for a terrific class readaloud (although it is on the longer side at just over 300 pages).

This book about a girl and her dog determined to win a dog agility contest against all odds is the perfect blend of adventure and heartwarming. Annie Shearer lives in Australia and has a dog who will only do tricks when no one but Annie is watching. When Annie’s family comes at risk of losing their farm, Annie is convinced that only the prize money from a dog agility contest can save the farm. But will her dog, Runt, perform?

This book is about two Sophies–one preteen and an octogenarian–who are friends, best friends. Older Sophie is losing her memory and is at risk of being moved to a nursing home by her son and younger Sophie is determined to help prove that her friend has still got it. She ends up learning more than she bargained for about life, history, and her friend’s life. Very sweet, very much a classic, touching, and with historical elements that add a healthy heft to the story. Lowry’s writing is gorgeous and thoughtful but also accessible. Darling!

Joe lives with his grandmum, who’s stepping in for his flighty mother, but thanks to some issues with his mom, his grandmum loses her home, and they begin living in her car. Just when they find some respite, Grandmum dies, leaving Joe in his mother’s care. Not long after, Joe is alone again and has to fend for himself. This verse novel chronicles Joe’s hardships on the poverty line and shows the way his community steps in to help him out. The writing is beautiful, as Lisa Fipps’ work always is, and Joe’s love for superheroes will resonate with kids just as his circumstances will foster empathy.

Vega is a precocious tween with plenty of strong opinions, determination, and a fierce love for her family. Her cousin Mila is timid, anxious, and after an incident, is spending the summer with Vega’s family in the California desert. When a meteoroid blazes through the sky one night, landing in Vega’s community. Enter Jasper and his dad, two rock hunters who come to town to find a piece of the meteoroid. In a turn of events, Mila, Jasper, and Vega end up searching at night and have to navigate getting lost, injury, getting stuck in a flash flood, and warding off coyotes, among other dangers, during their hunt with surprising results — unlikely friendships, close cousin bond, and maybe a piece of the sky? This is a good blend of STEM and survival with just enough relationship dynamics (which this author is best known for) to keep readers going, creating a truly intriguing, suspenseful story told from the perspectives of all three kids.

Simon Hyde and his parents have been moving around the country and creating social media content around their travels for as long as he can remember. Now they’ve moved into the Tangerine Apartments, and Simon is hoping to put down roots for a while. Thanks to a recent accident, his leg is in a cast, so he’s happy when Amaya, a talkative neighbor, actively befriends him with little effort on his part. Just as the two begin to hit it off, a theft in the building puts everyone on edge, and even Simon’s parents begin to contemplate moving away again. This moves Simon to agree with Amaya’s proposal that they solve the mystery together. As the kids unravel the mystery, they also learn plenty about each other, what it means to be a good friend and their eclectic group of neighbors. This is a warm mystery with a great cast of quirky, memorable characters that will appeal to 4th graders.

Willow (Lolo) Weaver’s summer is not going well. Her grandfather has recently died, her grandma isn’t herself, and she’s given away her grandfather’s foster dog, Hank. Lolo’s mother is heavily pregnant, and Lolo is in summer school because she didn’t do too well in her last exams. On top of that, their lake town isn’t a lake town anymore because the lake’s been drained and smells awful now. Lolo wants to help her grandmother feel better, and she’s convinced that getting back her grandfather’s dog will do the trick. The only problem is that the dog now belongs to someone else. So Lolo gets on Pop’s boat to steal Hank back—only to run into her summer school classmate, Noah (who’s the new dog owner). Lolo Weaver Swims Upstream is a charming story about persistence, unlikely friendships, and the enduring love for a grandparent despite the odds. 

It’s 1944, and Dory’s father has joined the US Army in World War II, leaving behind 12-year-old Dory and her brothers, Fish (17) and Pike (7), with the parting words that the neighborhood will always give them what they need. So far, her father’s words have been true, with the neighborhood Italian restaurant Caputo’s offering them one free dinner a week and their neighbor sending them Polish food. But when the new landlord demands to see their father if they want to keep living there, the kids are in a fix. At the same time, Dory discovers an old dumbwaiter (old school elevator) in Caputo’s, which she follows one night to a hideout beyond her expectations. Can the kids get the miracle they need to keep their home and get their father back in one piece? Nothing Else But Miracles is a heartwarming, slice-of-life middle grade novel about New York City, family, and the safety of community.

Meet Lety Muñoz, whose parents are hardworking Mexican immigrants. She and her brother are also learning English, and she’s very self-conscious about speaking correctly in this new language. She doesn’t give herself enough credit for how much she’s made. Still, this summer is supposed to be fun. She’s volunteering at an animal shelter with her best friends. However, it quickly becomes stressful when two boys set up a contest between Lety and another volunteer (who reads at the high school level) for the role of Shelter Scribe. Lety Out Loud is a CUTE and inspiring young middle grade book about the immigrant experience, pets, and building friendships.

In Leeva at Last, we meet Leeva, a child who’s been kept indoors and put to work by her famous parents. Her mom is the Mayor, and her dad is the Treasurer. They both only care about fame and money, respectively, but not about their daughter or townspeople. They don’t even send her to school, and Leeva learns new words from a vocabulary section of the newspaper and teaches herself to read. But when Leeva finds her way to the town library one day, her eyes are opened to the world around her, and she finds the answer to a question that’s been on her mind forever: “What are people for?” Leeva at Last is a funny, charming, and whimsical young middle grade book about what it means to care about others.

Selah knows there’s something different about her. She’s uncomfortable with overstimulation and can’t seem to instinctively figure out social cues, so she follows the rules; does what others do/expect her to do in those situations. But when she’s home, she practically crashes, needing to recover from shapeshifting all day. She’s doing okay, until one day she hits a fellow student who keeps trying to braid Selah’s hair. This leads to a series of events ending in an Autism Spectrum Disorder diagnosis and the realization that although she’s different, it’s good different. Good Different is a powerful verse exploration of life on the autism spectrum and the illuminating experience of finally understanding oneself.

A Rover’s Story is the story of a Mars rover (a robot sent to survey the planet, find another out-of-service rover, and help determine whether Mars is suited to human living. The story is told from several perspectives, including that of the rover (whose name is Res, short for Resilience) and Sophie, the daughter of one of the programmers who’s building the rover. After months of testing and tinkering in the lab, Res discovers that he’s experiencing human emotions. His twin rover, Journey, repeatedly tells him that robots should be logical, not emotional, so Res tries unsuccessfully to restrain his emotions. Finally, Res is sent to Mars with a friendly drone he calls Fly. But can he accomplish his mission? Or will his emotions get in the way?

After Ash McAnulty won the school-wide Quiz Bowl in the fifth grade, it was almost like she got a golden ticket. Although she’d been in the school’s Gifted and Talented program since first grade, now everyone viewed her as the smartest of the bunch. But now fifth grade is wrapping up, and Ash feels less gifted. She can’t seem to grasp the abstract concepts other kids in her class do, and she begins to feel like a fraud. If she asks for help and her teachers learn she’s struggling, she’ll no longer be “gifted,” will she? Then who will she be without her “gifted” identity? She resolves to prove herself in the upcoming Quiz Bowl, but her plan doesn’t go to plan, triggering a sequence of events that forces Ash to evaluate what matters most. Golden Ticket is a true-to-life middle grade book about intelligence, identity, and recovering from poor choices as a kid.

In Falling Short, we meet Marco and Isaac. They’ve been besties for as long as they can remember and now they share one pain in common: both their dads aren’t in their lives as they’d like. Isaac’s dad is attentive but currently struggling with alcoholism. Marco’s dad wishes Marco were more athletic, instead of nerdy. At the start of middle school, both boys decide to help each other reach their goals. For Isaac, it’s getting better at more than just basketball — getting better grades and being more responsible. And for Marco, it’s learning a sport: basketball. Can they reach their goals? And will their friendship survive it? I loved this look at a warm friendship bond between boys.

SAVE ME A SEAT is the story of two seemingly different boys — one Indian, one American. When Ravi’s family moves to America, he is shocked at how different things are. The things he liked about himself seem to neither impress nor be appreciated by his American classmates and teachers. Joe is a quiet, sensitive American who is regularly bullied by his classmates. The story follows both boys as they find a way to a solid friendship despite their differences. With a major focus on bullying, culture, food, and respecting differences, SAVE ME A SEAT is delightful, funny, and inspiring. A fantastic middle grade pick for teaching young boys and girls -everyone, really – empathy. Oh, and if you can, do the audiobook! It’s narrated by two different voices, one of whom is Indian, and really brings Ravi’s character to life.

Mia Tang is a ten-year-old Chinese immigrant who lives in a motel with her parents. They run the motel for its crooked owner, Mr Yao. Mia runs the front desk and enjoys it. This book deals with heavier topics like racism, class prejudice, the value of diligence, and the struggles of immigrants in a dignified way that kids can relate to. Overall, this is a compelling, refreshing book for everyone! This series is at book five now and going strong.

Sofia Acosta Makes a Scene follows fifth grader Sofia Acosta who feels like the black sheep of her ballet-loving family. Her parents were professional dancers who emigrated from Cuba to the United States. Her sister, Regina is a ballet prodigy whose eyes are set on the American Ballet Theater (ABT) and even their little brother Manuel is an excellent ballet dancer. Sofia, though? She can’t stop stepping on people’s toes when she dances. What she loves the most is sewing the costumes for the dancers and hanging out with her best friend Tricia. But when a family friend visiting from Cuba hints at staying in the US long-term to dance for the ABT, Tricia’s response hints at prejudice that Sofia never saw coming. Will Sofia stand up for what’s right? Sofia Acosta Makes a Scene is a sweet, thought-provoking middle grade book about finding one’s path, recognizing inequality, and handling prejudice when it comes from unexpected places.

Maple’s dreams of going to middle school with her best friends come crashing down when she’s held back in the fifth grade because she can’t read. Maple is Indian and Jewish (Hin-Jew as she calls herself) and constantly feels caught in between — never fully belonging on one side. On top of that, Maple gets caught in a web of lies when she tells a new fifth grader that she’s only in the class to support the new kids — and not because she’s a repeater. It doesn’t help that her friends Marigold and Aislin totally dump her because she didn’t move on to a new class with them. Can Maple find her place in the world? Welcome Back, Maple Mehta-Cohen is a realistic middle grade book about dealing with the social and emotional impact of learning difficulties like dyslexia.

Miosotis biggest problem is getting her dad to let her get a dog. Papa insists that Miosotis score higher in Math and Science, even though she’s more of a B student. Soon, though, Miosotis’s woes begin to compound when she discovers that her sister Amarillis may be hiding something from their family. Can Miosotis save her sister? Miosotis Flores Never Forgets is a realistic middle grade book about the impact of domestic violence, identity, and culture.

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.