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Speno's Picks for Younger Elementary Students

(Click here for book recommendations for older elementary students.)

This page is designed to help third and fourth grade students--and their parents--find good reading books.  Books listed in this section are developmentally appropriate for 8-10 year olds.  The reading levels of the books vary and are indicated in parentheses (RL).  Starred books (*) are especially recommended.  Click on links for more information on titles and authors. 

A special note for parents: Keep reading aloud with your child throughout the elementary school years.  This will benefit their reading habits and skills in the long run.  Books with challenging reading level are good candidates for read-alouds, as are books with important themes of growing up that benefit from discussion.  Look for taped copies at your public library and keep a story going in the car. 

Literature links:

Books are categorized by genre:

  • Realistic Fiction
  • Humorous Fiction
  • Fantasy and Adventure
  • Historical Fiction
  • Animals
  • Sports
  • Folklore
  • Poetry
  • Non-fiction and Biography
  • Math and Language Puzzles and Games

Realistic Fiction

  • Blume, Judy   

    • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing * (RL4)  This is a classic about the challenges of having a younger brother who gets all the attention.  Funny!  (http://www.judyblume.com/tales.html)

  • Cleary, Beverly      

    • Ramona Quimby (series) * (RL4)  Another classic about girl dealing with problems at home and at school.  Ramona is one of the great characters of children's literature.  The print is big in this series, but the chapters are long and there are plenty of vocabulary words. (http://www.beverlycleary.com/index.html)

  • Clements, Andrew

  • Danziger, Paula                        

    • Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon (series)  (RL3) Amber's best friend Justin is moving away and her parents are getting divorced.  Life's not easy when you're in third grade and your name sounds like the color of a crayon. Amber Brown speaks with a strong voice about the wide range of emotions she experiences.  This series combines the serious and the humorous.  (http://www.scholastic.com/titles/amberbrown/)

  • Giff, Patricia Reilly  (http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/author/results_spotlight.pperl?authorid=10018)                

    • The Beast in Ms. Rooney's Room (The Kids of the Polk Street School series) (RL2)  Richard Best, also know as the Beast, is held back in second grade.  He's facing another year in the same classroom with the same teacher.  What can possibly make this year a good one?

    • Fourth Grade Celebrity (series) (RL4)  Ten year-old Casey has the opposite problem from Peter in Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing.  She has a talented, smart, popular older sister who makes her feel inadequate.  Casey learns to be her own person and to be a good friend.

  • Horvath, Polly 

    • The Trolls  * (RL 4)  Melissa, Amanda and Peewee know almost nothing about their Aunt Sally when she comes to baby sit for the week their parents go to Paris.  It doesn't take them long to learn Aunt Sally is a great storyteller.  Her story's may be exaggerated at times, but the kids learn important truths about their family's history and some hard truths about life. (http://www.randomhouse.ca/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0807282367#desc)

  • Konigsberg, E. L.

  • Lowry, Lois (http://www.loislowry.com/books.html)                     

    • Anastasia Krupnick (series)  * (RL5)  Anastasia is smart and sassy.  She has strong opinions, and those opinions are changing all the time.  This book is better for older elementary students.  Funny and another great character!

    • All About Sam  * (RL4)  This is the story of Anastasia's little brother...from birth to age 5.  The first chapter is written from the baby Sam's point of view! Unique and funny!

  • Naylor, Phyllis R.       (http://www.ipl.org/div/kidspace/askauthor/Naylor.html)               

    • The Boys Start the War; The Girls Get Even  (series) (RL4)  The Hatford girls move to West Virginia and get in an unending feud with the Molloy boys.  May the best man--or woman--win!  Non-stop action. (http://www.kidsreads.com/reviews/0440418410.asp)

  • Park, Barbara                          

    • Junie B. Jones (series) Another spunky young girl with a strong (kindergarten!) voice.(http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-junie-titles.asp or http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/junieb/)

    • Skinnybones  * (RL3)  Alex is no good at sports but he does have the best sense of humor in the class.  Barbara Park is probably the funniest author for young readers.  Her character is goofy but likable.

    • Operation: Dump the Chump  (RL3)  Oscar is trying to get rid of his annoying brother, Robert.  His plan is very complicated, but it almost works....

  • Peck, Robert N.                                   

  • Sachar, Louis        (http://www.louissachar.com/)                    

    • There’s a Boy in the Girls’ Bathroom  * (RL4+)  Bradley doesn't know how to make friends.  He just knows how to get in trouble.  With some help from the school counselor he learns how to be a better friend.  This book is funny but more often sad.  I really felt sorry for Bradley most of the time.  There is a happy ending, though.  (The title is misleading; the book is not really about going in the girls' bathroom.)  (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0394805720/104-8447197-5320714?v=glance)

  • Shreve, Susan

    • The Flunking of Joshua T. Bates  (RL4)  Joshua feels like the world is coming to an end when he is told that he needs to repeat third grade.  But his new teacher, Mrs. Goodwin, has promised to give him extra help so that he can improve his reading.  Joshua learns from Mrs. Goodwin that adults can have problems, too.

  • Smith, Robert Kimmel             

    • The War with Grandpa  (RL3)  His parents make Peter give his room to his grandfather, so Peter decides to fight for his rights.  Funny and touching.  Short chapters!

  • Winkler, Henry

    • Niagara Falls, or Does it?: The Ups and Downs of Hank Zipzer  (RL3)  Hank Zipzer is a smart kid with school problems.  His brain doesn't work the way his teachers want it to.  Hank learns to appreciate his own talents by the end of the book.

Humorous

  • Rockwell, Thomas                    

    • How to Eat Fried Worms

  • Sachar, Louis     (http://www.louissachar.com/)                        

    • Sideways Stories from Wayside School

  • Scieszka, John                          

    • Knights of the Kitchen Table and other titles (RL3+)  Kids of all ages find this series outrageously funny.  Travel back in time for off-beat historical adventures with this whacky threesome.  (http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-warp.asp)

 

Fantasy & Adventure

  • *Babbitt, Natalie            

    • The Search for Delicious (RL5)  War breaks out in the kingdom over the definition for delicious!  Gaylen thinks the whole thing is silly, but he is assigned the task of polling the kingdom.  He finds himself in the middle of a civil war and, surprisingly, with a way to restore the peace.

  • Banks, Lynne R.                      

    • The Indian in the Cupboard (series)  (RL4+)  Think of the adventures you could have if your toy Indian came to life?  This series has already become a classic. 

  • Brittain, Bill                            

    • The Wish Giver  (RL4)  This book is one of several Tales of Coven Tree by Bill Brittain.  This one has the mysterious Thaddeus Blinn granting the wishes of three different characters.  They all get their wishes; it's just that the wishes don't turn out as planned!  These books are a little bit creepy.  See below for more titles in the series.

    • Dr. Dredd’s Wagon of Wonders  (RL4)

    • Daniel's Donkey  (RL4)

  • Coville, Bruce                          

    • The Monster Ring

    • Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher

  • Dahl, Roald                              

    • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

    • Witches

    • Matilda

  • Fleischman, Sid                        

    • The Whipping Boy  *  (RL4+) The prince is so spoiled he has his servant, Jem, take his own whippings.  When the two boys are kidnapped they at first don't see eye to eye.  Soon, the prince learns humility and comes to respect his whipping boy.  Humorous, with colorful language. 

    • The Ghost in the Noonday Sun  *  (RL5)  Oliver Finch was born at the stroke of midnight, and this makes him special.  So special he is kidnapped and taken to sea in raggedy old pirate ship on a wild goose chase for buried treasure.  Can Oliver help the pirates find the lost treasure?  The story has non-stop adventure and a colorful cast of characters.

  • Hutchins, Hazel                        

    • The Three and Many Wishes of Jason Reid  (RL4)  If you had three wishes, what would you wish for?  If you're like Jason Reid you would use your third wish to wish for three more wishes!  But life with unlimited wishes is not as easy as you might think.

  • Lewis, C.S.                              

    • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (series) * (RL5+)

  • Lisle, Janet Taylor

    • The Gold Dust Letters   (RL4) 

  • Rowling, J. K.

    • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (series)  *  (RL4+)

  • Sobol, Donald                           

    • Encyclopedia Brown (series)  **

  • Sterman, Betsy                         

    • Too Much Magic  * (RL4)  This book is science fiction for 10 year-olds.  A magic cube appears that grants your every wish.  No strings attached.  Except that the things you wish for come from somewhere real; the consequences are real.  Funny and thought-provoking.

  • Winthrop, Elizabeth                   

    • The Castle in the Attic  (series) * (RL4)  What if your toy knight came alive?  What if you shrunk to the size of the knight?  Imagine the adventure you could have....  This book is popular among fourth graders.

  • Woodruff, Elvira                       

    • Awfully Short for Fourth Grade  (RL4)

 

Historical Fiction

  • Bulla, Clyde Robert                  

    • A Lion to Guard Us  (RL3)

    • Viking Adventure  (RL3)

    • The Sword in the Tree   (RL3)

  • Curtis, Christopher Paul            

    • Bud, Not Buddy  * (RL5)  Bud Caldwell is on the lam!  His latest foster family locked him in the shed with a vampire, and he decides to hoof it across the state in search of his long lost dad.  He has a good idea who his dad is, too, because his mother gave him a clue before she died: a poster of Herman E. Calloway and the Dusky Devastators of the Depression.  The story is set in 1930s Michigan.  There is a happy ending and a lot of humor along the way.

    • The Watsons Go to Birmingham, 1963  *  (RL5) 

  • Fritz, Jean                                

    • The Cabin Faced West   (RL3)

  • Giff, Patricia Reilly                   

    • Lily’s Crossing  * (RL4+)  It's summer and Lily finds herself at her family's summer home at the beach.  It would be just like any summer except that World War II is heating up.  Her best friend's family moves to Michigan to help the war effort, and her father has been sent to Europe on a top-secret mission.    Lily's stuck with her bossy grandmother, but then a mysterious visitor arrives in Rockaway...

  • Levitin, Sonia

    • Journey to America  *  (RL5)

  • Lowry, Lois

    • Number the Stars  *  (RL5)

  • McSwigan, Marie                     

    • Snow Treasure  * (RL4+)

  • Osborne, Mary Pope 

    • The Magic Tree House series * (RL2)  Jack is cautious; Annie is eager.  Jack does the research; Annie makes friends with strangers--including animals.  Together they travel around the world and through time to have all kinds of adventures.  (http://www.randomhouse.com/kids/magictreehouse/)

  • Scieszka, John                          

    • Knights of the Kitchen Table and other titles  (RL3+)  Kids of all ages find this series outrageously funny.  Travel back in time for off-beat historical adventures with this whacky threesome.  (http://www.kidsreads.com/series/series-warp.asp)

  • Speare, Elizabeth G.                 

    • The Sign of the Beaver  * (RL5)

  • Steele

    • The Buffalo Knife  (RL4)

  • Wilder, Laura Ingalls               

    • The Little House on the Prairie (series)  * (RL4)

  • Willis, Patricia 

    • Danger Along the Ohio    (RL5) 

 

Animals

  • Avi

    • Poppy  (series)  * (RL6) 

  • Cleary, Beverly                      

    • The Mouse and the Motorcycle  * (RL4+)

  • DiCamillo, Kate

    • Because of Winn-Dixie  (RL4)  A lot of exciting things happen to India Opal Buloni in the summer of her 10th year.  She meets many strange but interesting people and learns some important lessons about life...all because of the dog she found at the local grocery store, the Winn-Dixie!

  • Gardner                                   

    • Stone Fox * (RL3+)

  • Gipson, Fred                             

    • Old Yeller * (RL5)

  • Howe, James                           

    • Bunnicula (series) (RL4)

  • King-Smith, Dick                      

    • Babe, the Gallant Pig  (RL5)

  • Kjelgaard, Jim                          

    • Big Red (series) (RL5)

  • Mowat, Farley                          

    • Owls in the Family  (RL4)

  • Naylor, Phyllis                          

    • Shiloh  * (RL4)

  • Selden, George                         

    • A Cricket in Times Square  (RL4+)

    • Tucker’s Countryside  (RL4+)

  • Taylor, Theodore                      

    • The Trouble with Tuck  (RL4+)

  • Wallace, Bill                             

    • A Dog Called Kitty  (RL5)

  • White, E. B.                             

    • Charlotte’s Web

    • Stuart Little

    • The Trumpet of the Swan

 

Sports

  • Christopher, Matt                     

    • Many titles

  • Slote, Alfred                             

    • Many titles

 

Folklore

  • Evslin, Evslin, and Hoopes         

    • The Greek Gods

  • Hamilton, Virginia                     

    • The People Could Fly

    • Other Titles

  • Heaney

    • Irish Legends and Tales

  • Kimmel, Eric                            

    • Iron John

    • Many fairy tales

  • McGovern, Ann                       

    • Aesop’s Fables

  • Osborne, Mary Pope               

    • American Tall Tales

    • Other anthologies of legends, myths and folklore

  • Pinkney

    • The Tales of Uncle Remus

 

Poetry

  • Hoberman, Mary Ann               

    • The Llama Who Had No Pajama

  • Hopkins, Lee Bennett              

    • Many titles

  • Korman and Korman                

    • The Last Place Sports Poems of Jeremy Bloom

  • Lewis, J. Patrick                      

    • Doodle Dandies

  • Prelutsky, Jack                         

    • The Random House Book of Poetry

    • Other titles

  • Silverstein, Shel            

    • Where the Sidewalk Ends

    • Other titles

 

Non-Fiction and Biography

  • Fritz, Jean

  • Spinelli, Jerry                           

    • Knots in My Yo-Yo String

  • Blumberg, Rhoda                      

    • Incredible Journey of Lewis and Clark

    • Great American Gold Rush

  • Brenner, Barbara                     

    • If You Lived in 1776

  • Conrad, Pam                            

    • Prairie Visions; other titles

  • Denenberg, Barry                     

    • Stealing Home: The Story of Jackie Robinson

  • Freedman, Russell                    

    • Lincoln

    • Children of the Wild West

    • The Wright Brothers

    • Many Titles

  • Fritz, Jean                                

    • Around the World in A Hundred Years

    • Many other titles

  • Jones, Charlotte                        

    • Accidents May Happen: Mistakes that Worked              

  • Miller, Brandon

    • Buffalo Gals

     

    Math, Puzzles, Games

     

  • Anderson, Karen                      

    • The Kids’ Big Book of Games

  • Burns, Marilyn                         

    • Math for Smarty Pants

    • The Big Book of Think

    • Math Wizardry

  • Fixx, James                              

    • Solve it!

  • Sachar, Louis                           

    • Sideways Math

  • Shannon, George                      

    • Stories to Solve

  • Steig, William                           

    • CDB!

  • Treat, Lawrence                      

    • You’re the Detective

    • Crime and Puzzlement