Great Reading: Grade 4

JJs

JJ BRETT JAN Trouble
Brett, Jan. Trouble With Trolls.
Treva runs into trouble on Mount Baldy when trolls try to steal her dog, Tuffi. She keeps the dog by bartering her things until she reaches the top of the mountain. Will she be able to outwit the trolls and hold on to Tuffi until she reaches her cousins?

JJ FLEISCHMAN, PAUL Weslandi
Fleishman, Paul. Weslandia.
Wesley's garden produces a crop of huge, strange plants which provide him with clothing, shelter, food, and drink, thus helping him create his own civilization and changing his life. 

JJ PALATINI MARGIE Web
Palatini, Margie. The Web Files.
Ducktective Web and his partner try to quack the case of the pilfered peck of perfectly picked pickled peppers.

JJ SCIESZKA JON True
Scieszka, Jon. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.
The wolf gives his own outlandish version of what really happened when he tangled with the three little pigs.

JJ STEWART, DIANNE Gift
Stewart, Dianne. Gift of the Sun: A Tale From South Africa
Tired of milking when he would rather bask in the sun, Thulani sells the cow and begins a series of exchanges that results in a sunflower crop and prosperity.

JJ VAN ALLS CHRIS Jumanji
Van Allsburg, Chris. Jumanji.
Left on their own for an afternoon, two bored and restless children find more excitement than they bargained for in a mysterious and mystical jungle adventure board game.

Suggested Chapter Book Series

JF ATINUKE
Atinuke. Anna Hibiscus series.
Anna Hibiscus lives in amazing Africa with her family in a wonderful house in a beautiful garden in a big city. Join Anna as she sings for the president, gets in a terrible tangle with her hair and visits the other side of the city.

JF CLEARY BEVERLY Ramona
Cleary, Beverly. Ramona series.
Ramona has a unique way of looking at the world. The scrapes she gets herself into are funny and heartwarming, and sometimes embarrassing. No matter what - Ramona's lively, curious spirit shines through.

JF DITERLIZ TONY
DiTerlizzi, Tony. The Spiderwick Chronicles.
Follow the adventures of the Grace children, twins Simon and Jared and their older sister Mallory. After they move into Spiderwick Estate they soon discover a world that they never knew existed.

JF DRAPER SHARON
Draper, Sharon. Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs series.
Ziggy and his friends form a club called the Black Dinosaurs after someone vandalizes their basketball court, and they soon uncover a clue that may tell them who did it.

JF GOLDBERG WHOOPI
Goldberg, Whoopi. Sugar Plum Ballerinas series.
Alex's ballet-crazy Mom enrolls her at the Nutcracker Ballet School . Even though Alex is a terrible dancer, she is chosen for the starring role in the school recital.

JF GREENBUR DAN Secrets
Greenburg, Dan. The Secrets of Dripping Fang series.
The 10-year-old Shluffmuffin twins long to be adopted out of the Jolly Days Orphanage. Unfortunately, Cheyenne 's constant nose-dripping allergies and Wally's vile-smelling feet repulse most prospective parents. The elderly Mandible sisters, however, are oddly elated over the children's hygiene issues and take them home, on trial, to their weird mansion deep in Dripping Fang Forest.

 JF HALE BRUCE
Hale, Bruce. Chet Gecko series.
This 4th grade detective is a lizard with attitude. He likes to solve mysteries and loves to eat desserts!

JF HARPER CHARISE Just
Harper, Charise. Just Grace series.
Grace deals with the usual trials and tribulations of third grade in these hilarious chapter books.

JF HOWE JAMES Bunnicul
Howe, James. Bunnicula.
Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire. 

JF LOOK LENORE Alvin ho
Look, Lenore. Alvin Ho series.
When Alvin 's father takes him camping to instill a love of nature, like that of their home-town hero Henry David Thoreau, Alvin makes a new friend and learns that he can be brave despite his fear of everything.

JF QUATTLEB MARY Jackson
Quattlebaum, Mary. Jackson Jones series.
When his mother gives him a garden plot for his tenth birthday, Jackson Jones hopes to earn enough money to buy a basketball.

JF SCIESZKA JON
Scieszka, Jon. Time Warp Trio.
This series of books, including See You Later, Gladiator, and Hey Kid, Want To Buy A Bridge? involves three boys who travel through time and become involved in many adventures. You may learn something about history while you're reading!

JF SOBOL DONALD Encyclop
Sobol, Donald. Encyclopedia Brown series.
Whether Encyclopedia Brown is solving cases for his neighborhood friends or his chief-of-police dad, he always has an intriguing mystery to crack.

JF WAYANS KIM
Wayans, Kim. Amy Hodgepodge series.
Attending a "regular" school for the first time, former homeschooler Amy, whose family is racially mixed, meets new friends who celebrate their differences and include Amy in their song-and-dance routine for the upcoming talent show.

JF WINKLER HENRY
Winkler, Henry. Hank Zipzer series.
Hank Zipzer is a young boy growing up on the Upper West Side of New York City, who is dyslexic.   Hank can't spell; he can't read; he can't write; he can't add; he can't subtract, and he always gets into trouble.

Fiction

JF BIRDSALL JEANNE Penderwi
Birdsall, Jeanne. The Penderwicks: a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits, and a very interesting boy.
The Penderwick children arrive at their summer vacation destination in the Berkshires with their widowed father. The book title says it all. See what adventures they get into in this old-fashioned family story.

JF BLUME JUDY Tales of
Blume, Judy. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.
Peter finds his demanding two-year-old brother an ever-increasing problem.

JF CLEARY BEVERLY Dear mr
Cleary, Beverly. Dear Mr. Henshaw.
Lonely, especially since he is the new kid in school, Leigh Botts begins writing letters to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, describing his life since his parent's divorce, and through these letters he finds comfort, compassion, and a knack for writing. Newbery Award Winner 

JF CLEMENTS ANDREW Frindle
Clements, Andrew. Frindle.
When he decides to turn his fifth grade teacher's love of the dictionary around on her, clever Nick Allen invents a new word and begins a chain of events that quickly moves beyond his control.

JF DEVILLER JULIA Liberty
Deviller, Julia. Liberty Porter, First Daughter.
On her first day at the White House, nine-year-old Liberty exuberantly explores her new home while making new friends and giving unique tours of her own. 

JF DICAMILL KATE Miraculo
Dicamillo, Kate. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
Edward, a toy rabbit, travels the country and gets to know a number of owners who take care of him and teach him about life and love. Newbery Award Winner

JF DRAPER SHARON Little
Draper, Sharon. Sassy. Little Sister Is Not My Name!
Fashion-savy Sassy does not like being the smallest student in her fourth-grade class, until a family emergency calls for a pint-sized hero.

JF FRAZIER SUNDEE Brendan
Frazier, Sundee. Brendan Buckley's Universe and Everything in It.
Brendan Buckley, a biracial ten-year-old, applies his scientific ability and interest in rocks and minerals to connect with his white grandfather, the president of Puyallup Rock Club, and to learn why he and Brendan's mother are estranged.

JF HOFFMAN MARY Starring
Hoffman, Mary. Starring Grace.
Grace and her friends have all sorts of adventures during their summer vacation--going to the circus, taking an imaginary safari, pretending to be astronauts, calling the paramedics when her grandmother has an accident, and more.

JF WARNER SALLY Ellray
Warner, Sally. EllRay Jakes is not a chicken.
Eight-year-old EllRay 's father has promised a family trip to Disneyland if EllRay can stay out of trouble for a week, but not defending himself against Jared, the class bully, proves to be a real challenge.

Folkore

J 398.2 DEMI
Demi. The Donkey and the Rock
In this version of a tale with many Asian variations, a wise king, who rules a town full of foolish people in the mountains of Tibet, puts a donkey and a rock on trial to settle the dispute between two honest men.

J 398.2 DE PAOLA
Retold by Tomie DePaola. Jamie O'Rourke and the Big Potato: an Irish Folktale.
The laziest man in all of Ireland catches a leprechaun, who offers a potato seed instead of a pot of gold for his freedom.

J 398.2 SAN SOUC
San Souci, Robert D. The Talking Eggs: A Folktale From the American South.
A Southern folktale in which kind Blanche, following the instructions of an old witch, gains riches, while her greedy sister makes fun of the old woman and is duly rewarded.

J 398.22 COBURN
Adapted by Jewell Reinhart Coburn. Jouanah, A Hmong Cinderella.
Despite a cruel stepmother's schemes, Jouanah, a young Hmong girl, finds true love and happiness with the aid of her dead mother's spirit and a pair of special sandals.

Compiled by Youth Services Department, Springfield City Library, 2011