4th Grade Reading List: Books for Ages 9-10

Do you have enough bookshelves to hold all your children’s books? A dear friend of mine once stated that the number one issue in homeschooling life is the lack of bookcases in the house. I tend to agree. Those of us who have the privilege of educating our children at home understand that reading is one of the most important exercises to encourage brain development, expand vocabulary and deepen the understanding of the world. [To read more about the benefits of reading, please visit Why Read?]

If your student has reached the fourth grade, you may have already learned that fourth grade is considered a year of challenging reading. By this time your child has solidified the foundational reading skills and is ready to encounter more challenging writings both in fiction and non-fiction genre.

So what should your child read outside of the school hours in order to enhance their reading skills and knowledge database? Following please find a list of a few titles (with both Christian and non-Christian themes) that we have collected in the fourth grade and consider them worth reading and re-reading.

[Note: Some of the book descriptions below are copied directly from the publisher.]

Are you wondering how to encourage your not-so-keen-on-reading child to spend time in the world of books? We have you covered! Check out our
8 Ways to Encourage Your Children to Read.

Little Pilgrim’s Progress: From John Bunyan’s Classic by Helen L. Taylor

Several years ago, Helen L. Taylor took John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress and simplified the vocabulary and concepts for young readers, while keeping the storyline intact. It’s both a simple adventure story and a profound allegory of the Christian journey through life, a delightful read with a message kids can understand and remember.

Little House on the Prairie Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder

This series takes the reader through real life adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder from her childhood all the way to her adulthood. It describes a lifestyle in several states of the Union of late 1800s and early 1900s.

Little House in the Big Woods
Farmer Boy
Little House on the Prairie
On the Banks of Plum Creek
By the Shores of Silver Lake
The Long Winter
Little Town on the Prairie
These Happy Golden Years
The First Four Years

Scout by Julie Nye

When Jeff Wingate finds a injured dog washed up on the bank of an island one summer day, he knows that he is faced with a mystery. But he has also made a friend. As he and the huge dog Scout get to know each other, they become inseparable. Jeff knows that somebody must be missing this purebred, superbly trained dog, but hopes that while looking for his rightful owner, they will never find him. Scout is the first thing in his life to teach him that God answers prayer.

Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfeld

In this delightful history-mystery, seven boys in Ancient Rome solve strange crimes . . . thanks to some help from their cranky teacher, a little bit of logic, and a lot of amusing misadventure.

Mystery of the Roman Ransom by Henry Winterfeld

Seven schoolboys of ancient Rome give their schoolmaster a newly captured slave. Soon they find that the slave is carrying a secret message ordering the murder of a famous Roman senator. They set out to track down the assassins, going from one dangerous adventure to another.

Singing Wheels by Mabel O’Donnell

This book tells the story of Tom Hastings who spent a year with his grandparents. Now he is on his way by stagecoach to join his parents out West. Once with his family, Tom joins in the adventures of a pioneer family: hunting, butchering, school days, and such. Best of all the family can finally see their dreams of a real house come true!

Martha of California by James Otis

Martha and her family journey in a wagon train to the famed land of California, they endure many hardships and experience true adventure.

The Trumpet of the Swan by E. B. White

Louis is scared when his father tells him that he’s different from other swans. He doesn’t want to be different. Even though he can’t talk, Louis knows he could learn to read and write, if only he could get into school. Sam Beaver, a boy who understands all wild things, agrees to help. But Mrs. Hammerbotham isn’t sure she can handle a Trumpeter Swan in her classroom.

The Winner’s Walk by Nancy Ruth Patterson

Case Callahan isn’t a star swimmer like his sister, Quinn. He’s not a champion horse trainer like his father, or a popular stage actor like his mother. Still, Case is determined to make his mark. But one effort after another – talent show, science fair, junior horse show – is a terrible failure. It isn’t until Case comes upon a lost dog that he finds his path to success. The dog, whom Case names Noah, is certainly one of a kind – what other golden retriever can answer the telephone and put dishes in the dishwasher? Together Case and Noah seem destined to become a trophy-winning team. Noah, however, is so smart because he was trained to be a service dog, and when Case learns about his dog’s past, he realizes there is more than one way to be a winner.

Medals for Morse by Jean Lee Latham

“What hath God wrought?” was the first message ever sent over the telegraph. It was sent in Morse Code from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore on May 24, 1844. What a day of triumph for Samuel Finley Morse! After years of disappointment, after endless waiting, after giving up his career as an artist, he had proved at last that his invention would work.

Louis Braille: The boy who invented books for the blind by Margaret Davidson

At twelve years of age a young Louis Braille, having been blinded earlier in life, made up his mind to invent an easy way for all blind people to read and write. It took Louis three years to work out his alphabet of raised dots. With this alphabet, blind people could read as fast as other people. Today almost all books for the blind are printed in the alphabet called braille. Blind people read braille with their fingertips.

Marie Curie’s Search for Radium by Beverley Birch & Christian Birmingham

This is the true story of one woman / her curiosity, her intelligence, and the ways in which the world changed because of her discoveries. Her extraordinary persistence and determination proved the existence of radium, and opened the gateway to the nuclear age in which we live.

Pasteur’s Fight Against Microbes by Beverley Birch & Christian Birmingham

This is the true story of a man who helped save millions of lives. Because of his work, the diseases that had killed people for centuries were finally defeated. His imagination, patience, and clear thinking have transformed our world forever.

Meet Martin Luther King, Jr. by James T. de Kay

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta Georgia during the time in American history when the Southern states had what were known as Jim Crow Laws. Young Martin, being a black boy, was not allowed to live like young white boys because of these laws that separated whites from blacks. King could not understand why he should not be allowed to use the same drinking fountain as white boys. This and other injustices made Martin to want to change the laws. Through hard work and long hours of study King learned to be a persuasive speaker. With this ability he went on to become a leader of America’s civil rights movement. He inspired – and continues to inspire – millions of people to help change this country for the better by eliminating racial injustice.

Exploring with God – Rod & Staff Publishers Bible Nurture and Reader Series

This book contains fourth and fifth units of a 3^rd grade reader in the Bible Nurture and Reader Series by Rod & Staff publishers. If you do not use this series for your reading program, I highly recommend it as an additional independent reading. It includes the gospel of John, the book of Acts, Job, Psalms, and Proverbs.

Building Our Lives – Pathway Reading Series by Pathway Publishers

This book is the 4^th grade reader in the Pathway Reading Series by Pathway Publishers. It includes 493 pages of wholesome stories and poems that your children will enjoy reading. If you do not use this series for your reading program, I highly recommend it as an additional independent reading.

Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge

The story in this book takes place in Netherlands in the early 19^th century. Hans dreams of winning an ice skating race for the prize of beautiful silver skates. But there is a mystery to be solved and a youthful honor to be gained before happiness, the greatest prize of all, can be attained.

Rainbow Garden by Patrician St. John

When Elaine leaves her home in London to stay with the Owen family in Wales, she feels miserable and left out. It’s only the little secret garden that she finds at the end of the rainbow that makes staying there seem worthwhile. And then something happens that changes everything.

The Moffats Series by Eleanor Estes

Meet the Moffats. There is Sylvie, the oldest, the cleverest, and-most days at least-the responsible one; Joey, who though only twelve is the man of the house…sometimes; Janey, who has a terrific upside-down way of looking at the world; and Rufus, who may be the littlest but always gets in the biggest trouble. Even the most ordinary Moffat day is packed with extraordinary fun. Only a Moffat could get locked in a bread box all afternoon, or dance with a dog in front of the whole town, or hitch a ride on a boxcar during kindergarten recess. And only a Moffat could turn mistakes and mischief into hilarious one-of-a-kind adventure.

The Moffats
The Middle Moffat
Rufus M.
The Moffat Museum