book review project 4th grade

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FIND A BOOK TO READ

• What is the book about? You don't need to tell the whole story over — just give an idea of what it's about.
• Do you think other people would like it?
• Did you think it was funny or sad?
• Did you learn something from the book?
• Did you think it was interesting?
• Would you want to read it again?
• Would you want to read other books by the same author or about the same subject?
• What was your favorite part?
• Did you like the pictures?

BOOK REVIEW TEMPLATES:

Elementary Assessments

8 Fun Book Report Ideas For 4th Grade Students

If you’re seeking book report ideas for 4th grade students, then you’ve landed in the right place.

Fourth grade is a great time period because it’s a year when students start moving beyond literal text comprehension and start digging deeper into authors’ purposes.

Why not leverage this opportunity by assigning your fourth graders book reports and other literacy activities that encourage them to think critically and problem-solve? 

That’s what these book report ideas for fourth graders do.

These book report ideas are not only fun and creative, but they promote critical thinking, give students the opportunity to stretch their imaginations, deepen their understanding of different book genres, and allow students to show what they know in a non-traditional way.

You’ll tap into fourth graders’ various learning styles and address a range of learning abilities – from struggling learners to gifted students.

What’s more, these book report ideas for 4th grade can be differentiated to fit all types of learning levels in your fourth-grade classroom.

So as you’re planning your literacy lesson plans for the week, be sure to include some of these engaging and enjoyable 4th-grade book project ideas into the mix.

Book Report Ideas For 4th Grade

Following you will find some fun 4th-grade book report ideas that are sure to engage learners.

Whether you use them as student choice book report ideas or assign the entire class the same one, all can be modified as standards-based reading assessments.

Make a Pizza Box Book Report.

For this book report idea, students will collect a used (but relatively clean) empty pizza box and transform it into a book project.

Using a ruler, students will draw inside of the box a circle (as large as possible) divided into eight “slices” or pieces. 

On each wedge, they will write information about the story.

That information could be a summary, characters, problem, cool facts, solution, new vocabulary words, setting, context clues, etc.

This report idea is a very versatile, fun, and creative idea for 4th grade students. 

Plus, it’s easily able to be differentiated since you as the teacher can decide what type of information they should include on each wedge.

Design Literacy Bookmarks.

This is arguably one of the coolest book report ideas for 4th grade students because they get to use their creativity and art skills to create a literacy keepsake to be used over and over again.

To get started, provide students with bookmark book report templates . They will then design a series of bookmarks related to their book.

As an example, one bookmark could focus on one of the main characters and her traits.

Another could focus on new words learned. 

Other ideas include…

• Nonfiction text features
• Significant quotes
• Visual representation of the book

After students are done designing their bookmarks, have them cut them apart. 

You can then collect them and laminate them for durability. Contact paper also works well. 

There is so much that you could do with literacy bookmarks in regard to book report ideas for 4th grade, so give them a try.

Utilize Storyboarding.

For digital book report ideas, try this activity.

Encourage students to retell the story by presenting it visually. This is done with a process called storyboarding. 

Storyboarding transforms a book into a vivid representation that captures the attention of any reader, observer, or listener.

Storyboardthat.com is an online platform that makes this task easy and enjoyable for learners by providing student-friendly templates. 

No special skills or extra tools are needed to bring ideas to formation … just knowledge of the book and imagination.

Make a Test.

So many fourth graders dread taking tests.

But what if they were the ones in the driver’s seat of creating their own tests? 

How fun that would be!

That’s what this 4th grade book report idea aims to do. 

Students will choose to either report on a section/chapter of a book or the whole book.

They will then create a quiz (with a key) for that section of the book. 

The quiz/test may be multiple-choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, essay-style, or a combination.

Beforehand, let them know how many total items should appear on their tests, and provide any other guidelines you may have.

Afterward, consider having students exchange their assessments with a classmate to complete.

Create a Glossary.

Prompt students to review important vocabulary and nonfiction text features by having them make a glossary of terms from their chosen book.

After choosing 15-20 words, students will define each. You may even want to have them sketch an image to accompany each entry.

Bring In Artifacts.

If you seek grade-nothing book report ideas for 4th grade, this one is a good fit.

For this activity, fourth graders need to bring from home 3 to 5 small artifacts (that could fit inside of a small zipper storage bag or small brown paper bag). 

These artifacts must have some type of deep connection with the chosen book.

Drawings may serve as substitutes for artifacts if needed. 

The power of this activity comes when students present their artifacts in front of the class, explaining to classmates how each item is connected to their book in some way.

Draw a Help Wanted Poster.

If you’re looking for extra fun book report ideas for fourth-grade students, you’ll love this one. 

Students select one of their favorite book characters and then create a help wanted poster for that character. 

This poster will include various information about the character. 

See examples of help wanted posters . 

Grade Characters Based On Their Virtues.

For book report ideas for 4th graders that motivate students to think critically about the characters, their personalities, and their virtues, this one is one of the best.

This activity supports students in looking below the surface of meaning.

To get started, make sure that students choose a book with at least two characters.

They will then assess each of the characters based on virtues such as kindness, honesty, humility, courage, etc.

Have them use the ratings of A, B, C, D, and F. You may have to explain this grading system if your school doesn’t use one like it. 

Students will have to explain why they chose a particular rating by presenting evidence from the book.

Provide them with a graphic organizer template, or have them complete this activity in their reading journals. 

For struggling learners, consider having students rate themselves first using the same list of virtues.

Doing so will help them to understand the project better plus provide practice in using evidence (from a book or from real life) to support the assessment of one’s character.

Final Thoughts On Book Report Ideas For 4th Grade 

Fourth graders are at their stage in their school life when they have the capacity to think more critically, hold deep discussions, and fully analyze an author’s purpose. 

Take advantage of this while nurturing their thirst for knowledge by incorporating into your literacy lesson plans fun and creative book report ideas for 4th grade students.

Encourage them to think beyond the surface of a book. These reading project ideas and activities will definitely help them to do so.

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12 Creative Book Report Projects Your Students Will Love

Whether you’re teaching a whole-class novel, or finishing a round of independent reading or literature circles, post-reading assessments are always more engaging when they’re more than just a test or essay.

Below, you’ll discover a dozen fun book report ideas for your middle or high school ELA students, curated by a team of experienced English teachers.

Choose your favorite projects to offer to students as options on a book report project choice board.

Create a Board Game

When I gave “create a board game about the book you read” as a book report option for my students, I was pleasantly surprised at the results! Quite a few students excitedly chose this option and created some really fun-looking games centered on their books. 

This is a great project choice if you’re looking for something that students can’t create by just Googling the book.

Here are some tips and suggestions for assigning a board game book report:

• Give clear parameters and requirements to keep students on track, such as requiring game elements to represent certain literary elements of the book they read.
• Provide suggestions for game components and materials – encourage students to consider the game play and elements of their favorite board games and to use materials they already have at home to create them.
• For a whole-class novel study, consider allowing students to work in teams to create the novel-based board games, then setting aside a class period for students to play each others’ games and see who wins!

If you’re looking to save time… clear directions handouts, lots of suggestions, and a handy grading rubric for a board game post-reading assessment are all included in this resource . Take a look! 

For more independent reading response ideas, check out this post with ideas for fun post-reading projects.

Create a Journey Box

Engaging students in authentic conversations about books is a passion for Carolyn of Middle School Café .  In traditional oral book reports, students simply get up in front of the class and read a summary of the book they read.  Carolyn found this method of oral book reports painful for both her and her students.

Wanting to find a way to help her students talk about their book and keep her class engaged, Carolyn began incorporating Journey Box Book Reports.  A journey box is a shoebox (or bag) that contains artifacts from the story that help the reader share important events from the story. 

Students predetermine what events of the story are most important to share, then they create an artifact to share with the class or small group as they explain the plot.  As an example, Carolyn had a student who read The Diary of Anne Frank.   He created a small 3D tree that he displayed on the desk as he shared about how Anne looked out the window and dreamed of her former life.  It’s a small piece of the story that helps the student explain the plot point and gives the audience something visual to look at and stay engaged. 

Journey Box Book Reports have been successful for Carolyn in both her middle school and high school classrooms.  She does suggest, if using Journey Boxes in older grades, to have students share their stories in small groups.  

Create a Literary Food Truck

If there’s one thing kids love, it’s food – especially high schoolers – and with this in mind, one of Simply Ana P’s favorite ways to recap a class novel or an independent reading unit is with Literary Food Trucks. This is definitely not a new idea, but it’s one that will have you coming back for seconds 🙂 

Ana first tried this project at the end of The Odyssey , where students were able to decide which book(s) they wanted to make the focus of their trucks. The main requirement was that every single choice made had to be intentional and clearly relevant. With this in mind, students could start the planning process. 

You can make the truck’s requirements as simple or as detailed as you prefer, but Ana recommends having students plan: 

• Truck name, design, and branding colors
• Menu design and items (5 items minimum)
• Employee uniforms
• Merch 

Ana includes a writing component by having her students defend all of their selections in the form of a proposal. This is later used in their presentations, and the better (more intentional) their proposal is, the more likely they will win the class vote. This proposal can be anywhere from a few paragraphs to a few pages, depending on what writing goals you have for them, and should definitely include text evidence. 

Part of the beauty of this type of project is that it can be done digital or paper-based. Ana likes to walk her students through a Canva tutorial, where there are even menu templates that students can use so they don’t feel overwhelmed starting from scratch. Or, for more creative students, they can create their trucks on chart paper, poster board, or even 3D dioramas.  After students finish making their food trucks, it’s always fun to take a day for the in-class Food Festival, where students are invited to bring in items from their menus or simply some type of snacks. Some students get super hype about this day and even make/wear aprons or themed employee uniforms. Students are able to walk around, visiting each of their trucks, and casting their votes for Best Food, Most Relevant, and Most Detailed. Have fun and bon appetit !

Create a Mood Board

It can be hard to come up with creative post-reading assessments for your students when they’re done with a full class novel, literature circles, or a choice reading unit. In an attempt to combine 21 st century skills with literary analysis, Samantha from Samantha in Secondary decided to try something a little different. Enter: The Mood Board.

A mood board combines images to elicit a feeling from a viewer much like a writer does with words. The possibilities for using a mood board with your class are endless. Students can create a mood board for an overall book, a character, an event, a theme, a poem, etc. Then, have your students carefully curate a board that is aesthetically pleasing and considers color, space, and design in the execution. As students explain why they’ve made the choices they have, the upper-level thinking comes naturally.

Canva is an excellent tool to use to create your mood boards. Having students interact with software they may be unfamiliar with is a meaningful learning experience in and of itself. If you want to learn more about how to use mood boards in your own classroom, click here to read Samantha’s blog post about it or check out the resource she created that includes done-for-you student instructions, examples, and a rubric here .

Create a New App

How would a character’s life change if there was just the perfect app to solve their conflict??

This is the question Krista from @whimsyandrigor poses to her students as they finish a novel and begin to reflect on the character’s journey. Students begin by discussing all of the details surrounding the protagonist and what they experienced. In small groups and in whole-class discussions, students discuss the conflicts, both internal and external, and then brainstorm all of the realistic and not-so-realistic ways the character could have addressed their problems.

Once students have generated a healthy list of ideas, Krista tells them they get to become an app developer and they must create an app that would greatly benefit a character from their reading.

The requirements are:

• The app cannot already exist.
• The app can be totally unrealistic/not probable.
• The app developer must be able to explain how its features would benefit the character.
• The developer must also create an icon for the App Store.

Here is a print-and-go handout students use to get designing. 

Here are some example apps students could create: to help Will from Jason Reynolds’s Long Way Down , maybe an app that predicts his future would help him decide what to do once he steps off the elevator. Or maybe Romeo from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet would have benefited from a life-detection app that would accurately determine whether or not someone was actually dead.

When students sette on the conflict they want to address and the app that would help, they write a Spill the TEA paragraph, as explained by Krista in this YouTube video .  Using this paragraph organization strategy, students will introduce their app, use evidence to explain how it is necessary for the character, and explain how the app would have benefited or changed the protagonist’s journey.

Now they get to be a graphic designer as they design the app’s icon. Students may want to peruse the actual App Store to get ideas about how an icon is designed, what elements must be present, and how to create something that is eye-catching.

If space allows, Krista encourages you to display the icons and Spill the TEA paragraphs in the hallway for other students to see the in-depth critical thinking and character analysis your students did after finishing a novel. 

Who says technology is only a distraction for our students?! This activity proves technology can help students dive deep into a text and its characters!

Write a Vignette

Lesa from SmithTeaches9to12 often focuses on character-based activities for novel studies including a character profile activity , character conversations through text messages , or the writing of a good vignette. 

Vignettes can be a great way to assess students’ literary analysis skills and understanding of the text. Students write a short piece of about 500 words that is descriptive of a particular moment in time focusing on one of the book’s characters. These moments could be placing the character in a new setting, writing about a particular moment in the story that was less developed, or even extending to a moment beyond the book’s conclusion. Lesa provides students with some mentor texts, including “My Name” by Sandra Cisneros in The House on Mango Street or “The Prisoner Van” by Charles Dickens in Sketches by Boz or even one from a novel being read in class. Review the stories for structure, language choice, sentence structure, use of figurative language, and so on. This helps to co-create the criteria for the assignment. Then students write their own vignette. Build in some peer review as an accountability piece and voila!

Create a Character Collage

It’s safe to say that most English teachers have a bin of cut-up magazines somewhere in their classrooms. While these tattered copies of People and Us Weekly have definitely seen better days, they live on in the many collage creations of our students.

Katie from Mochas and Markbooks loves to use collages as visual representations of comprehension. After reading a novel or short story, creating a character collage to show how a character has evolved from beginning to end requires students to use higher order thinking skills to analyze, synthesize and demonstrate their understanding of characterization by dividing their page in half and choosing words and images to represent the character at the start and conclusion of the story on each side.

The results will show the depth of your students’ interpretation of character as well as their ability to use critical and creative thinking skills to represent their knowledge.

Other ways to use this idea instead of showing character evolution are to show two different sides to a character, for example, who they are with different people in their lives. 

If you are looking for other ways to incorporate collage and magazines into your post-reading assessments, check out this blog post for more ideas!

Design Shoe Charms

Crocs are not Olivia ’s shoe of choice, but when she noticed her students bedazzling their plastic footwear with shoe charms, it was a learning opportunity she just couldn’t pass up. Here’s how to make it work in your classroom:

First, have your students choose a character from the book they have finished reading. Then encourage them to find quotes from the book that reveal the character’s interests, values, or personality. Once they have found their quotes (she has her students find 4), tell them to design and color shoe charms that represent those interests, values, or personality traits. This helps students with inferencing, textual evidence, and even symbolism!

When your students have finished making their shoe charms, they can either tape the charms to their shoes for a fabulous, foot-themed fashion show, or they can glue them to a picture of a Croc for quirky classroom décor. Check out this Instagram post to see the charms Olivia’s students came up with!

Create a Movie Poster

When was the last time you went to the movies? Did you notice the posters along the way? If yes then you have walked down the movie studio promotional lane. Like trailers, studios create movie posters to grab the attention of movie-goers before they even enter the theater. Yes, you may have already purchased your movie ticket, but those posters were created for the future. After you finish watching Sonic 2 , what movie will you see next? You probably already pointed to that poster on the way into the theater and said, “That looks like it is going to be good. I want to see that!”   As a post reading idea, Sharena from The Humble Bird Teacher has her students create movie posters based on the text read in class. This allows her to complete a formative assessment on what the students learned from the text. Before having her class create a movie poster, she shows them examples of posters from different genres such as drama, action, family-friendly, and comedy. Then she hands out a piece of construction paper and goes over the basic requirements. On the movie poster, the students are required to have their actors names or image (characters), the title of the movie, a visual (setting or symbol from the story), and a tagline, and a short two to three sentence summary of the movie. Once her students are finished with the assignment, she displays them outside the classroom, so the students can have their own movie studio promotional lane.  If you are looking for more after reading ideas, click here .

Try Novel Engineering

Whether you’ve been hoping to collaborate with another department, or just really want to try something new, Novel Engineering is an amazing way to get students thinking outside of the box ! Staci from Donut Lovin’ Teacher has found that Novel Engineering requires students to actively comprehend and interact with a novel and get creative about how to help improve the lives of characters! Basically, students work to create a product that will help solve a character’s problem. Here’s how it works…

Before reading : Choose a narrative text where the character faces tangible conflicts. Model and practice the design process in small ways. Try using picture books like Mucha! Muncha! Mucha! in order for students to see and practice what they’ll be doing with a text at grade-level.

While reading : Emphasize the conflicts characters face and give students time to brainstorm possible products that would help solve said problem. Make sure students record evidence from the text so they can later justify the need for the product they design.

After reading : Give students time to draft, craft, and improve their designs that will help solve a problem faced by a character. You can give students options where they draw their creation, make their creation, or even plan a digital app like this, depending on time and resources. Whatever you choose, students will be sure to be pushed to use some skills they may not always practice in an ELA classroom!

Staci has some FREE Novel Engineering Digital Planning Pages or you can read more about her experience with novel engineering on the Donut Lovin’ Teacher blog .

Create a Tik Tok Video

How many times have you passed a group of students filming a TikTok in a hallway? Have you had students ask to film in your class once they finish assignments? You are not alone. Students love TikTok and Yaddy from Yaddy’s Room has figured out how to get students using TikTok for academic purposes!

Yaddy likes to challenge students to create TikTok videos that track a character’s development, encapsulates the main theme of the story, or that exemplifies a key conflict. These easy, low stress videos are great at getting even reluctant students to participate.

To incorporate TikTok videos as a means of assessing students after a novel or story, try the following steps:

1)      Get students to brainstorm which part of the novel they would like to use for their video.

2)      Ask students to start combing TikTok for an audio that fits with the portion of the text they chose

3)      Ask them to plan out how they will realize their vision

4)      Rehearse and film!

5)      Bonus: ask students to upload their videos to Google Drive and share the link with you so that you can make QR codes to post around your classroom!

Want to get started using TikTok videos for book reports? Check on Yaddy’s free planning sheet here !

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10 Book Report Ideas That Kids Will Love

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Fun book report ideas for fourth, fifth and sixth graders.

Book reports don’t need to be painfully boring. In fact, they can be a ton of fun, and with the right project, students will love the entire process of creating and sharing meaningful book projects. There are loads of great book report ideas out there just waiting to happen in your classroom!

Here are 10 book report ideas that kids will love:

1. cereal box book report.

These oh-so-cool reports were always the top-ranked project by my fifth graders. Students loved creating an original book report display using a covered cereal box and ready-made templates. The finished projects made a great classroom display, and students loved looking at their classmates’ creative reports. Read more about Cereal Box Book Reports HERE .

2. Paper Bag Book Report

This is a super simple idea that is quite fun for students. Provide each student with a lunch-sized paper bag. Tell them to think about 5 objects that relate to the main character of their book . The objects have to be small enough to fit into the bag . Send the bags home and have students place the 5 objects in the bag and bring them back to school. On the day they are due, have students take turns sharing the objects in their bags and explaining how they relate to the main character of the book. You can even make a great display with the bags, objects, and books to pique the interest of other students.

3. Character Day

Have students dress up as the main character of their book. Then, have each student take a turn standing in front of the class and telling their character’s story in first person point of view.

4. Book Report Lap Book

you need are two file folders, some cardstock or construction paper, scissors, glue, and the FREE book report template found here . The finished products are quite amazing, and your students will probably keep theirs forever! Check out my photo tutorial for making a lap book .

5. Book Scene Diorama

Have students construct a diorama of one of the main events of their book. They will make a 3-dimensional scene, including models of characters, the setting, and objects. A shoebox makes a great place to build a diorama. Require students to write a description of the scene.

6. Book Report Posters

This might be the easiest option of the book report ideas. Have students first sketch their posters on a sheet of notebook paper. Then, provide students with a large piece of poster paper or chart paper. Posters must identify main characters, setting, title, problem, and solution. Display finished posters in the classroom or on hallway walls.

7. Book Report Mobiles

Mobiles are easy to make, and it’s fun to watch students use their creativity in designing their own projects. A paper plate folded in half makes a great base/topper for mobiles. Have students write the title of the book on this paper plate semi circle and hang the mobile pieces from it. Provide students with construction paper, yarn, markers, paper hole punches, and any other materials they might need.

8. Book Report Mini Books

With just one piece of paper, your students can make a complete, creative book report!

In these clever book projects , students identify:

• Title/Author
• Main Character

No tape, glue, or staples required! Photo directions are included in this download.

9. Design a Book Jacket

Show your students several examples of some outstanding book jackets. Point out the front with the title and illustration, the spine and its information, and the back with the book summary. Also show the two inside flaps with information about the author and a smaller summary. Provide them each with a larger piece of paper and have them design a jacket for the book they have just read.

10. Ready-to-Print Templates

Use NO PREP book report templates to save your sanity AND to keep things fun for your students. You could print out all 12 templates in this Book Report Templates Packet and let students choose the one they want to do each month! There is even a really nice digital option for Google classroom included!

Regardless of which of these book report ideas you choose, be sure to clearly outline the expectations before your students begin. It’s best if you can model a project to demonstrate the quality of work your students should strive for.

Keep it fun and engaging, and your students will be excited to invest their time in their projects!

Check out these ready to go, easy to use book report projects in my store:

SAVE THIS POST FOR LATER!

Pin this to your favorite classroom Pinterest board  so you can come back for these book report ideas!

To recap, the 10 Book Report Project Ideas are:

• Cereal Box Book Report
• Paper Bag Book Report
• Character Day
• Book Report Lapbook
• Book Scene Diorama
• Book Report Posters
• Book Report Mobiles
• Design a Book Jacket
• Ready-to-Print Templates

Shelly Rees

Hi, I’m Shelly! Thank you for being here. I love helping third, fourth, and fifth grade teachers with fun and engaging activities that require no to little prep! Let me help you by taking some of the stress and work off your plate.

Hi, I'm Shelly

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Ultimate 4th Grade Reading List and Project Ideas

by Studentreasures | Oct. 18, 2019 | Resource Center

Part of developing good reading habits is showing your students books that they will enjoy. Some students might be under the impression that reading is boring, but the right book can turn that thinking around.

The list below includes books that work for different reading levels and interests. They are perfect for your 4th graders who are starting to understand more complex themes and are ready to move into a world of novels and chapter books.

Almost all of the books on this list include a project that can be done as a class. If your students are choosing something to read independently for class, we also have two general project ideas that will work for any book at the bottom of this post.

Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Based on a true story, Island of the Blue Dolphins follows 12-year-old Karana as she tries to survive on an island all by herself. This book is great for adventure-loving students who want a more challenging read. Although the book can be sad during some parts, Karana’s perseverance is inspiring and the loneliness she experiences on the island makes her stronger over time.

PROJECT IDEA

After finishing the book, have your students imagine how they would handle themselves if they were put in Karana’s position. Have them create a list of situations from the book and write down how they would respond in order to survive. Would they have done anything differently? Publish their work into a classbook about survival. Have them write a classbook page about how they would handle being on an island all alone and add an illustration of themselves on their island.

Pilfer Academy: A School So Bad It’s Criminal by Lauren Magaziner

This hilarious book follows George, a mischievous character who has an affinity for taking his sister’s diary and his brother’s comic books, as he attends Pilfer Academy - a secret school for thieves.

It might not sound like it sends the right message to your 4th graders, but stick with me.

As George gets to know his off-beat teachers, interacts with classmates who have morals that are questionable at best, meets a new friend Tabitha, and learns about safe-cracking, stealth and special criminal gadgets, he comes to realize that he might be too kind to be a thief.

In the story, George finds out that he needs to pull off one of the biggest heists in Pilfer Academy history and if he doesn’t? He will be punished by Dean Deanbuggle. This test allows George to find out if he really is too good-hearted to be a thief.

This book works well with almost all reading levels in your class. It is kooky, funny and will make your students think about their own morals.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser

The Vanderbeeker family and their five children have lived off of 141st Street in Harlem for the last six years. Their home is filled with fun and creativity until they find out that their mysterious landlord, Mr. Beiderman, will not renew their lease and they will need to move by the end of the month.

The five Vanderbeeker children start plotting on how they will get Mr. Beiderman to let their family stay. The children use their unique personalities and talents to try and charm Mr. Beiderman into letting them stay, but they can’t seem to get through to him.

The children are under the impression that Mr. Beiderman is just a mean old man until they begin to learn more about his past and understand why he is the way that he is.

This book teaches the importance of community, teamwork and having sympathy for others. These are all lessons that anyone, 4th grader or otherwise, can benefit from.

Divide your class into groups of 4-5 and coordinate a role-playing activity where you are Mr. Beiderman and your students are the Vanderbeeker children. Have your students write down a special talent or skill that sets them apart from the group. Have them work together to try and convince you to let them stay at 141st Street by showing off their talents. For example, if one student is great at poetry and another is funny, have your class clown recite the funny poem. Have them write about their experience and draw a picture of their team as the Vanderbeekers. Then, publish their work into a classbook and celebrate with a publishing party!

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver is a classic and has been a staple in classrooms for years. It isn’t the easiest read, but you can read the book aloud in class and use reading comprehension activities to help your students better understand the message and story.

The Giver takes place in a utopian society where there is no crime or sadness and children are assigned their jobs at the age of 12. The main character, Jonas is assigned the job of “Memory Keeper.” The Memory Keeper must hold onto all of the good and bad memories that have been removed from society to protect citizens from painful or negative thoughts.

Throughout the book, Jonas struggles with big issues such as trust, morality, and independence - things your 4th graders are likely starting to think about.

The Giver has a simple yet engaging story that will hold attention and get students thinking about society as a whole.

Create your own society that is similar to the one in The Giver in the classroom. Assign jobs to each student. They cannot choose their job. Have them reflect on how they feel about their job assignment and write a journal entry depicting these feelings. Would they have preferred another job? Do they think that assigning jobs at 12 (or even 9-10) is a good or bad idea?

Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

Wayside School isn’t a normal school. This school has 30 classrooms built on top of each other so the school was 30 stories tall and leans a bit sideways. The book focuses on a class on the 13th floor.

Mrs. Gorf likes to turn kids into apples, the apples rebel against her and she is replaced.

Mrs. Gorf’s replacement is Mrs. Jewls, who is much nicer than Mrs. Gorf, even if she doesn’t always know what’s best for her students. Sideways Stories from Wayside School has a great sense of humor and shows important truths in a fun way. A few of the stories are meant to put a smile on your face, but most manage to say something interesting about how brains work.

Have students write their own funny stories based on classroom experiences. Have them partner up and brainstorm funny details that they can include and then combine their stories into a classbook. Make sure you have them add a hilarious illustration showing what happened in their writing and publish your own classroom version of Sideways Stories from Wayside School.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle

Meg Murry, a high-school-aged girl who is transported on an adventure through time and space with her younger brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin O’Keefe to rescue her father, a gifted scientist, from the evil forces that hold him prisoner on another planet. This book combines fantasy, sci-fi and real-world concerns to create an epic story.

Before Meg starts her time-traveling adventure, she is depicted as an awkward, loving girl with personal insecurities. As she progresses on her adventure, Meg is faced with overcoming her need to conform and starts to appreciate who she is as an individual.

The messages of individuality, nonconformity, friendship and courage are all things your 4th graders will take away from this exciting page-turner.

Have your students reflect on Meg’s experience and think about what makes them a special individual. For example, do they go out of their way to help others? Do they like to tell funny stories to their friends and family? Maybe they enjoy caring for animals. Have them jot down a few of these traits that make them unique and a few reasons why they like those things about themselves. They can then use these notes to write about what makes them different and special. Have them add an illustration depicting these traits and publish their work into an inspiring classbook that celebrates individuality!

General Reading Project Ideas

#1: you are a famous book critic. summarize and write a review of your book..

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This reading project is a step up from writing the traditional book report. Your students will need to summarize the book, speak to the main themes, and give a review of what they read. Provide examples of book reviews that they can reference and encourage them to be as unbiased as possible. If they didn’t like their book, they will need to give specific reasons to support that opinion. Have them reimagine the cover of their book and draw a picture to accompany their review. You can then gather their work and publish it into a classbook that they can look at when they need something new to read!

#2: Write a poem about the book you read.

You can assign the type of poem your students write or have them choose. They can use the letters in the title of the book or the name of a character to create an acrostic poem, write a haiku that summarizes the book, or write a rhyming poem about a character or the plot in their book. Have them bring their poems to life by adding an illustration and publish their poetry in an awesome classbook that they can keep forever!

Additional Resources

For more creative ideas and resources to improve your students’ reading comprehension and writing, visit our teacher’s lounge and don’t forget to head over to sign up and receive a free classbook publishing kit !

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How to Write a Book Review: The Ultimate Guide

WHAT IS A BOOK REVIEW?

Traditionally, book reviews are evaluations of a recently published book in any genre. Usually, around the 500 to 700-word mark, they briefly describe a text’s main elements while appraising the work’s strengths and weaknesses. Published book reviews can appear in newspapers, magazines, and academic journals. They provide the reader with an overview of the book itself and indicate whether or not the reviewer would recommend the book to the reader.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF A BOOK REVIEW?

There was a time when book reviews were a regular appearance in every quality newspaper and many periodicals. They were essential elements in whether or not a book would sell well. A review from a heavyweight critic could often be the deciding factor in whether a book became a bestseller or a damp squib. In the last few decades, however, the book review’s influence has waned considerably, with many potential book buyers preferring to consult customer reviews on Amazon, or sites like Goodreads, before buying. As a result, book review’s appearance in newspapers, journals, and digital media has become less frequent.

WHY BOTHER TEACHING STUDENTS TO WRITE BOOK REVIEWS AT ALL?

Even in the heyday of the book review’s influence, few students who learned the craft of writing a book review became literary critics! The real value of crafting a well-written book review for a student does not lie in their ability to impact book sales. Understanding how to produce a well-written book review helps students to:

●     Engage critically with a text

●     Critically evaluate a text

●     Respond personally to a range of different writing genres

●     Improve their own reading, writing, and thinking skills.

Not to Be Confused with a Book Report!

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A BOOK REVIEW AND A BOOK REPORT?

While the terms are often used interchangeably, there are clear differences in both the purpose and the format of the two genres. Generally speaking, book reports aim to give a more detailed outline of what occurs in a book. A book report on a work of fiction will tend to give a comprehensive account of the characters, major plot lines, and themes in the book. Book reports are usually written around the K-12 age range, while book reviews tend not to be undertaken by those at the younger end of this age range due to the need for the higher-level critical skills required in writing them. At their highest expression, book reviews are written at the college level and by professional critics.

Learn how to write a book review step by step with our complete guide for students and teachers by familiarizing yourself with the structure and features.

BOOK REVIEW STRUCTURE

ANALYZE Evaluate the book with a critical mind.

THOROUGHNESS The whole is greater than the sum of all its parts. Review the book as a WHOLE.

COMPARE Where appropriate compare to similar texts and genres.

THUMBS UP OR DOWN? You are going to have to inevitably recommend or reject this book to potential readers.

BE CONSISTENT Take a stance and stick with it throughout your review.

FEATURES OF A BOOK REVIEW

PAST TENSE You are writing about a book you have already read.

EMOTIVE LANGUAGE Whatever your stance or opinion be passionate about it. Your audience will thank you for it.

VOICE Both active and passive voice are used in recounts.

A COMPLETE UNIT ON REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF TEXTS

⭐ Make  MOVIES A MEANINGFUL PART OF YOUR CURRICULUM  with this engaging collection of tasks and tools your students will love. ⭐ All the hard work is done for you with  NO PREPARATION REQUIRED.

This collection of  21 INDEPENDENT TASKS  and  GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS  takes students beyond the hype, special effects and trailers to look at visual literacy from several perspectives offering DEEP LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES by watching a  SERIES, DOCUMENTARY, FILM, and even  VIDEO GAMES.

ELEMENTS OF A BOOK REVIEW

As with any of the writing genres we teach our students, a book review can be helpfully explained in terms of criteria. While there is much to the ‘art’ of writing, there is also, thankfully, a lot of the nuts and bolts that can be listed too. Have students consider the following elements before writing:

●     Title: Often, the title of the book review will correspond to the title of the text itself, but there may also be some examination of the title’s relevance. How does it fit into the purpose of the work as a whole? Does it convey a message or reveal larger themes explored within the work?

●     Author: Within the book review, there may be some discussion of who the author is and what they have written before, especially if it relates to the current work being reviewed. There may be some mention of the author’s style and what they are best known for. If the author has received any awards or prizes, this may also be mentioned within the body of the review.

●     Genre: A book review will identify the genre that the book belongs to, whether fiction or nonfiction, poetry, romance, science-fiction, history etc. The genre will likely tie in, too with who the intended audience for the book is and what the overall purpose of the work is.

●     Book Jacket / Cover: Often, a book’s cover will contain artwork that is worthy of comment. It may contain interesting details related to the text that contribute to, or detract from, the work as a whole.

●     Structure: The book’s structure will often be heavily informed by its genre. Have students examine how the book is organized before writing their review. Does it contain a preface from a guest editor, for example? Is it written in sections or chapters? Does it have a table of contents, index, glossary etc.? While all these details may not make it into the review itself, looking at how the book is structured may reveal some interesting aspects.

●     Publisher and Price: A book review will usually contain details of who publishes the book and its cost. A review will often provide details of where the book is available too.

BOOK REVIEW KEY ELEMENTS

As students read and engage with the work they will review, they will develop a sense of the shape their review will take. This will begin with the summary. Encourage students to take notes during the reading of the work that will help them in writing the summary that will form an essential part of their review. Aspects of the book they may wish to take notes on in a work of fiction may include:

●     Characters: Who are the main characters? What are their motivations? Are they convincingly drawn? Or are they empathetic characters?

●     Themes: What are the main themes of the work? Are there recurring motifs in the work? Is the exploration of the themes deep or surface only?

●     Style: What are the key aspects of the writer’s style? How does it fit into the wider literary world?

●     Plot: What is the story’s main catalyst? What happens in the rising action? What are the story’s subplots? 

A book review will generally begin with a short summary of the work itself. However, it is important not to give too much away, remind students – no spoilers, please! For nonfiction works, this may be a summary of the main arguments of the work, again, without giving too much detail away. In a work of fiction, a book review will often summarise up to the rising action of the piece without going beyond to reveal too much!

The summary should also provide some orientation for the reader. Given the nature of the purpose of a review, it is important that students’ consider their intended audience in the writing of their review. Readers will most likely not have read the book in question and will require some orientation. This is often achieved through introductions to the main characters, themes, primary arguments etc. This will help the reader to gauge whether or not the book is of interest to them.

Once your student has summarized the work, it is time to ‘review’ in earnest. At this point, the student should begin to detail their own opinion of the book. To do this well they should:

i. Make It Personal

Often when teaching essay writing we will talk to our students about the importance of climbing up and down the ladder of abstraction. Just as it is helpful to explore large, more abstract concepts in an essay by bringing it down to Earth, in a book review, it is important that students can relate the characters, themes, ideas etc to their own lives.

Book reviews are meant to be subjective. They are opinion pieces, and opinions grow out of our experiences of life. Encourage students to link the work they are writing about to their own personal life within the body of the review. By making this personal connection to the work, students contextualize their opinions for the readers and help them to understand whether the book will be of interest to them or not in the process.

ii. Make It Universal

Just as it is important to climb down the ladder of abstraction to show how the work relates to individual life, it is important to climb upwards on the ladder too. Students should endeavor to show how the ideas explored in the book relate to the wider world. The may be in the form of the universality of the underlying themes in a work of fiction or, for example, the international implications for arguments expressed in a work of nonfiction.

iii. Support Opinions with Evidence

A book review is a subjective piece of writing by its very nature. However, just because it is subjective does not mean that opinions do not need to be justified. Make sure students understand how to back up their opinions with various forms of evidence, for example, quotations, statistics, and the use of primary and secondary sources.

EDIT AND REVISE YOUR BOOK REVIEW

As with any writing genre, encourage students to polish things up with review and revision at the end. Encourage them to proofread and check for accurate spelling throughout, with particular attention to the author’s name, character names, publisher etc. 

It is good practice too for students to double-check their use of evidence. Are statements supported? Are the statistics used correctly? Are the quotations from the text accurate? Mistakes such as these uncorrected can do great damage to the value of a book review as they can undermine the reader’s confidence in the writer’s judgement.

The discipline of writing book reviews offers students opportunities to develop their writing skills and exercise their critical faculties. Book reviews can be valuable standalone activities or serve as a part of a series of activities engaging with a central text. They can also serve as an effective springboard into later discussion work based on the ideas and issues explored in a particular book. Though the book review does not hold the sway it once did in the mind’s of the reading public, it still serves as an effective teaching tool in our classrooms today.

Teaching Resources

Use our resources and tools to improve your student’s writing skills through proven teaching strategies.

BOOK REVIEW GRAPHIC ORGANIZER (TEMPLATE)

101 DIGITAL & PRINT GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS FOR ALL CURRICULUM AREAS

Introduce your students to 21st-century learning with this GROWING BUNDLE OF 101 EDITABLE & PRINTABLE GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS. ✌ NO PREP REQUIRED!!! ✌ Go paperless, and let your students express their knowledge and creativity through the power of technology and collaboration inside and outside the classroom with ease.

Whilst you don’t have to have a 1:1 or BYOD classroom to benefit from this bundle, it has been purpose-built to deliver through platforms such as ✔ GOOGLE CLASSROOM, ✔ OFFICE 365, ✔ or any CLOUD-BASED LEARNING PLATFORM.

Book and Movie review writing examples (Student Writing Samples)

Below are a collection of student writing samples of book reviews.  Click on the image to enlarge and explore them in greater detail.  Please take a moment to both read the movie or book review in detail but also the teacher and student guides which highlight some of the key elements of writing a text review

Please understand these student writing samples are not intended to be perfect examples for each age or grade level but a piece of writing for students and teachers to explore together to critically analyze to improve student writing skills and deepen their understanding of book review writing.

We would recommend reading the example either a year above and below, as well as the grade you are currently working with to gain a broader appreciation of this text type .

BOOK REVIEW VIDEO TUTORIALS

OTHER GREAT ARTICLES RELATED TO BOOK REVIEWS

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How to Write a Compare and Contrast Essay

How to Write Excellent Expository Essays

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ELA / Reading

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Holidays & Seasonal

Home » Blog Posts » Book Ideas » The 10 Best Novel Studies for 4th & 5th Graders

The 10 Best Novel Studies for 4th & 5th Graders

Reading novels is a wonderful way to build a love for reading! Here you will find the 10 best novel studies for 4th and 5th graders. These 4th and 5th-grade chapter books keep students engaged because they are interesting and fun to read.

You will also find a FREE printable list of each chapter book with their reading level, Lexile level, and other good-to-know information at the end of the post.

*This post contains affiliate links to Amazon for your convenience. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, which do not cost any extra for you. Please see the  full disclosure here. *

This post is one part of a series on helpful content geared toward literacy instruction in upper elementary classrooms. Here are the other posts to checkout once you’ve read all of this post:

• Why You Need to Have Literacy Centers in Your Upper Elementary Classroom
• 4th Grade Literacy Centers
• Teaching Strategies for Reading Comprehension in Upper Elementary Classrooms
• Ideas to Help Older Students Who Struggle with Spelling*
• Read Alouds for Upper Elementary Students*
• How to Use Choice Boards to Run Literacy Centers*
• 8 Clever Ways to Get Students Writing More*

Posts with * beside their titles have free downloads available!

Why I Recommend Novel Studies for 4th & 5th Graders

I looked across my classroom and couldn’t believe my eyes.

Other than the sound of one selected student reading out loud, you could’ve heard a pin drop.

Every single one of my 4th-graders were glued to their books. Some of them were crying. A few of them had red faces or dropped jaws.

We were engaged in our novel study–a chapter book by Christopher Paul Curtis–titled Bud, Not Buddy. We were only a few chapters in as students listened to the part where Buddy, an orphaned 10-year-old black boy, was being abused by his foster parents.

I use a special bell in my class to get my students’ attention and signal that reading time is over. My hand reluctantly rang the bell and all across the room I heard:

“Noooooo, please let’s have more time!”

“Ms. Marshall, is this book based on a true story? Is there a movie to go with it?”

“Can I take this copy home to read for my reading homework tonight?”

As the loud groans and constant question filled the air, I knew we had ourselves a new favorite chapter book!

This is why I recommend these novel studies for 4th and 5th graders: they keep students engaged and in love with reading !

What Are The Best Chapter Books for 4th and 5th Graders?

When selecting novel studies for 4th and 5th-grade students, I consider the following criteria:

• Word or Chapter Count (to decide how long it may take us to complete the novel)
• Reading and Lexile Level
• Whether it’s an Accelerated Reader book or not (our school is an AR school and I heavily push it in my class)
• Gender/ Race /Life-Situation of the main character (I want books that appeal to all my students)

Once I check out these factors, then I read it myself before introducing it to my students.

Each of the 10 books in this list has gone through this process, and have been read several times with my students.

These 10 novel studies for 4th and 5th-graders also have some of the highest ratings on goodreads.com, Amazon book reviews, and other sites. Many of them have even won numerous awards in children’s literature.

Now that you know my process for chapter book selection, let’s dive right into this juicy book list!

First Best Novel Study: Holes by Louis Sachar

I was honestly nervous about introducing this book to my students at first. I knew it would make a great novel study for teaching theme and sequence. But I didn’t know if my students would be able to understand some of the experiences of the main character Stanley Yelnats.

Boy was I wrong!

My students ADORE this book–every single year. Plus, it has been made into a movie. My kids really enjoy comparing and contrasting the novel and the movie once we finish both.

The movie for Holes is FREE for Prime members. You can get 30 Days FREE with my code HERE .  #AmazonAd

Second Best Novel Study: From The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

This chapter books starts off a little slow (as far as “kid” action is concerned). Once you get a few chapters in, the plot hooks you into the mystery.

If you have students who love solving riddles or reading mystery chapter books, they will love this novel study.

Each year that I’ve read it with my students, I catch a new clue or detail that I didn’t see before. It’s great for teaching plot!

Third Best Novel Study: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

I could write an entire blog post on nothing but Christopher Paul Curtis books! Especially Bud, Not Buddy!

Every year that I introduced this chapter book as a part of our class novel studies, my students display emotions all across the board.

When students’ emotions are activated by what they’re reading, then you know that they are truly engaging with and understanding the text.

I love using this chapter book to teach characterization because the characters in this book are so real and multi-faceted. It is hands-down one of the best novel studies for 4th and 5th-grade students of all reading levels!

Related Posts for Reading Instruction:

• Teaching Strategies for Reading Comprehension for Upper Elementary Students
• Literacy Centers for 4th Grade
• The Best Read-Alouds for Upper Elementary Classrooms
• Using Life Lesson’s to Teach Children’s Literature

Fourth Novel Study: Wonder by R.J. Palacio

This book was recommended by one of my students after she purchased it from our school book fair.

This novel study is wonderful for teaching empathy and kindness in the classroom. I even incorporated it into our Golden Rule classroom practice. 

I also love how the main character is a 5th-grade boy who experiences struggles with fitting in. This is great for helping students feel a sense of connection to the novel.

Being able to relate what they are reading to real-life helps students stay engaged with reading longer texts.

You Might Want to Check Out: How to Help Your Boys Fall in Love with Reading

Fifth Novel Study: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Having a dog as the main character makes teaching personification and other figurative language elements a breeze!

My students (and I) absolutely love this novel. The reading level is 3.9 (as you will see in the FREE printable below),  so I often use this as our introductory novel study at the beginning of the school year.

Which works great because I need to teach them the procedures for our novel studies, and they need to ease back into reading deeply after being out all summer.

The first-person narrative of the book makes both of those goals super easy.

Sixth Novel Study: My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George

This classic chapter book provides rich details and descriptions that are great for teaching imagery.

Students enjoy visualizing the main character’s adventures through the wilderness.

One of my favorite things about this chapter book for 4th and 5th graders is that the main character keeps a journal of his adventures.

So I encourage my students to keep a journal while we read the novel. They are more motivated to write about their daily and weekly lives to compare with the journal entries of the character.

Anything I can do to combine reading and writing practice is a bonus in my book!

Seventh Novel Study: The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

I told you that I love this author right?

All of my students who read Bud, Not Buddy as a 4th-grader can’t wait to read this chapter book as a 5th-grader.

The historical fiction setting gives vivid details about life during the 60’s for African-Americans, from the perspective of a 10-year-old boy.

This author has an amazing way of detailing uncomfortable topics in a kid-friendly way that’s accurate, but also full of humor. My students always give rave reviews about this book.

Eight Novel Study: One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Ivan, a silverback gorilla, steals your heart as the narrator and main character of this amazing read-aloud for 4th and 5th-graders.

He is caged, and his experiences help you see life from an animal’s perspective in a whole new way.

Be sure to check out these reviews on this book from other readers.

Related Posts and Resources on Reading:

• Cheap and Easy Ways to Stock Your Classroom Library
• Read-Aloud with Rigor Book Series 
• Centers in Upper Elementary Classrooms
• The Best FREE Literacy Apps

Ninth Novel Study: Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Initially, when my students looked at the cover, they whined about reading it. They assumed that it would be “boring” based on the cover illustration.

But this novel is far from boring.

It is one of the best books for novel studies with 4th and 5th graders because it teaches so many essential lessons. I especially like to emphasize having a growth-mindset through the main character of this book.

Esperanza is a wealthy Hispanic girl whose life is turned upside down due to tragedy in her family; her father is unexpectedly murdered. She and her mother are forced to flee their country and become migrant workers in California.

I use this novel study with current events to help students better understand immigration issues in our country.

Plus, building a culturally responsive classroom ranks HIGH on my list as a teacher! One of the ways to do that is by showcasing diversity through book selections.

This novel helps to achieve that goal!

Tenth Novel Study: Mr. Popper’s Penguins by  Florence Atwater and Richard Atwater

Besides the very funny book-based movie starring Jim Carrey, Mr. Popper’s Penguins is hilarious!

I definitely think it is the most fun book for a novel study.

Even though it is far from being realistic fiction, my older kiddos enjoyed the over-the-top scenes of Mr. Popper taking care of his penguins.

Before teaching 4th grade, I taught 2nd grade for four years and I read Mr. Popper’s Penguins with my 2nd graders.

Here’s why I recommend it in this list of novel studies for 4th and 5th graders:

• My 2nd graders could NOT read this book independently. The word selection and meaning were too complex.
• 4th and 5th graders CAN read and understand the content of this book independently.
• This novel has many high-frequency words and vocabulary words that are recommended for older students.

Bonus Book– Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen

This book is a new edition to my list of novel studies for 4th and 5th graders, because I just recently read it at home with my son who is now in 5th grade.

Even though it’s new for us, I highly recommend it as a novel study in the classroom.

My son Caleb could not put it down! He actually finished it in four days. We both enjoyed the deep plot twists and unexpected surprises throughout the story.

My only caution is that it contains content about magic . If your school doesn’t allow books like Harry Potter, then this book probably wouldn’t qualify either. You can check it out here to see for yourself.

Reading and Lexile Levels of 4th & 5th-Grade Chapter Books

For many teachers, novels must be chosen based on their Lexile and reading level. So I created a chart that lists all the information for each chapter book featured in this post.

You can access that free list by entering your email below. Please be aware that many school servers automatically block outside senders. You may have a better chance of grabbing this guide with a personal email address.

22 Responses

With remote learning being the optimal choice I am trying to set up a homeschool curriculum to make sure my child will not miss out on what they would normally get in the classroom. I am not sure how the material will be presented 2020 – 2021 but if it is anything like last year I will be responsible for teaching and the teachers will provide sheets and websites. When doing a novel study do the students read on their own and come prepared to discuss it in class or is it done as a read aloud?

Any feedback is GREATLY appreciated!!!

Erika, Novel studies can be done both ways depending on your kids’ reading level. If your child is motivated to do the reading own his/her own, then you will focus on reading comprehension and activities around what has been read. If this approach doesn’t work for your kid, then set up times to read aloud together. While you read together, pause and ask questions to gauge his/her understanding. Then at the end of your read aloud time together, give him/her an activity related to that chapter OR give a quiz to see what they learned from that reading. Hope this makes sense! Thanks for all you do to help your kids with reading at home. 🙂

I appreciate your list and would love to look at your additional information on each novel. Thank you for sharing!

I was to order the novel for my 10yr old son how can I order please n from where

Hi Daisy, You can order any of these novels using the Amazon links I provided in the post. These are affiliate links that pay a small commission to this site, but they do not cost you anything. I also emailed you more info about books for your son. Enjoy 🙂

Thank you for your novel study suggestions would love to see yourchart that lists all the information about each chapter book.

Thank you in advance

Sure Cara, When you enter your email, you should receive the book list. If you have trouble with it, email me directly: [email protected] Thanks!

Hello, lots of great information. Do you use a basal reading program along with your novel studies?

Hi Cheryl, I used both. Our school requires the basal reading program. I use it to teach specific reading skills.

Then we extend the practice of those reading skills with our class novel studies. -Tanya

Not a bad list- but I’m very shocked by Mr. Popper’s Penguins being on the list. I read that aloud to my 2nd grade class – who followed the story with ease. I would see Mr. Popper’s Penguins as a 2nd/3rd grade novel- not 4th/5th – especially as far as content goes.

Hi Elissa, I also read Mr. Popper’s once when I taught 2nd grade, but–just like you–I also had to read it out loud to them; they were not able to read it on their own fluently with solid comprehension. This novel is great as independent reading with older students, so that they can complete it without the teacher reading it to them. 🙂

Tanya- I teach 3rd, 4th , and 5th grade ELA at a French immersion school. I have a wonderful job and I love the kids. I have a dilemma this year and would love your feedback. I need to teach a whole group novel to guide them through the novel study process and help set up the rest of the year, but then I would like to transition into self selected novel groups. I have some amazing readers as well as some lower readers. I love teaching in small groups and using literacy centers.

My question for you is if you have taught both whole group and small group…and how did you set up your novel selection for the kids if you taught in small groups (all different novels).

Thanks so much! Erin

Erin, I did one novel as a whole class assignment each grading period. But I also had each student complete a self-selected novel study each month with my monthly book reports. Each student had to choose books from a certain genre each month, but they could pick any book within that genre. Then they would complete a different book report project for their book each month. I hope this gives you some ideas of how I did whole class and self-selected novels. Thanks for your question! 🙂

Thanks for the novel study ideas and information on each book.

THANK YOU! I currently teach 4th grade and would love to implement novel studies with my students. I bought a resource for James and the Giant Peach, but couldn’t afford a class set and no one in my school had copies 🙁 I plan on buying a few copies of books each month. I thought about Donor’s Choose as well. Again, thank you for the recommendations and synopsises!

Angela, James and the Giant Peach is a great book choice! I hate it that you couldn’t find a class set. I will do more research on how teachers can get class sets of books for great prices! 🙂 Thanks Angela

Thank you Tanya for this detailed list of grade appropriate novels! I’ve also used Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH with success. Happy reading!

Cathy, This sounds like a really interesting book! I will check it out. Thanks for suggesting it. 🙂

What a great reading list! Thanks for sharing. I especially love that you included a synopsis and why the book is appropriate for 4th/5th grade. Very valuable. I was thinking of reading Fish in a Tree as a novel study. Have you read it?

Becky, Yay! I am so happy this reading list with the synopsis is helpful for you. If you didn’t get a chance to grab the free list with more info on each book, be sure to sign up for that freebie. I haven’t read Fish in a Tree, but I will certainly check it out! Thanks for sharing. 🙂

This has been very helpful as it is my first year teaching 5th grade reading. Thank you!

Maria! Congrats on your first year teaching 5th! I’m glad this list has been helpful for you. Thanks for sharing.

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Book Review Writing

Introduction.

If you love to read, at some point you will want to share a book you love with others. You may already do this by talking about books with friends. If you want to share your ideas with more people than your circle of friends, the way you do that is by writing a review. By publishing the reviews you write, you can share your ideas about books with other readers around the world.

It's natural for young readers to confuse book reviews with book reports, yet writing a book review is a very different process from writing a book report. Book reports focus on the plot of the book. Frequently, the purpose of book reports is to demonstrate that the books were read, and they are often done for an assignment.

A book review is a totally different task. A book review's purpose is to help people decide whether or not the book would interest them enough to read it. Reviews are a sneak peek at a book, not a summary. Like wonderful smells wafting from a kitchen, book reviews lure readers to want to taste the book themselves.

This guide is designed to help you become a strong book reviewer, a reader who can read a book and then cook up a review designed to whet the reading appetites of other book lovers.

Form: What should the review look like?

How long should it be.

The first question we usually ask when writing something is "How long should it be?" The best answer is "As long as it takes," but that's a frustrating answer. A general guideline is that the longer the book, the longer the review, and a review shouldn't be fewer than 100 words or so. For a long book, the review may be 500 words or even more.

If a review is too short, the review may not be able to fulfill its purpose. Too long, and the review may stray into too much plot summary or lose the reader's interest.

The best guide is to focus less on how long to write and more on fulfilling the purpose of the review.

How Do You Create A Title?

The title of the review should convey your overall impression and not be overly general. Strong titles include these examples:

• "Full of action and complex characters"
• "A nail-biter that will keep you up all night"
• "Beautiful illustrations with a story to match"
• "Perfect for animal lovers"

Weak titles may look like this:

• "Really good book"
• "Three stars"
• "Pretty good"
• "Quick read"

How Should It Begin?

Although many reviews begin with a short summary of the book (This book is about…), there are other options as well, so feel free to vary the way you begin your reviews.

In an introductory summary, be careful not to tell too much. If you retell the entire story, the reader won't feel the need to read it him/herself, and no one appreciates a spoiler (telling the end). Here are some examples of summaries reviewers from The New York Times have written:

"A new picture book tells a magically simple tale of a lonely boy, a stranded whale and a dad who rises to the occasion."

"In this middle-grade novel, a girl finds a way forward after the loss of her mother."

"Reared by ghosts, werewolves and other residents of the hillside cemetery he calls home, an orphan named Nobody Owens wonders how he will manage to survive among the living having learned all his lessons from the dead. And the man Jack — who killed the rest of Nobody's family — is itching to finish the job."

"In vivid poems that reflect the joy of finding her voice through writing stories, an award-winning author shares what it was like to grow up in the 1960s and 1970s in both the North and the South." Other ways to begin a review include:

• Quote: A striking quote from the book ("It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.") can make for a powerful beginning. This quote begins George Orwell's novel 1984 .
• Background: What makes this book important or interesting? Is the author famous? Is it a series? This is This is how Amazon introduces Divergent : "This first book in Veronica Roth's #1 New York Times bestselling Divergent trilogy is the novel the inspired the major motion picture."
• Interesting Fact: For nonfiction books in particular, an interesting fact from the book may create a powerful opening for a review. In this review of The Middle East by Philip Steele, Zander H. of Mid-America Mensa asks, "Did you know that the Saudi Arabia's Rub' al-Khali desert reaches temperatures of 140 degrees Fahrenheit in the day and plummets to the freezing point at night?"
• Explanation of a term: If a word or phrase in the book or title is confusing or vitally important to understand, you may wish to begin the review explaining that term.

Process: What should I write about?

Deciding what to say about the book can be challenging. Use the following ideas as a guide, but remember that you should not put all of this into a single review — that would make for a very long review! Choose the things that fit this particular book best.

General Information What the reader ought to know

• What kind of book is it? (Picture book? Historical fiction? Nonfiction? Fantasy? Adventure?)
• Does the book belong to a series?
• How long is the book? Is it an easy or a challenging read?
• Is there anything that would be helpful for the reader to know about the author? For instance, is the author an expert in the field, the author of other popular books, or a first-time author?
• How does the book compare to other books on the same topic or in the same genre?
• Is the book written in a formal or informal style? Is the language remarkable in any way?
• What ages is the book geared to?
• Is the book written in normal prose? If it is written in poetic form, does it rhyme?

Plot What happens?

Writing about the plot is the trickiest part of a review because you want to give the reader a feel for what the book is about without spoiling the book for future readers. The most important thing to remember is that you must never give away the ending. No one likes a spoiler.

One possibility for doing this is to set up the premise (A brother and a sister find themselves lost in the woods at the mercy of an evil witch. Will they be able to outsmart her and escape?). Another possibility is to set up the major conflict in the book and leave it unresolved (Sometimes the waiting is the hardest part or He didn't know what he stood to lose or Finding your purpose in life can be as easy as finding a true friend.)

Try to avoid using the tired phrase "This book is about…" Instead, just jump right in (The stuffed rabbit wanted more than anything to live in the big old house with the wild oak trees.)

Characters Who lives in the book?

Reviews should answer questions about the characters in fiction books or non-fiction books about people. Some possible questions to answer include:

• Who are the main characters? Include the protagonist and antagonist.
• What makes them interesting?
• Do they act like real people act or are they too good or too evil to be believable?
• Are they human?
• What conflicts do they face?
• Are they likeable or understandable?
• How do they connect with each other?
• Do they appear in other books?
• Could you relate to any of the characters in the story?
• What problems did the main characters face?
• Who was your favorite character, and why?
• We learn about characters from things they do and say, as well as things other characters say about them. You may wish to include examples of these things.

Theme What is the book about at its heart?

What is the book really about? This isn't the plot, but rather the ideas behind the story. Is it about the triumph of good over evil or friendship or love or hope? Some common themes include: change, desire to escape, facing a challenge, heroism, the quest for power, and human weaknesses.

Sometimes a book will have a moral — a lesson to learn. If so, the theme is usually connected to that moral. As you write about the theme, try to identify what makes the book worth reading. What will the reader think about long after the book is finished? Ask yourself if there any particular lines in the book that strike you as meaningful.

Setting Where are we?

The setting is the time and place the story occurs. When you write about the setting in a review, include more than just the location. Some things to consider:

• Is the book set in the past, present or future?
• Is it set in the world we know or is it a fantastical world?
• Is it mostly realistic with elements of fantasy (animals that can talk, for example)?
• Is the setting unclear and fuzzy, or can you easily make the movie in your mind?
• How much does the author draw you into the setting and how does s/he accomplish that?

Opinion & Analysis What do you really think?

This is where the reviewer shares his/her reactions to the book that go beyond the essential points described above. You may spend half of the review on this section. Some possible questions to address include:

• Why do you think other readers would enjoy it? Why did you enjoy it (if you did) or why didn't you (if you didn't).
• What ages or types of readers do you think would like the book?
• How does it compare with other books that are in the same genre or by the same author?
• Does the book engage your emotions? If a book made you laugh or cry or think about it for days, be sure to include that.
• What do you like or dislike about the author's writing style? Is it funny? Is it hard to follow? Is it engaging and conversational in tone?
• How well do you think the author achieved what s/he was going for in the writing of the book? Do you think you felt what the author was hoping you would feel?
• Did the book feel complete, or did it feel as though key elements were left out?
• How does the book compare to other books like it you've read?

Are there parts that are simply not believable, even allowing for the reader's understanding that it is fiction or even fantasy?

• Are there mistakes?
• Would you describe the book as for entertainment, self-improvement, or information?
• What was your favorite part of the book?
• Would you have done anything differently had you been the author?
• Would any reader enjoy this book? If not, to what ages or type of reader would it appeal?

Special situations: Nonfiction and young reviewers

Some of the tips and ideas above work best for fiction, and some of it is a little too complicated for very young reviewers.

Nonfiction What to do if it's real

When reviewing a book of nonfiction, you will want to consider these questions:

• What was the author's purpose in writing the book? Did the author accomplish that purpose?
• Who is the target audience for the book?
• What do you think is the book's greatest value? What makes it special or worthwhile?
• Are the facts shared accurate?
• Is the book interesting and hold your attention?
• Would it be a useful addition to a school or public library?
• If the book is a biography or autobiography, how sympathetic is the subject?
• Is it easy to understand the ideas?
• Are there extra features that add to the enjoyment of the book, such as maps, indexes, glossaries, or other materials?
• Are the illustrations helpful?

Young Reviewers Keeping it simple

Reviewing a book can be fun, and it's not hard at all. Just ask yourself these questions:

• What is the book about? You don't need to tell the whole story over — just give an idea of what it's about.
• Do you think other people would like it?
• Did you think it was funny or sad?
• Did you learn something from the book?
• l Did you think it was interesting?
• Would you want to read it again?
• Would you want to read other books by the same author or about the same subject?
• What was your favorite part?
• Did you like the pictures?

Remember! Don't give away the ending. Let's keep that a surprise.

General Tips & Ideas

Use a few quotes or phrases (keep them short) from the book to illustrate the points you make about the book. If there are illustrations, be sure to comment on those. Are they well done? Has the illustrator done other well-known books?

Make sure you include a conclusion to the review — don't leave it hanging. The conclusion can be just one sentence (Overall, this book is a terrific choice for those who…).

You can use the transition word handout at the end of the Writer's Toolbox to find ideas for words to connect the ideas in your review. If you would like to read some well-written reviews, look for reviews of books for young people at The New York Times or National Public Radio .

Rating Books How to award stars?

Most places you post reviews ask you to rate the book using a star system, typically in a range of from one to five stars. In your rating, you should consider how the book compares to other books like it. Don't compare a long novel to a short poetry book — that's not a valid comparison.

It's important to remember that it's not asking you to only give five stars to the very best books ever written.

• 5 Stars: I'm glad I read it or I loved it (this doesn't mean it was your favorite book ever).
• 4 Stars: I like it. It's worth reading.
• 3 Stars: It wasn't very good.
• 2 Stars: I don't like it at all.
• 1 Star: I hate it.

How to Write a Book Review- 4th Grade

Yashekia king.

A book review in the fourth grade shows how well a child understands a book and his or her thoughts about the story. This type of review gives more students experience with expressing his or her opinion and critiquing a piece of literature. A book review assignment also can help hone a child’s writing skills. In addition, a book review can encourage a child to read more.

Introduce the book to your reader. Mention the title of the book and underline it, and tell the reader who authored the book. Describe the type of story it is--whether it is nonfiction or fiction; a make believe tale or scary story.

Write what the story’s theme and setting is. This will be the first paragraph of the body of your fourth grade book review. For the theme, explain what the main purpose or idea of the story is -- whether it involves being brave in a hard situation or the value of being kind to one another.

Describe the setting, or the time and place of the story. This could be a long time ago, such as in the 16th Century, or the present day. The setting also could be an imaginary place or a distant country. Mention how much time passes in the story -- whether it is a day or 50 years.

Explain what happens in the story in the second paragraph of your book review's body. In this section, called the plot, tell the reader what the main event or conflict is about and what events lead up to it. Avoid giving away the ending of the story. Also, do not give too many details about what happened in the book so that you will have room to describe your feelings about the book in your review as well.

Explain who the characters in the book are in the third paragraph of your book review's body. Point out the protagonist -- or the main character -- and explain how the other characters in the book help or harm the protagonist. Also, describe who the antagonist is -- the opposing character with whom the protagonist must contend. Describe how the characters look.

Give your opinion about the book in the fourth paragraph of the body of your book review. It is OK to use the pronoun, “I.” Mention whether you liked the story or not and why, and explain whether you learned anything new from the book. Describe what your favorite scene was and who your favorite character was, and why. Explain how the story made you feel at various points -- whether it was funny or sad, for example. Also, write whether you would recommend this book to someone else, and if you would read other books written by the author.

Write your conclusion. The conclusion is just a couple of sentences in which you make a final mention of your overall view of the book. In addition, explain the most important facet of the book you want your readers to know about. Read through your fourth grade book review and check for any spelling or grammar errors.

• Check to make sure your book review meets your teacher's requirements for the number of paragraphs and words to include.
• Take notes as you read your book so that you know where to find various pieces of information you need for your book review when you begin to write the report.
• 1 InfoPlease: How to Write a Book Report

About the Author

YaShekia King, of Indianapolis, began writing professionally in 2003. Her work has appeared in several publications including the "South Bend Tribune" and "Clouds Across the Stars," an international book. She also is a licensed Realtor and clinical certified dental assistant. King holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Ball State University.

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Step-by-Step Outline for a Book Report

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The Children's Picture Book Project

• Resources & Preparation
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In this lesson students plan, write, illustrate, and publish their own children's picture books. First, students review illustrated children's books to gain an understanding of the creative process and the elements that help make a children's book successful. Next, students use graphic organizers to brainstorm ideas for the character, setting, and conflict of their own stories. Students then pitch their stories to their peers and use peer feedback as they develop their stories. Students create storyboards to plan the relationship between the illustrations and text. Finally, students use a variety of methods to bind their books in an attractive manner and present their books to their peers.

Featured Resources

Children's Book Review Guide : This handout contains instructions and guidelines for reviewing a children's picture book.

Story Map : Use this online tool to analyze the character, conflict, and setting of a picture book.

Plot Diagram : Students can use this online tool to plan the plot of their children's picture book.

From Theory to Practice

Diana Mitchell explains why lesson plans that focus on children's literature are so successful in the classroom: "When picture books appear in a secondary classroom, students behave differently. They paw over the books, oohing and aahing at the illustrations, the colors, and the topics. Enthusiasm creeps into their talk. They become unabashedly interested in the books . . ." (86-87) Mitchell explains that eventually students question why they are being asked to work with "baby" books, but she asserts that these texts are useful tools in the classroom because they build literacy skills and excitement simultaneously. As she concludes, "Since this is one genre accessible to all of our students, the payoff in terms of what they learn is usually great." Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 2. Students read a wide range of literature from many periods in many genres to build an understanding of the many dimensions (e.g., philosophical, ethical, aesthetic) of human experience.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 4. Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.
• 5. Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 12. Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes (e.g., for learning, enjoyment, persuasion, and the exchange of information).
• Recommended Children's Picture Books  
• Children's Book Review Guide  
• Plot Pitch Template  
• Brainstorming the Conflict  
• Tips for Writing a Children's Picture Storybook  
• Publishing Tips  
• Grading Rubric for the Children's Picture Storybook

Preparation

• Ask students to bring in their favorite illustrated children's book from childhood for the first session.  
• Gather enough copies of illustrated children's books for each student in your class. Use the books students brought in or check out multiple copies of illustrated children's books from the public library. It is important, however, that you select only acclaimed picture books that have been proven to be successful with young children. Refer to the Recommended Children's Picture Books list to identify books to use for this activity.  
• Make copies of the handouts that are used in the lesson.  
• Test the Story Map and Plot Diagram interactives on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tools and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• plan, write, illustrate, and publish their own children's picture books.  
• analyze and evaluate a work of literature.  
• participate in a review of a story written by a peer.  
• use literary devices in an original work of fiction.

Session One: Favorite Book Presentations

• Arrange students into groups of three members each.  
• Have group members take turns reading their favorite picture books out loud to the other two group members.  
• After reading the book, each reader should share three reasons why the book is their favorite from childhood.  
• After the reading of each book ask group members to share concrete examples of how the book was or was not effective in each of the following three areas: plot, characterization, and illustrations.  
• Encourage students to develop their own guidelines for the characteristics of effective plots, characterization, and illustrations.  
• Gather the class and review students' findings, noting the details on chart paper or the board. Save this information for later reference, as students compose their own books.

Session Two: Book Reviews

• Review the guidelines that the groups compiled as they reviewed their favorite books in the previous session.  
• Pass out the Children's Book Review Guide and additional books for students to review.  
• Ask students to review a children's book and explore the general characteristics of children's books.  
• If possible, move students to a larger area or a location where they can read the books out loud to themselves.  
• After students have completed the review, return to the classroom and arrange the class in groups of three.  
• Have students to identify the similarities among all of the books reviewed in the group.  
• Gather the class, and have groups share their findings, comparing the results to the list from the previous session.  
• Note the details as students share to create a revised list that the class can consult while writing their own texts.

Session Three: "I Remember" Journal Entry

• Explain the writing project that students will complete: composing the text and illustrations for their own children's picture books.  
• Share the Grading Rubric and discuss the expectations for the activity. Answer any questions that students have.  
• Ask students to brainstorm themes that they noticed in several of the books.  
• Acceptance of others  
• Concern of family dynamics  
• Physical growth (especially size)  
• Fear of the unknown
• Once the class has compiled a list of several themes, review the list and make any additions or revisions.  
• Ask students to hypothesize why these themes resonate with young listeners, encouraging students to share any connections that they recall to the texts or to their own experiences.  
• Have students describe the memory as a journal entry. Encourage students to address all five of the senses when recounting their memory.  
• Explain that the memory does not have to be complete. If desired, encourage students to imagine or make up details that they cannot remember.  
• If additional time is needed, have students complete their journal entries for homework.

Session Four: Brainstorming Sessions

• Ask volunteers to share summaries of their memories from their journals.  
• After each volunteer reads, connect the memories to the themes from the previous session.  
• Remind students of the expectations of the assignment using the Grading Rubric .  
• Overview the steps that students will follow: gathering details about their stories, developing plots, storyboarding, writing and illustrating, and then publishing the book.  
• Explain that during this session, students will expand on the information from their memory journal entries by brainstorming additional details.  
• character map  
• conflict map  
• resolution map  
• setting map  
• Read through the Tips for Writing a Children's Picture Storybook handout and compare the observations to the books that students have read. Add or revise the guidelines as appropriate based on students' experiences with picture books. Have students complete the Brainstorming the Conflict chart to test out potential conflicts by identifying the complications that would or could result from attempting to solve them. Encourage students to discuss their findings with one another as they work.

Session Five: Developing a "Plot Pitch"

• Allow time for volunteers to share their work from the previous session with the class. Make connections to the class list of characteristics of effective plots, characterization, and illustrations as appropriate.  
• Distribute the Plot Pitch Template , and have students follow the information on the sheet to develop the basic layout and details of their stories.  
• Encourage collaboration and sharing as students develop their ideas. Circulate through the room, providing support and feedback during this work time.  
• Once the basic templates are complete, have students graph their plots using the ReadWriteThink interactive Plot Diagram .  
• If time allows, have students draw a sketch of their main character and the setting in which the story takes place. Encourage students to use colors in their sketches as well as labels that identify certain characteristics or details that might be revealed through the text of the story.

Session Six: Pitching the Plot

• Review the activities that the class has completed so far and the expectations for the project. Answer any questions.  
• Arrange the class in pairs and have partners present their "plot pitch" to their each other.  
• Ask students to answer the questions included on the Plot Pitch Template to provide written feedback to their partners.  
• If time allows, students can exchange their work with more than one partner.  
• Have students review the responses and add details or revisions to their work so far in the time remaining. Alternately, have students continue their work for homework.

Session Seven: Storyboards

• Have students prepare storyboard pages by dividing several 8.5 x 11 sheets of paper into four to six boxes. Suggest folding the sheets to create the lines easily. There should be enough boxes to represent each page of the book as well as the cover.  
• Ask students to use only one side of the paper so that all thumbnails on the storyboard can be seen at once.  
• Have students to sketch the illustrations and text for each page and the cover in a pane of the storyboard. The students' goal should be to create a balance of text and illustrations that tell their story.  
• Remind students that these are rough sketches, not their final illustrations. Getting the idea across is the goal.  
• Encourage students to experiment with the location, size, and amount of text and illustrations on each page.  
• Once students have completed their storyboards, arrange the class in pairs or threes to discuss the planned layout for the books.

Session Eight: Producing the Book

• Review the expectations for the assignment using the Grading Rubric .  
• Provide an overview of the publishing techniques that are available, using the information on the Publishing Tips handout and the Websites listed in the Resource s section.  
• Allow students to continue their work on their pages, writing and illustrating during this session.  
• Station yourself near the materials for binding the books. Provide help with the bookbinding process as students reach this stage.  
• As the books are completed, encourage students to read their stories to one another as a whole class or in small groups.  
• Allow more than one session for this final publication work if appropriate.

Arrange to visit a Pre-K, Kindergarten, or 1st grade class, and have your students read their books to the students. Select the best 5 to 8 books submitted. Divide students into groups of three and assign the following tasks to be completed during the visit: reader, page-turner, and master of ceremonies. Each group can also develop short skits, costumes, or other visual props to enhance the quality of their presentations.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Informally assess students’ participation in group and brainstorming sessions, book presentations, and journal writing.  
• Use the Grading Rubric to evaluate students’ picture books.  
• Rely on the informal feedback from younger listeners to the stories to provide additional assessment if you complete the extension.
• Calendar Activities
• Student Interactives

The Story Map interactive is designed to assist students in prewriting and postreading activities by focusing on the key elements of character, setting, conflict, and resolution.

The Plot Diagram is an organizational tool focusing on a pyramid or triangular shape, which is used to map the events in a story. This mapping of plot structure allows readers and writers to visualize the key features of stories.

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Best Books for 4th Graders: 20+ Favorites for Teachers & Homeschoolers

Are you struggling to find the best books for your 4th graders? Whether you’re a homeschooler or classroom teacher, finding quality literature that is both engaging and appropriate for lessons can be a challenge. That’s why I’ve compiled a list of some of my favorite books for fourth grade readers to help you quickly and easily start building your library. Perfect for a read-aloud, novel study , or independent reading, these stories all have engaging storylines that support deep conversation and critical thinking.

Ready to dive into my favorite reads for this age group? Keep reading to check 4th grade booklist. It includles classics, newer titles, and more!

The 20 Best Books for 4th Graders

Buy them for your classroom library. Add them to your read-aloud list. Build them into novel studies during ELA, or just use them for an independent study. These 20 novels are amazing reads for your fourth-grade readers.

To help you determine which books best fit your class, I shared a short summary of the plot.  I also shared links to the trifold novel study pack to help save you prep time. I’ve included a variety 4th grade level books for your below, on-level, and advanced readers. Your fourth graders will love these great stories, and you’ll be ready to rock your year with a great 4th grade book list! 

1. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell

Out of all the 4th grade level books on this list, this one is my favorite. I can still remember reading it as a kid, and it was just as good when I picked it back up as an adult.

Here’s a quick overview of the plot:

After being left behind when her community leaves their island village, a young girl named Karana must display courage and learn to survive alone.

With lots of adventure, some heartbreak, and great descriptive language, this novel will capture the imagination of your students. As an added bonus, the text is based on a true story, giving plenty of opportunities for discussion.

Reading Level:

• Guided Reading: V

Get the No Prep Novel Study:  Island of the Blue Dolphins Novel Study

2. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg

Another personal favorite when it comes to books for fourth graders goes way back to my childhood, this novel is the adventure and independence that every kid wishes to have to have without the dangers that would come along with it!

Students follow Claudia and her little brother as they decide to run away from home and live in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.

Read how they carefully avoid detection by the museum security, manage their day-to-day existence (including budgeting), and even solve a mystery along the way!

• Guided Reading: S

Get the No Prep Novel Study: From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler Novel Study

3. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

In my experience, all the students who read this book end up loving it. In fact, it is consistently selected as a favorite book when we do our book showdown at the end of each year.

After surviving a plane crash in the rugged wilderness of Canada, Brian is in the fight of his life. This story is the ultimate in survival fiction as students follow Brian’s transformation from a scared, unsure boy to a strong, independent survivor. From making

From creating a fire to gathering food, Brian makes a lot of mistakes in his quest to survive, and Paulsen’s writing captures the imagination of readers pulling them into Brian’s journey.

• Guided Reading: R

Learn more about the no prep Hatchet novel study.

4. Wonder by R. J. Palacio

This is such an amazing book for kids because it focuses on looking beyond our differences to see what is truly important…and couldn’t we use more of that in the world today!

The story of a young boy named Auggie who was born with a facial deformity, Wonder  weaves together a story of how he sees the world and the world sees him as he transitions into public school.

The author’s writing helps readers examine Auggie’s experiences from several lenses, and there are so many great opportunities for discussion about respecting individual differences, kindness, and growing up.

Recently made into a movie, this book has become an instant classic that your 4th graders will love reading.

Get the No Prep Wonder Novel Study .

5. James & the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

No list of fourth grade booklist would be complete without at least one novel by Dahl, and James & the Giant Peach is sure to please.

Centered around the adventures of James Henry Trotter, this spectacular fantasy novel takes place on (and inside of) a giant peach as it travels across the countryside and further!

With a host of supporting characters that are all insects with various hilarious quirks, your students will surely get a giggle from this silly story.

Get the No Prep Novel Study: James & the Giant Peach Novel Study

6. Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

This one is a slightly easier read than some of the others on this list, but when it comes to engaging readers it should be #1. Each chapter shares the story from inside the classroom on the 30th floor of Wayside School.

With a wacky host of characters and a school that was built sideways (with one class on each floor), your students are sure to get a giggle out of the zany things that go on here!

While it isn’t the deepest plotline ever, it is a great opportunity to discuss character traits, make inferences, and so many other important reading comprehension skills.

• Guided Reading: P

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Sideways Stories from Wayside School Novel Study

7. Frindle by Andrew Clements

If you ask my students, this title is a must-have for any 4th grade booklist!

After too much time doing dictionary work, Nick Allen decides to take matters into his own hands and invent a new word. Of course, his teacher doesn’t take too kindly to this act of rebellion, and students spend the book experiencing the tension that results from this conflict.

A great story that really helps students dive deep into conflict, and the protagonist-antagonist relationship, Frindle  is a realistic fiction novel you will love reading with your students.

Just be prepared. By the time your students finish the text, you might be hearing students using “frindle” in your room!

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Frindle Novel Study

8. Snow Treasure by Marie McSwigan

If you want to teach social studies through language arts, here’s a great historical fiction book to begin discussing world history.

Based on a true story, this book is about the adventures of a group of children living in Norway during World War II.

Your students will love following the suspenseful adventures of Peter and his friends as they work against the Nazi regime to smuggle $9 million in gold right past their noses. This heroic tale is a great way to link social studies and reading.

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Snow Treasure Novel Study

9. Save Me a Seat by Gina Weeks & Gita Varadarajan

This is a newer novel, but it is a great book written on a 4th grade reading level. The plot is a great opportunity to talk about friendship and kindness.

The story jumps back and forth from the point of view of Ravi, a new student, and Joe, who struggles with sensory processing.

While the boys initially don’t think they have anything in common, they discover they aren’t that different after all.

A great novel for talking about learning differences, fitting in, and avoiding assumptions.

With likable characters and situations that could be happening in your school or classroom, Save Me a Seat is sure to be a winner with your fourth graders.

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Save Me a Seat Novel Study

10. Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard & Florance Atwater

This story about Mr. Popper and his troop of penguins is the funny tale of an unusual man and his even more unusual pets. The story follows Mr. Popper as he

The story follows Mr. Popper after his life is turned upside down when he receives a penguin from the South Pole. From figuring out how to care for a penguin to having his own traveling troop of penguin performers, this book is sure to entertain.

Lots of enriching vocabulary along with opportunities to discuss reading comprehension skills- like cause and effect, inferencing, and character traits – makes this book a winner for a winter book study or read-aloud.

• Guided Reading: Q

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Mr. Popper’s Penguins Novel Study

11. Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren

A classic tale about an unusual girl who forges her own way in the world, Pippi Longstocking is a personal favorite of mine that always captures my students’ attention.

When Pippi moves into the old, abandoned house next door to Tommy and Annika, they’re excited for a playmate. Little do they know the adventures that will soon unfold. With her monkey and horse by her side, Pippi turns life in their neighborhood (and community) upside down in this hilarious tale.

By the end of the book, your students will be wishing they had a friend like Pippi and be begging to read the rest of the series.

• Below Level
• Guided Reading: O

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Pippi Longstocking Novel Study

12. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

This is the story of a well-loved china bunny who is quite full of himself early on but ends up on the adventure of a lifetime that changes him. Through these experiences, Edward becomes cynical and begins to doubt whether love exists, and students are guided through his inner thoughts as he is lost or left behind time and again.

Full of emotion and told from Edward’s point of view, the novel has many twists and turns and some heartbreak. Throughout his many misadventures, students will have many opportunities to explore character change and relationships.

A beautifully written story that touches both the heart and imagination, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a true star among novels for this age group.

• Guided Reading: U

Get the No Prep Edward Tulane Novel Study.

13. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

This is the story of Roz, a robot who accidentally ends up stranded on an uninhabited island. Over time Roz begins to learn from the creatures around her and even becomes the surrogate mother for an orphaned gosling. However, it takes quite some time for the natural world to accept her as one of their own.

The 2017 Global Read Aloud selection, this story is a great science fiction selection for fourth-grade students. While it is a relatively easy read that includes some illustrations, it is a story that many of the boys I work with absolutely loved, which can sometimes be a challenge to find.

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   The Wild Robot Novel Study

14. Charlie & the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

A classic tale that brings every child’s fantasy to life, this is the story of Charlie Bucket. After winning a once-in-a-lifetime contest to tour Willy Wonka’s factory, Charlie is drawn into a world of wonder and imagination.

This story is a sure favorite with vivid descriptions and silliness that only Dahl can bring to a children’s novel. There are many great opportunities to discuss character traits and practice visualization, inferring, and more.

While the text has some challenging vocabulary and made-up words (as do nearly all of Dahl’s books), the plotline draws readers in and encourages them to overcome these challenges because the story is just that good.

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Charlie & the Chocolate Factory Novel Study

15. Sarah, Plain & Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

A historical fiction novel detailing life on the plains, Sarah Plain & Tall is great for making cross-curricular connections with social studies and discussing westward expansion.

It is the story of Sarah, a woman who responds to an ad of a widower seeking a wife, and how she acclimates to life on the plains and two children. It is also the story of how the family adjusts to her after already losing their mother.

This is a sweet story and gives students much to discuss. I highly recommend it for your fourth graders. (Just a word of warning – if you decide to show the movie after reading this one it has a pretty hardcore birth scene near the end. Preview it to ensure you feel it is appropriate before showing your class.)

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Sarah, Plain & Tall Novel Study

16. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White

Another classic that is a must-have for your classroom library and makes an amazing novel study is Charlotte’s Web .

This is the story of a runty pig named Wilbur and his unlikely friendship with a spider who eventually saves him from slaughter.

With opportunities to discuss character traits and relationships, visualizing, and so many more important reading comprehension skills, this book is a winner for both the students and all those essential standards you must cover!

Get the No Prep Charlotte’s Web Novel Study .

17. The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies

Another book for 4th graders that I would consider on the easier reading side is a story set to the backdrop of sibling rivalry. With a topic so many students can relate to, this realistic fiction is highly engaging for fourth graders.

The Lemonade War is the first book in this series. Students will love following the juicy drama between Evan and Jessie as they try to prove just who is better at running a lemonade stand. With many ups and downs and opportunities for higher-level reading comprehension skills like inferencing, this novel is always a favorite in my classroom. I would recommend this 4thgrade book series as a great option for realistic fiction!

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   The Lemonade War  Novel Study

18. Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Shiloh is the story of a boy and his dog…well, technically not HIS dog, but students discover that on their own while reading.

After seeing his neighbor abusing a dog, Marty discovers the pup has run away and decides to keep him. When his stern father discovers that he has the dog, things go from bad to worse leading Marty down some troublesome paths in his quest to protect his new best friend.

Along the way, he learns a lot about life and how things are never quite as simple as they seem.

Get the No Prep Shiloh Novel Study .

19. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

Who could write a list of great novels for fourth grade and NOT include at least one Judy Blume book?

Seriously, she’s a fabulous writer and has some great realistic fiction that is perfect for your students.

This is the story of Peter Hatcher and his little brother, Fudge. Despite everyone else finding Fudge adorable, Peter isn’t smitten with his shenanigans…especially when Fudge eats his pet turtle!

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing  Novel Study

20. The One and Only Ivan by K.A. Applegate

The best books this age group offer opportunities to discuss unique points of view and engage in stories with more detailed plotlines. The One and Only Ivan is a great option if you’re looking to build a deeper understanding of these skills in your students.

The story of a gorilla living in a roadside mall and arcade, Ivan has become accustomed to life behind glass. Instead, Ivan spends his time thinking about television, his friends Stella & Bob (an elephant and a dog), and art. Upon the arrival of a new baby elephant, Ruby, everything changes for Ivan. As a result, Ivan’s perspective on his world is turned upside down.

Get the No Prep Novel Study:   The One and Only Ivan  Novel Study

Ready to Plan Your 4th Grade Novel Unit?

I hope this list has sparked some ideas for adding books to your classroom library  and your next novel unit.

While you’re here, grab your favorite books for fourth graders and my free novel study planning roadmap  to get step-by-step support to plan a high-quality literature unit for your fourth-grade students, whether in the classroom or homeschooling. Whether planning your first novel study or looking for new ideas, you’ll love this great tool.

Have enough 4th grade books? Here are some additional reading lists for other grade levels.

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Book Review Template for Kids (Tips & Activities)

• July 21, 2019
• Kids Printables

Aren’t your kids interested in reading more books? How can you enhance their understanding skills after reading a book? 

Here is a solution ! How about asking them to write a review? Don’t be funny you say ! No, I am just saying if you have colorful “ Book Review Templates” for kids , you can actually ask them to write what they understood.  

Ask your kids to share their point of view and discuss about it with their friends and family. While this is a small circle, writing a review about the book will help them introduce it a bigger circle or people, at the same time improve their thinking and writing skills.

You might want to check out book templates for kids , who are interested in compiling or writing a book. 

Your kids read books? Do they have the habit of sharing their view about the books? Do they share their review about every book they read? Or do you want your kid to write review about the books they read? Do you want to teach them on how to write a book review? Well, this topic is help and satisfy all the above needs.

Yes, In this article we are going to see in detail about what is book review and how to make your kids write a book review. We are here to help you with the wonderful set of templates that will help teach your kids and encourage them write review about books. All you have to do is just a click away, select the template you like from here, download it, print and teach your kids on how to write a book review with the help of it. All these templates are available for free and you can download and use it anytime, anywhere.

What are Book Review Templates?

First of all let us see what is book review template and what are the components in it to be filled. As the name says, it is nothing but the template to write review about books, which will help you teach your kids on how to write a book review and what all needs to be included/excluded while writing a book review. Below are some of the components that needs to be filled in order to complete a Book review.

• Title – Name of the book
• Author/Illustrator – Name of the Author and/or Illustrator of the book
• Word difficulty – They need to predict the difficulty level they had while reading the book. For Example, Too easy, Just right, Medium, Too hard,
• Did your like the book/Rating – This is to rate the book. As it is for kids, it can be represented with the STAR rating. If not, by numbers. For example, 4.2 out of 5. Or you can ask them to describe the book in one word by proving them a set of words to choose. For example, Exiting, boring, impressive, stupid, funny, sad, heart warming, interesting, excellent, entertaining, educational and so on.
• Summary in one sentence – Ask them to summarize the story of the book in a sentence, that needs to be short and crisp.
• Characters – Describe in brief about the character involved in the book.
• What was your favorite part of the book? / What I liked best – This will help them recollect the memories of reading the book and describe their favorite part in the book.
• What I didn’t like – Ask them to summarize the part of book which the kids did not like
• Draw your favorite character from the book – If it is a picture book or activity book that would contain more pictures and images, then you can guide them to draw their favorite character from the book.
• Draw your favorite scene from the book – every kids will have a favorite part from the book and you can encourage them to visualize their favorite scene, which in-turn will develop their drawing skills also.
• Recommendation – They can tick mark the box. For example, Highly Recommended, Reasonable, Not recommended.
• Reviewer Name – Your kids name who is writing the review.
• Date – date on which the review was written.

These are few of the points that must be covered as part of a book review. Apart from this the kids can add anything extra as part of the template while writing the review.

Are your kids exited to write a book review? Wondering how to guide them on it? Then we are here to help you, as we have provided wonderful set of book review templates for kids in this page that will attract your kids. Do you want to make one on your own? Well, that is allowed as well. All you have to do is to just chose your template from here and download it for free. As we have designed it for your ease, you can just edit the template as per your need by changing the font, background, borderline of the template etc and create/make your own Book review templates within seconds,without spending even a single penny from your pocket. Is it not amazing? Create one instantly and help your kids write a book review.

Uses of Book review template?

Let us see below the uses of writing a book review.

• Will help the kids to improve their creative writing skills and reading comprehension.
• Will encourage the kids to share their opinion
• Will help others to decide on whether to read/purchase the book or not.
• Will provide the in-depth analysis of the story and content of the book.
• Will capture the main theme of the book and help readers understand the author’s style.

These are few of the benefits of writing a book review. Apart from these it will improve their book reading skills and increase their interest to read more books and write review for those.

How to use – Book review template for teaching in classroom

In order to help teachers with book review templates and few sample activities that would help them teach in the classroom,we have listed few activities as below to make their work easy:

• Providing Sample Book review – You can take few sample reviews written by others for a book and share it in the classroom for the kids to basically understand what is a book review and what are the basic elements and points to be captured while writing a book review. Best source to teach them is from the famous/favorite magazine or even newspaper.
• Together read a book review – Pick up an appropriate and favorite book review and read it aloud along with the students in the classroom. Cover everything from title of the book, author, brief summary of the book, strengths and weakness and your own personal opinion about the book.
• Provide a book to review – Provide a book or a short story to read in the classroom and write their review about it. Encourage them to make note of the key points of the story Post which you can read the review they have written and correct those along with the students.
• Questions about the book – Provide a book review template template and guide them with few questions that will help them recollect the incidents in the story and come-up with a good review. Questions should cover on the genre of the book (whether it is Comic or fantasy or detective or humor),  about the favorite part of the book, likes and dis-likes, about the main characters of the book, briefly about the author of the book, did they enjoy reading the story, etc. Also ensure to have their reviews explained in details. 
• Classroom flip book review activity – Prepare a flip book with an interesting topic and introduce it to the students. Provide them with a book review template from him as per your wish and let them write review on the flip book. This will help them improve their thinking capacity as well.

  How to use – Book Review template for students

Making children write a book review is a great way to motivate them to read lot of books. Having said that let us see few activities  that will help them learn and write a good and perfect book review.

• Book review activity Packet – You can choose a sample book for the students to read, be it a short-story or fun book or a comic story. To start with you can provide them a book under their favorite genre which will help them read it with full involvement and write a good review. Then you can choose a template from here for there to express their thought and opinion about the book and write a review.
• Character book review Activity – Decide a book for the student to read, preferably a picture book or fun book. Later you can collect the pictures of the different characters in the book and make cards out of it. Once the student completes the book, you can provide these cards carrying different characters in the book and as them to write review about each character. This will help children to understand and judge themselves with how much involvement they have read the book.

All the activities listed above looks awesome right? Waiting to involve your kids/students in reading books and write a review for the book? Then you can involve them in any of the above activities. To start with, you can make them read a book of their favorite genre, which will help them practice writing a book review at initial times.

Can Book Review Template help kids to learn science?

In order to make students develop their interest towards science, you can introduce it to them through book review activity as well. Wondering how? Here is an example for you to help them develop their interest towards science. You can create a Flip book with different forms of energy (like heat, sound,chemical,thermal etc) or any other science related topics like state of matter or chemical changes, with the pictures related to it. You can ask students to make a research on each of the picture in the flip book, hence introducing science to them.

Help them in understand it which in-turn will make them write good reviews. Later, once they complete the flip book, provide them with few book review templates and as them to write their opinion about each science topic in the flip book, that will help them know their understanding about the science and develop interest towards science. Similarly you can make them read various science related fun books (like 11 Experiments That Failed or Ada Twist – Scientist) which will introduce science to them and ask them to write review for the same.

Tips to help your kids write a book review

Writing a book review is not an easy task for the children at initial times. Below are you tips which will help you guide your children to write a good book review.

• Motivate them to make note of the important points while reading the books. This will help them remember the favorite characters and scenes in the book.
• Make them ask questions about the book to come-up with an perfect book review.
• Guide them to have a structure for the book review they write. For example , starting from the Author to the strength and weakness of the book.
• You should be ready to proofread it at the end. Once the kids complete writing a review, you should have a check on it for any spelling mistakes, meaning of the phrases and help them correct their mistakes in the next review.

Do’s and Don’ts of a Book review

Having discussed in details on how to write a book review, we shall now see the do;s and dont’s while reviewing a book.

• Provide a short phrase/title that will explain your review’s content.
• Be very specific in describing what you liked or did not like in the book. Do not generally say “it was bad”,”not satisfactory”. Describe why was it bad and not satisfactory.
• Do not drag the review too long. Make it crisp and brief. Do not completely summarize the book.
• Do not criticize it badly just because it was not as how you expected.
• Describe your favorite character and be very careful and conscious in what you say about the story to avoid controversies.

Following these  points along with the tips, you can select any of the activities along with the book review template from our page and teach your kids on how to write a good book review.

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Trending Post : Books Made Into Movies

80 Best Chapter Books for 4th Graders (Age 9)

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Find the best chapter books and  middle grade books  for 4th graders. These books for 9-year-old boys and girls in 4th grade are book recommendations that I’ve personally read and reviewed using my background as an educator and parent . They’re in every genre and are about many different age-appropriate themes and topics that appeal to kids in this upper elementary grade. All of these books are excellent.

Who am I to recommend good books to young readers? I’m a former teacher and teacher trainer with a Master’s Degree in Education, a teaching license, a Bachelor’s in English, and a parent of two. I’m also a writer and avid reader. (As you probably can guess.) I read ALL the books and share the best of the best with you. Plus, I continually update this list with the most recently published books. (Last update, November 9, 2023.)

Funniest Books for 4th Grade Boys & Girls

• First Cat in Space  by Mac Barnett (graphic novel)
• The Diary of a Wimpy Kid  by Jeff Kinney
• The Last Kids on Earth  by Max Brallier
• The Terrible Two  by Mac Barnett and Jory John
• Fortunately, the Milk  by Neil Gaiman
• Pie in the Sky  by Remy Lai
• Big Nate Welcome to My World   by Lincoln Peirce (graphic novel)
• Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle  by Dana Simpson (graphic novel)
• Crabgrass Comic Adventures  by Tauhid Bondia (graphic novel)

Fourth graders are leaving chapter books and entering the world of younger  middle grade books . The difference between the two is that  chapter books are usually shorter, illustrated, and about less complex topics.  They will overlap in themes like friendship and family or animals and identity.

However, middle grade books are about twice as long, if not three times longer, and usually don’t have illustrations. (Although you  can  find good  illustrated middle grade books .) The topics will be more complex — about bullying and divorce and death.

SHOP THIS LIST

If you want the BEST BOOKS for 9-year-olds in 4th grade, I’d love to send you a free printable pdf!

You might also like these book lists for 9-year-olds:

• The best books in a series  for 4th graders
• Summer reading list for 4th graders
• Good nonfiction books for 4th graders
• Graphic novels for 4th graders

Most Heartwarming Books for 4th Graders

• The One and Only Ivan  by Katherine Applegate
• The Wild Robot  by Peter Brown
• Boy at the Back of the Class   by Onjali Q Raúf
• Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen  by Niki Lenz
• Cress Watercress  by Gregory Maguire
• Your Pal Fred  by Michael Rex  (graphic novel)
• Bob  by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead
• Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures  by Kate DiCamillo

If you need harder books, go to my Best Books for 5th Graders .

If you need easier books, go to my Best Books for 3rd Graders .

Also read:  Gifts for 9 Year Old Girls and  Gifts for 9 Year Old Boys

Best Books for 4th Graders (9 Year Olds)

First Cat in Space  by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Shawn Harris  SCI-FI / GRAPHIC NOVEL Absurdly hysterical, this is a bizarrely perfect adventure in  space ! When rats eat a second of the moon, the world’s leaders send their secret weapon– a cat and a stowaway toenail-clipping robot.  The two adventurers meet the Queen of Moonopolis, who leads them beneath the moon’s surface through the mine tunnels, where they have more silly adventures until they GET CAPTURED. But don’t worry — somehow, they’ll escape. Right?

Amulet   by Kazu Kibuishi FANTASY / GRAPHIC NOVEL This popular graphic novel series is about two siblings trying to save their mom who was taken to an underground world of elves, demons, robots, and talking animals . Beautiful artwork with compelling characters and an adventurous plot make this a sure-fire hit with young readers.

Leeva at Last by Sara Pennypacker, illustrated by Matthew Cordell REALISTIC Leeva’s horrible Matilda-like parents ask her sarcastically, What are people for? And Leeva, who isn’t allowed to go to school and does the chores, cooking, and other tasks to help her parents become rich and famous, decides to investigate the question. She discovers the library and books — but more than that, she discovers kind new friends, including the librarian and her grandson and two kids her age. She realizes that people help you not be lonely because they share life with you…and hugs are a nice bonus, too. I love the writing and the message of kindness and good things from books!

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney FUNNY One of the most popular book series ever, The Diary of a Wimpy Kid , shares the hilarious story of Greg, in his own words and drawings. Life in middle school is not easy. And Greg is here to prove it! One thing you’ll notice about these books is that kids will read them more than once, which is great if you have them all.

The One and Only Ivan  by Katherine Applegate REALISTIC Narrated by a gorilla named Ivan, this true story will immediately grab your heartstrings.  Ivan is kept in a cage in a run-down mall for 27 years without seeing another gorilla.  When his maltreated elephant friend dies there, she asks Ivan to help the new, younger elephant find a better life. With the help of the janitor’s daughter, he does just that.

The Last Kids on Earth by Max Brallier, illustrated by Douglas Colgate SCIENCE FICTION / PARANORMAL This hilarious book makes the   zombie apocalypse seem fun . Because that’s how Jack approaches life and zombie fights. He and his best friend, Quint, live in an upgraded, well-defended treehouse where they plan for rescuing his crush June (she doesn’t need rescuing being quite capable) and fighting zombies. Illustrations throughout make this even more appealing to read and imagine. Delightful. Who would have thought?! BOXED SET HERE.

Link + Hud Heroes by a Hair by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey REALISTIC Jarrett and Jerome are brothers with BIG imaginations. When they go on imaginary adventures, read those in a graphic novel format. They also use their creative powers to get rid of babysitters. Currently, they’re working on terrorizing their older babysitter, Ms. Joyce. But she’s smart–and isn’t fooled by the boys’ behavior. In fact, she saves their dad’s failing hair product business by turning it into a cleaning product. Kids will love the action, humor, and fun of this illustrated adventure book for 4th graders!

I Survived  by Lauren Tarshis HISTORICAL FICTION These are excellent, fast-paced adventure books for 4th graders set during significant historical events that are perfect for elementary-age kids just getting comfortable with chapter books. Kids will zip through these incredible adventures, learning history in the process. The I Survived books always are about a young person trying to survive a historically significant, life-changing event such as Pompeii, the Titanic, Pearl Harbor, or the Battle of Gettysburg.

Reading Journal for Kids

102 pages of fun!

Write reviews for books! Draw, imagine, and write more about the books you read. This is a wonderful journal to get kids excited about what they read!

Things in the Basement by Ben Hatke FANTASY / GRAPHIC NOVEL This beautifully drawn and narrated clever adventure is set in the world of…the basement. When Milo’s baby sister loses her special pink knit sock, he searches for it in the basement. The basement leads Milo to another basement, and then another basement, and to a whole labyrinth of basement worlds. He befriends a friendly skull named Chuckles, an eyeball creature named Weepie, and a ghost named Belle. Milo uses the sock’s yarn, help from his ghost friend, and his problem-solving skills to rescue his friends from the Gobbler and return home with the pink sock. This is a fantastical, magical journey of friendship, kindness, and secret worlds!

Land of Stories by Chris Colfer FANTASY Fairy tales become very real when Alex and Conner (a brother and sister) find themselves transported to the fairy tale world. To get home, they’ll need to find the ingredients for a Wishing Spell. Finding the items will be dangerous, mysterious, and life-changing. All the books in this series are compelling, magical adventures about characters you will ADORE . My kids and I couldn’t put these down.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown REALISTIC (ish) Roz is a robot alone on an island with only animals. If she wants to survive, she must figure out how to live in the wild where the animals see her as a monster. That slowly changes when Roz adopts a gosling and makes a nest. It’s a meaningful story of family, love, and community that consistently garners love from teachers and students.

The Sasquatch Escape   by Suzanne Selfors FANTASY Ben doesn’t think his summer could be any more boring–until he rescues a baby dragon. He and his new friend, Pearl Petal, learn that the town has a secret veterinarian for… imaginary creatures. That’s when they accidentally let a Sasquatch escape. Whoops. Now the pair must lure the big guy back to the veterinarian. (Which is easier said than done.) This is one of the best book series for 4th graders — a delightful page-turner.

Legends of Lotus Island: The Guardian Test  by Christina Soontornvat, illustrated by Kevin Hong FANTASY Plum is thrilled with the opportunity to go to a Guardian school where she hopes she’ll turn into a Guardian to protect the natural world.  At the Academy, she struggles to focus; she worries that she’ll never get her animal bond like the other students. But she learns how to fight, talk to animals, and hopes she can prove herself. Readers will love the cool world-building, the captivating illustrations, and the engaging story!

Boy at the Back of the Class by Onjali Q Raúf REALISTIC / IMMIGRATION Alexa and her friends learn that the new kid, Ahmed, was in a real war and has been separated from his family. So when Alexa and her friends hear that England is going to shut the borders, they decide they must go to the Queen to help Ahmed be reunited with his family. They go to the palace in person, tangling with the guards, and getting in big trouble but it eventually leads to media attention and a happy solution. 

Bernice Buttman, Model Citizen by Niki Lenz REALISTIC A genuinely sweet story about a girl who goes from a bully to a trying-to-do-better model citizen that will make you laugh and warm your heart. When Bernice’s mom sends Bernice to live with her nun aunt, it’s a chance for this former bully to reform her mean-spirited ways. And Bernice does it — she makes a friend, becomes nicer, and finds an unexpected home with the nuns. One of my favorite books for 4th graders!

Trapped in a Video Game  by Dustin Brady, illustrated by Brady Jessee SCIENCE FICTION Gamers and non-gamers alike who love exciting and dangerous stories won’t want to miss this excellent series . Jesse’s friend gets an early release of a video game — and it sucks in both he and his friend while they’re playing. They’re literally trapped in the video game! Inside the game, they meet a missing classmate who is a grown-up man in the game. Because there’s no way out. Or is there?

Cress Watercress  by Gregory Maguire, illustrated by David Litchfield  ANIMAL FICTION After the death of her father, Cress and her family move from their cozy burrow into the Broken Arms oak tree ruled by a cranky Owl with a noisy neighbor squirrel family. There, Cress helps her mom collect moths to pay their rent, leaving her mom time to work and gather ingredients for her sickly brother’s tea. As Cress navigates her new environment, the natural world, and the stories around her, it helps her understand her inner world, especially how grief waxes and wanes like the moon’s cycles.  A beautiful story about family, community, and grief .  

The Magical Reality of Nadia by Bassem Youssef and Catherine R. Daly, illustrated by Douglas Holgate Nadia unexpectedly discovers an ancient Egyptian teacher (Titi) trapped in her hippo amulet. He comes out onto a paper and TALKS! Tita helps Nadia with problems she faces at school like the new kid who is rude and prejudiced about her Egyptian culture and troubles with her friends who are working together on a school project. Totally wonderful, heartfelt, and relatable– don’t miss this new book for fourth graders.

The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John, illustrated by Kevin Cornell HUMOR If you like funny books , you’ll LOVE these books for 4th graders, 9-year-olds! Plus, in this first book, you’ll learn valuable cow trivia. But, it’s mostly the hilarious adventure of two pranksters who start out as rivals but eventually work together to pull off the biggest prank of all time — a prank that will ensure they get April Fool’s Day off from school.

Your Pal Fred  by Michael Rex  SCI-FI  / GRAPHIC NOVEL Fred is a robot who brings kindness (and STICKERS!) to a dystopian world he makes better in this funny, warmhearted, and interesting story.  When Fred discovers that two warlords are capturing innocent people to fight as soldiers for them, Fred knows what he has to do–ask the two bad guys to try peace. He irritates and surprises everyone he meets with his cheerfulness and positive attitude, even when he’s caught and “tortured” with drumming, which, of course, he loves. His character oozes charm, you can’t help but love him–along with the other curious characters that he meets.

Dungeoneer Adventures  by Ben Costa, illustrated by James Parks FANTASY /  ILLUSTRATED Coop is the only human at the Dungeoneer Academy. He feels alone and fears failure but it’s his lifelong dream to be an explorer. Luckily, his best friend Oggie (a bugbear) and two other new friends on his team stick together to survive the bullying Coop faces at school and the life-or-death jungle trial in which they experience trouble with their team, unexpected attacks, and a monster spider. The stakes are high–if they fail the trial, they’ll be kicked out of the school forever.  It’s a fun-to-read, illustrated, and fast-paced fantastical book for 4th graders!

Allergic by Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter REALISTIC A well-done middle-grade graphic novel about a child with allergies! Maggie is devastated that she’s allergic to the puppy she’s finally allowed to get. But, she befriends a new girl next door who becomes a fun, safe solace in her life…until that friend gets a puppy which Maggie interprets this her new friend not wanting to be friends anymore. Eventually, the two friends work out a solution for hanging out that won’t be a problem for Maggie’s allergies. The story ends with Maggie helping with her new baby sister and feeling like she doesn’t need an animal pet anymore.

Mythics: Marina and the Kraken written by Lauren Magaziner, illustrated by Mirelle Ortega FANTASY What an exciting start to what is sure to be a smash-hit series of adventure, girl power, and mythical creatures ! When Marina doesn’t get matched with a familiar like the other kids, she and four other 10-year-old girls discover their familiars aren’t everyday animals but mythical creatures and together, they’re destined to save Terrafamiliar. The girls start their search by boat to look for Marian’s familiar. But they’re chased by a golden jumpsuit lady who wants to steal their mythical powers. As they evade their pursuer, Marina discovers that her familiar is a kraken– a kraken who accidentally capsizes their ship. Now, she and her kraken must save her friends from drowning and escape the sinister lady.

Elements of Genius: Nikki Tesla and the Ferret-Proof Death Ray by Jess Keating ADVENTURE — STEM Inventor Nikki Tesla joins a new school called the Genius Academy where she’s not the only genius and she’s supposed to start working well with others. (That will be hard!) When Nikki’s death ray is stolen from a locked safe, she and her classmates must collaborate to find it and hopefully, save the world. They follow clues around the world, thwart plots to divide their group and capture the bad guy before he can use the death ray. Not only does this engrossing story feature smart kids who love STEM but the action and themes of friendship and growing up resonated and entertained me.

Indian No More by Charlene Willing McManis and Traci Sorell HISTORICAL FICTION Indian No More is an emotional, important story about when the U.S. government arbitrarily made certain Native American tribes no longer tribes without reservations or legal rights. It also shows the historical landscape of prejudice and stereotypes towards people of color. I love the close-knit, loving family based on the author’s own life, a family who values each other and their survival. This book is a must-read and must-own for all schools and libraries and would make an excellent book club selection.

Kristy’s Great Idea Babysitter’s Club  Full-Color Graphix Novel by Ann M. Martin, illustrated by Raina Telgemeier REALISTIC We’re loving these updated Babysitter’s Club graphic novels by the uber-talented Raina Telegemeier. It’s a good idea to start with book 1 since the stories are told in sequential order. These are funny and fun to read, maybe even more than once. BOX SET HERE.

Sparks  by Ian Boothby, illustrated by Nina Matsumoto SUPERHERO After escaping the evil laboratory, cats August and Charlie help others in a “Super Dog” dog disguise.  But their evil scientist nemesis, a diaper-wearing baby named Princess, will stop at nothing to recapture the escaped cats…and conquer the entire world. These books for 4th graders are filled with adventure, friendship, and humor!

Once Upon a Tim  by Stuart Gibbs FANTASY Hilarious, illustrated, and perfect for fantasy and adventure fans!  Tim and his sister Belinda are peasants who hope to improve their lot in life, so they sign up as knights for a not-very-brave prince and his so-called magician sidekick to find and rescue Princess Grace from a monster. Helpful foreshadowing, a strong narrative voice, and humor throughout plus helpful life lessons from Belinda about the patriarchy and great vocabulary words (which are helpfully indicated so your parents will know the IQ benefits).

Chupacarter  by George Lopez and Ryan Calejo  FANTASY Fast-paced, exciting, well-written, and dynamically illustrated about friendship and monsters!  Jorge gets sent to New Mexico to live with his abuelos, but he is miserable. Bullied at his school by other kids and a mean big-game-hunting principal, Jorge unexpectedly makes a friend outside of school –with a  chupacabra  named Carter.But Carter ISN’T a monster and they have a lot in common like candy and climbing trees and playing hide-and-seek. Even still, Carter needs to reunite with his family especially because Jorge’s school principal is hunting him. Jorge and his two school friends come up with an ingenious plan to get Carter to safety–but will they be too late? 

Bad Kitty Supercat  by Nick Bruel  HUMOR  / GRAPHIC NOVEL Bad Kitty’s owner tells Bad Kitty to get off screens and play with some other cats.  But Bad Kitty isn’t happy about having playdates. Eventually, Playdate Candidate #4 (Strange Kitty) brings imagination and comic books and Strange Kitty helps Bad Kitty find his  superhero  persona –just in time to meet the supervillain! Playful, imaginative, and hilarious–this is my new favorite Bad Kitty book and his first graphic novel.

Olga and the Smelly Thing From Nowhere  by Elise Gravel HUMOR   If you LOVE kooky books, this book fits the bill.   Olga finds a most unusual, unknown creature whom she names “MEH” after the sound it makes.  She uses her deductive reasoning to figure out what it is (something new!) and what it likes to eat (olives)! But what will she do when Meh disappears? Things I love about this book: 1) the illustrations — they rock! 2) the narrator’s voice — it’s believable and funny 3) the plot — especially the mean girls who aren’t so mean after all.

Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman, illustrated by Skottie Young HUMOR   If you like quirky humor, then this is your perfect book. Because you will never believe, except you totally will, what happens when the kids’ father goes out to get more milk. He doesn’t even get the milk but he does run into pirates, aliens, and all sorts of incredible things! Totally hilarious and quite short–which is appealing to many readers.

Pie in the Sky  by Remy Lai REALISTIC /  IMMIGRATION Pie in the Sky is an insightful, funny, and poignant look at the struggles of immigrating to a new country (Australia) and the difficulties of learning English, along with growing up and grieving the loss of a father. He misses baking with his papa so after school with his brother,  he breaks his mom’s rules against using the kitchen and bakes the cakes  that his father wanted to include in his dream Pie in the Sky bakery.  Like Jingwen says about his new beginnings and sad losses, this is a story that is both salty and sweet.

Bob  by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead MAGICAL REALISM In the sweetest story of friendship,   10-year-old Livy meets Bob, a green zombie-looking monster wearing a chicken costume  living in the closet at her grandma’s house. He’s been waiting for her to return for the last 5 years. Only Livy can’t remember him at all. Even when she leaves the house for an errand, she forgets. But she’s determined to help Bob find his way back home. Wherever that may be. We love this story!! This is a great  family   read-aloud  choice!

It’s the End of the World and I’m in My Bathing Suit  by Justin A. Reynolds ADVENTURE When he’s forced to stay home from the beach party because he needs to do his laundry since every single stinky piece of clothing, is dirty, Eddie hurries through the washing with quick cycles–until the power unexpectedly goes out.  Eddie leaves the house to investigate and finds four other kids but NO ONE ELSE. No parents. No kids. NO ONE.  It’s all very mysterious and suspenseful, especially when the street lights turn back on — without the electricity coming back on. What is going on? Cliff hanger alert!

Crabgrass Comic Adventures  by Tauhid Bondia  FUNNY   /  GRAPHIC NOVEL You will LOVE the  friendship adventures of Kevin and Miles.  These stories are fun, hilarious, relatable, and entertaining. If you like Calvin and Hobbes, you’ll love this good book for 4th graders.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan HISTORICAL FICTION Forced to flee a dangerous situation in Mexico, Esperanza and her mother arrive in California and start working as migrant farm workers. The back-breaking work is only part of their new, challenging life. In this beautifully written, soulful novel, Esperanza learns to thrive no matter what her circumstances.

Legendarios :  Wrath of the Rain God  written by Karla Arenas Valenti, illustrated by Vanessa Morales FANTASY  /  MYTHOLOGY Although the publisher is suggesting this is a chapter book, the reading level feels more middle grade to me so I’d say it’s short middle grade. Twins Emma and Martin travel back to ancient Mexico during Aztec times where they meet an indigenous girl whose village is flooding due to torrential rain.  To save the village, they must stop the angry rain god, Tlloc.  But he won’t stop until the twins return his stolen lightning bolt.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan FANTASY This series is amazing! Greek gods still exist and so do their kids, demigods, who have incredible abilities. Unfortunately for these kids, monsters are out to kill them. But, they are also the only ones who can save the world from a war between the Greek gods the Titans. Percy goes to Camp Half-Blood where he gets trained to protect himself… that is until he’s sent on a dangerous quest. Betrayal, adventure, plot twists, and incredible mythological world-building make these stories that kids can’t put down.

Dragon Slippers  trilogy by Jessica Day George FANTASY We can’t recommend this book series enough! Young and brave Creel wants nothing more than to own her own seamstress shop. In her pursuit of this dream, she befriends a special dragon who, along with magical dragon slippers, changes her life.

Who Would Win? Whale vs. Giant Squid by Jerry Pallotta, illustrated by Rob Bolster NONFICTION Kids can’t get enough of the Who Would Win? books that pit two ocean carnivores against each other. In this book, read facts about each creature then compare with a face-off. See if you can you predict who will win! See all the addicting informational books in the Who Would Win series .

Big Nate Welcome to My World   by Lincoln Peirce GRAPHIC NOVELS / FUNNY BOOKS I think the Big Nate comics are even better than the novels — they are just so stinking funny! Lincoln Peirce “gets” kids and their struggles — the episodes will keep both you and your kids cracking up.

Phoebe and Her Unicorn: A Heavenly Nostrils Chronicle by Dana Simpson FUNNY / GRAPHIC NOVELS Sarcastic and hilarious, this is a laugh-out-loud story about a precocious young girl and her reluctant unicorn “best friend”. BOXED SET

Dying to Meet You 43 Cemetary Road by Kate Klise, illustrated by M. Sarah Klise HUMOR The 43 Old Cemetery Road books are funny and punny adventures with a kid, a cat, a grumpy ghost, and a really cool writing style in letters, emails, newspaper clippings, jokes, and more. These books are addictive!

Flora and Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures  by  Kate DiCamillo MAGICAL REALISM Quirky and delightful, this is the  tale of a girl named Flora who rescues a squirrel and keeps it as a friend . Together, they experience the world in a unique, funny, and wonderful way and straighten it out, too — especially Flora’s mother.

Restart  by Gordon Korman REALISTIC Chase has no memory of who he is or was.  But he starts to get clues when straight out of the hospital when a strange girl dumps ice cream on his head. Chase soon realizes that he doesn’t like his former self. Now he’ll have to decide what kind of person he wants to be. Because he’s enjoying his new life in the film club and the new (“nerdy”) friends he’s made. This thought-provoking book for 4th grade will challenge kids to consider their choices, behavior, and life goals.

Killer Species   by Michael P. Spradlin ADVENTURE (SCI-FI) Get ready for a fast-paced adventure series about a mad scientist who creates a hybrid crocodile-dinosaur-bird killer creature to stop visitors from entering the Everglades. Emmet and his father arrive to investigate but when his father is kidnapped, Emmet and his friend, Calvin, know it’s up to them to find where the kidnapper is holding Emmet’s father. GREAT for reluctant readers — and anyone who loves an action-packed sci-fi mystery!

Garvey’s Choice: The Graphic Novel written by Nikki Grimes, art by Theodore Taylor III REALISTIC / GRAPHIC NOVEL Garvey’s dad wants him to play sports instead of reading. Making life even worse, everyone seems to make fun of Garvey’s size, calling him names like chunky and little piggy. Then, a new foodie friend helps Garvey enjoy food and not feel guilty about eating. That same friend also encourages Garvey to join the chorus, which he does secretly and loves it. Singing makes Garvey feel more like himself. This sweet coming-of-age story is written in tanka poetry, so it reads like a graphic novel in verse with some dialogue. It’s fast, mesmerizing, and emotion-filled.

Harry Potter series  by J.K. Rowling FANTASY The best-selling children’s book of all time, this is a MUST READ for many reasons: the brilliant storytelling, a complex and entertaining plot, relatable characters, rich language, essential life lessons about friendship and bravery , and more. ( See all my reasons for reading Harry Potter. )

The Great Shelby Holmes   by Elizabeth Eulberg MYSTERY What a lovely surprise! This  Sherlock Holmes  inspired book for 4th graders is well-written with a great plot. John Watson moves with his mom who has recently left both the military and John’s dad to Harlem. There he meets a very unique girl named Shelby Holmes who reluctantly allows him to tag along with her as she solves her latest crime —  the mystery of a missing show-dog stolen from a classmate’s secure house.

Area 51 Files  by Julie Buxbaum, illustrated by Lavanya Naidu SCIENCE FICTION Sky moves to Area 51, a sanctuary for aliens, where her new guardian, her uncle. She’s sad that she can’t ever leave Area 51 or see her beloved grandma again but she makes friend with an alien boy at school. When a group of aliens is abducted, all clues point to Sky’s uncle. She and her friends try to solve who the culprit really is.  It’s a funny mystery, adventure, and friendship story with aliens and illustrations!

Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs MYSTERY / FUNNY BOOK (series) Was the FunJungle’s hippo murdered? Teddy and Summer think so. Mystery, adventure, and humor will keep your readers on the edge of their seats in this unique story with lovable, quirky characters. This was one of my daughter’s favorite books for 4th graders.

Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks REALISTIC / GRAPHIC NOVEL Norrie loves horses and the low-key stables where she works and rides. She welcomes the new girl, Victoria, who rejects her offer of friendship because Victoria has decided that no friends means no drama. But another friend at the stables connects to Victoria about their friend group with a favorite science fiction show. They find common ground, forgiveness, and mutual support. It’s a beautifully knit-together, relatable story of friendship, horses, being yourself, and growing in confidence.

The Familiars  series by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson FANTASY My kids and I are big fans of this fantasy series. Do you know about familiars? They are the magical animal companions to wizards. And, in this first story, the kids and their familiars must save the world when the wizards’ powers are taken away.  Great books for 4th graders who love animals and magical adventures.

Two-Headed Chicken  by Tom Angleberger  FUNNY Hilarious!!  If you like wacky, bizarre humor then this is your next favorite read.  This is a story about the multiverse in which you are a two-headed chicken being chased by a moose…and it’s laugh-out-loud funny. Follow the two-headed chicken through the multiverse, take funny quizzes, meet a fish with deep feelings as well as a lawyer, and learn about so much more! 

Rez Dogs  by Joseph Bruchac  REALISTIC /  VERSE Because of the pandemic, Malin is sent away to live with her grandparents on the Wabanaki reservation.  A rez dog named Malsum adopts her, becoming her ally and friend, which helps her adjust to living without her parents.  Her grandparents teach Malin about the history of Native kids taken away by the government. Her grandparents share many other stories of their beliefs and history which help Malin connect to her heritage. 

Nick and Tesla’s High-Voltage Danger Lab  by Science Bob Pflugfleder and Steve Hockensmith SCI-FI /  MYSTERY BOOK Siblings Nick and Tesla are shipped off to live with their mad-scientist Uncle Newt for the summer while their parents are . . . doing something with soybeans in Uzbekistan? When left to fend for themselves, the siblings discover something very suspicious at the old mansion down the street. Throughout the story, these STEM wizards invent gadgets and gizmos and give you directions to do the same.  This adventurous STEM series makes science and technology fun!

Voyage of the Frostheart  by Jamie Littler BEST FANTASY BOOKS A   fantastic, illustrated adventure book for 4th grade about an orphan boy with forbidden musical powers.  4th-grade readers meet sentient creatures like the vulpi, a walrus and a yeti, not just human-kin, who live in Strongholds to stay safe from the monstrous Lurkers and Leviathans. After Ash’s Pathfinder parents disappear, Ash moves in with a strict guardian Yeti named Tobu. Unfortunately, they’re banished from their home when Ash uses his forbidden Song Weaver magic. They leave the village with a Pathfinder crew and Ash realizes that he can find his parents using the words in his childhood lullaby. 

The Pear Affair  by Judith Eagle, illustrated by Jo Rioux MYSTERY Nell can’t wait to tag along with her horrid and neglectful parents to Paris so she can search for her beloved former nanny Pear, who she’s convinced is missing since Pear hasn’t written in months. While in Paris, Nell learns about the strange moldy bread problem plaguing the city’s bakeries. She meets new friends who guide her around the underground tunnels of Paris. They help her find Nell and uncover the truth about her parents and their connection to the moldy bread.  A page-turning mystery with a perfect ending!

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One and Only Ruby by Katherine Applegate ANIMAL STORY Ruby is dreading Tuskday because she associates tusks with pain. She tells her uncles (Bob and Ivan) about her life before, her life in Africa when she was happy and loved until hunters slaughtered her herd. After that, Ruby was rescued, then captured again by greedy black-market animal traders, and sent to the zoo in the mall. Also, Ruby misses her beloved auntie Stella. Ruby’s new aunties help her to honor Stella, and it helps Ruby realizes that Stella was with her all along…and that she IS ready for the Tuskday growing up ceremony.

Minerva Keen’s Detective Club by James Patterson and Keir Graff MYSTERY Has there ever been an exciting kid-appropriate murder mystery? Not often, that’s for sure! In this murder mystery story, amateur detective Minerva finds one person after another who has been poisoned! She is intent on helping the police detective solve the case, so she, her brother Heck, and her new school friend Santos investigate every possibility. It’s fast-paced, interesting, and engaging.

The Remarkable Rescue of Milkweed Meadow by Elaine Dimopoulos ANIMAL ADVENTURE Butternut grows up in a close-knit rabbit family with lessons, rules, and storytelling. Although, when he ignores his family’s rules, everything changes for the better. Breaking the rules, Butternut befriends a talkative, kind-hearted robin and a wounded fawn. When they discover coyote cubs without their mother, Butternut must decide how far his kindness toward others will extend — will it include predators? Metafiction elements about stories, plotting, and narrative twists add extra playful fun to this story as well. This is a sweet story of kindness, friendship, and community.

Book Lists By Age

Easy Reader Books for 5- and 6- year olds  Beginning / Easy Chapter Books for 6- and 7- Year Olds Books for 8-year olds Books for 9-year olds Books for 10-year olds Books for 11-year olds Books for 12-year olds YA Books

Read Aloud Books by Grade Level

Read Aloud Books for 1st Grade

Read Aloud Books for 2nd Grade

Read Aloud Books for 3rd Grade

Read Aloud Books for 4th Grade

Read Aloud Books for 5th Grade

Read Aloud Books for 6th Grade

Book Lists By Genre

Adventure Books for Kids Fantasy Books for Kids Funny Books for Kids Historical Fiction Books for Kids Mystery Books for Kids Nonfiction Books for Kids Realistic Books for Kids Science Fiction Books for Kids ALL Picture Book Reviews

Book List By Topic

See all children’s books (picture books, nonfiction, and chapter books) organized by topic .

Melissa Taylor, MA, is the creator of Imagination Soup. She's a mother, former teacher & literacy trainer, and freelance education writer. She writes Imagination Soup and freelances for publications online and in print, including Penguin Random House's Brightly website, USA Today Health, Adobe Education, Colorado Parent, and Parenting. She is passionate about matching kids with books that they'll love.

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16 Comments

Thank you for this list! My 4th grader has loved every single book so far you have recommend! We are halfway through the list.

That makes me so happy to hear! Thanks, Paige!

How does someone order one of these?

Click on the book title and it will take you to Amazon where you can order.

Hi Melissa,

My son is 9 years old. We read a lot of these books already. I am wondering if you could help me identify some books or authors that handle the following things well.

What books do you recommend for kids only living with one parent? There are a lot of books about missing Dad, but I can’t seem to find books about Mom’s that left. When there are, the Mom is dead. I know social-cognitive therapy is best, but if he could read about another kid, a story, I feel like my son would feel just a bit more normal.

What are some books that focus on empathy and non-violent solutions? There are a lot of books that practice the hero’s journey, but there is always violence. It would be great if we could have something more complex. What if instead of the hero fighting his/her way to a solution, he/she built a solution with their friends and foes. There are a lot of great examples in younger kids books, but I am just not seeing them for my son’s age range – especially for boys! Everything seems to be fight, fight, fight!

Are there healthy masculinity books for boys? I am not an expert, but there seems to be a particular dearth of literature for developing boys in how to treat women. Sure, we have books on how to be a gentleman, but even those books create love stories where the female character is so overwhelmed by the male character’s kindness he still wins the girl. There are a lot of “nice guys” out there in this world. They didn’t just start doing this. They learned it from somewhere, TV or books and I find both to set weak moral compasses on this. At least the popular ones.

Are there books that handle race and social justice well? Ok, maybe you’re not the best person to answer this. I don’t know. However, I know my white son is growing up in a more racial and gender diverse world. It’s happening and it is a reality. I want my son to feel way more comfortable than me in addressing race and social justice and know that he too has a role to play.

I really want my son to learn to respect people who are not like him. To ask way more questions than to assume answers and to work with other people to build solutions. However, I’m finding a lot of the literature, from a Diary of a Wimpy Kid to Percy Jackson to just be far short of helpful.

Thanks in advance, A single parent just trying to find the right books.

I’m going to send you an email– if you don’t get it, let me know!

Melissa @imaginationsoup.net

Hey Jeremy,

In my humble opinion, the Wings of Fire series is pretty incredible. The characters are dragons, raised away from their families. They slowly return to each tribe to find their respective families and discover every tribe is drastically different as are the family constructs within them. It deals with racism, how to try to handle difficult situations with your mind and compassion before brute force or physical fights- though some physical interaction does occur. Bad people do bad things, but the main characters make a point of clarifying which decisions were well thought out and which were hasty or cruel. The themes covered in this series really blow my mind and the thoughtful, compassionate ways that issues are worked out by the heros and heroins is fabulous too. Later in the series, the author even takes on ideas of slavery, genocide, varying sexual identities, refugees & immigrants, caring for one’s environment, etc… The main characters shift every few books to give perspective from another tribe of dragons, or time in dragon history, or place in the world of dragons. At some point the new main characters come in contact with the previous heros and heroins and they all work together for a safe/kind/loving/just resolution to whatever huge issue they are trying to concur in the world. It may be a book for young adults, but I can’t wait for the book next in the series! I know this is just one series, but hopefully it leads you to more!

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57 Awesome 4th Grade Books You’ll Want To Share With Students

Titles to inspire each one of your fourth graders!

Fourth grade is an exciting time to share books with kids. Whether it’s reading aloud a fascinating nonfiction picture book or compelling personal narrative, hooking a reluctant reader with a new graphic novel, or matching a kid with just the novel they need right now, your fourth grade classroom library should be where it’s at. Old favorites are awesome, but when you’re looking to update the choices on your shelves, check out this big list of recent fourth grade books recommended by educators.

Note: There’s such a huge range of emotional maturity in fourth grade, and you know your students best. A few of these books may be best read aloud and discussed together.

(Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!)

1. Paradise Sands: A Story of Enchantment by Levi Pinfold

Four siblings visit a creepy desert hotel and plunge into a haunting adventure. This mesmerizing and mysterious picture book is guaranteed to get your fourth graders talking, wondering, flipping back to check text evidence, and making inferences.

Buy it: Paradise Sands: A Story of Enchantment at Amazon

2. Heart Berry Bling by Jenny Kay Dupuis

Maggie visits her grandmother for a delicious fry bread lunch and cozy afternoon beading together. Through this relatable personal narrative, kids can learn about Anishinaabe beading and culture, as well as the impact of the Indian Act on First Nations women and families in Canada. This is a fantastic upper elementary picture book—so much to learn and discuss together!

Buy it: Heart Berry Bling at Amazon

3. Noticing by Kobi Yamada

Add this beauty to your fourth grade books to encourage mindfulness . A girl and an artist learn together how to notice both the familiar and the unknown.

Buy it: Noticing at Amazon

4. The Little Mermaid retold by Jerry Pinkney

Jerry Pinkney’s breathtaking update to a classic, high-interest tale stars a main character of color and has affirming themes of friendship, family, and identity.

Buy it: The Little Mermaid at Amazon

5. Love by Matt de la Peña

This moving title is ageless, but we particularly love how it can get fourth graders talking in more depth about a complex topic.

Buy it: Love at Amazon

6. Bringing Back the Wolves: How a Predator Restored an Ecosystem by Jude Isabella

This book is a science unit unto itself! In systematic sections, it explores what happened when wolves disappeared from—and then came back to—Yellowstone National Park. Build kids’ understanding of vocabulary about relationships within an ecosystem with this memorable real-world story.

Buy it: Bringing Back the Wolves at Amazon

7. How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee by Carole Boston Weatherford

This is the nonfiction account of African American eighth grader MacNolia Cox and her trip to the 1936 National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. It puts experiences with racism into relatable contexts for all kids and would be great to spark additional learning and discussion about kids’ experiences with discrimination.

Buy it:   How Do You Spell Unfair? MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee at Amazon

8. Glitter Everywhere! Where It Came From, Where It’s Found, and Where It’s Going by Chris Barton

The awesome thing about sharing nonfiction picture books with fourth graders is how everyone can learn something new. From teaching vocabulary words like “iridescent” to looking at the environmental impact of its microplastic composition, this author answers every imaginable question about glitter! We love how this title shows kids an unconventional nonfiction writing topic too.

Buy it: Glitter Everywhere! at Amazon

9. Stand as Tall as the Trees: How an Amazonian Community Protected the Rain Forest by Patricia Gualinga and Laura Resau

This inspiring story highlights the activism of Kichwa people to stop rainforest deforestation. It reminds us of Lynne Cherry’s The Great Kapok Tree but with more in-depth factual information. It’s a perfect complement to rainforest or ecosystem studies or as part of an exploration of indigenous cultures. The author’s note “Standing Up for Land Around the World” would be a fantastic springboard for small-group research projects on indigenous movements to protect land.

Buy it: Stand as Tall as the Trees at Amazon

10. Becoming Muhammad Ali: A Novel by James Patterson and Kwame Alexander

Before he was a household name, Cassius Clay was a kid with struggles like any other. Written in prose and verse, this book looks at his life from birth to age 17. It captures the budding charisma and youthful personality of one of the greatest sports heroes of all time.

Buy it: Becoming Muhammad Ali at Amazon

11. Sound: Shhh … Bang … POP … BOOM! by Romana Remanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv

Here’s a perfect example of artistry in informational writing. A neon color scheme and tons of visual features give readers a primer on the topic of sound. Share as part of a science unit on sound or to simply help students up the cool factor in their own nonfiction writing.

Buy it: Sound: Shhh … Bang … POP … BOOM! at Amazon

12. She Was the First! The Trailblazing Life of Shirley Chisholm by Katheryn Russell-Brown

This biography chronicles the bold achievements of the first Black person to run for president as a major party candidate. While short in stature, Shirley Chisholm was a strong, influential leader and advocate who made a lasting impact. Your students deserve to be inspired by her!

Buy it: She Was the First! at Amazon

13. Can I Touch Your Hair? Poems of Race, Mistakes, and Friendship by Irene Latham and Charles Waters

When an unlikely pair works on a poetry project together, they think they have nothing in common. The effective back-and-forth format will get kids thinking.

Buy it: Can I Touch Your Hair? at Amazon

14. Out of Wonder: Poems Celebrating Poets by Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth

Award-winning authors Kwame Alexander, Chris Colderley, and Marjory Wentworth have compiled this collection of poems that celebrates poets who have touched their lives and influenced their work.

Buy it: Out of Wonder at Amazon

15. I’m Trying To Love Math by Bethany Barton

After convincing arguments heralding bees and spiders in her previous titles, Bethany Barton uses her powers of persuasion to demonstrate the wide reach, usefulness, and coolness of math. Read this to quell any groans about the relevance of math in the real world.

Buy it: I’m Trying To Love Math at Amazon

16. Pass Go and Collect $200: The Real Story of How Monopoly Was Invented by Tanya Lee Stone

It’s a history lesson from a completely unique angle. Add this to your fourth grade books to use as nonfiction writing mentor texts. Of course, after reading, you’ll need to break out the board game during indoor recess or invite your students to design their own.

Buy it: Pass Go and Collect $200 at Amazon

17. Between the Lines: How Ernie Barnes Went From the Football Field to the Art Gallery by Sandra Neil Wallace

This isn’t your typical athlete’s biography. Everyone thought Ernie Barnes should play professional football, but he never gave up on his dream of being an artist.

Buy it: Between the Lines at Amazon

18. So Tall Within: Sojourner Truth’s Long Walk Toward Freedom by Gary D. Schmidt

Introduce students to this fascinating and influential woman who worked tirelessly to fight against both racial and gender inequality.

Buy it: So Tall Within at Amazon

19. Flight for Freedom: The Wetzel Family’s Daring Escape From East Germany by Kristen Fulton

A family secretly builds a hot-air balloon for a nighttime crossing over the Berlin Wall. This compelling story is a perfect-sized slice of history to captivate students. The information provided about the actual construction of the hot-air balloon, both in the text and extensive back matter, could also spark interesting STEM conversations about the design process.

Buy it: Flight for Freedom at Amazon

20. The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman

Maria Merian was a brave and passionate scientist who was well ahead of her time. This beautifully written and illustrated chapter book biography offers so many discussion opportunities.

Buy it: The Girl Who Drew Butterflies at Amazon

21. Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! by Marley Dias

Marley Dias, creator of the #1000blackgirlbooks movement, is an amazing peer role model to teach kids about activism.

Buy it: Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You! at Amazon

22. Bat Citizens: Defending the Ninjas of the Night by Rob Laidlaw

Great nonfiction challenges readers’ thinking with a clear focus. This fascinating title about bat conservation does just that.

Buy it: Bat Citizens at Amazon

23. Two Truths and a Lie books by Ammi-Joan Paquette and Laurie Ann Thompson

Make discussions about responsible research practices memorable and fun. This innovative series asks readers to separate fact from fiction in short sections ideal for classroom discussion.

Buy it: Two Truths and a Lie books at Amazon

24. You Choose series by various authors

Hopefully you already have a few titles from this longstanding “Choose Your Own Adventure”–style series mixed into your fourth grade books, but did you know they keep coming out with cool new titles? We love this series for getting kids thinking and talking about their reading. After all, they have to make the decisions about how they’d react when faced with dangerous animals, infamous monsters, and plenty more! Great for small-group or partner reads.

Buy it: You Choose: Wild Encounters at Amazon

Buy it: You Choose: Monster Hunter at Amazon

25. I Survived Graphix series by Lauren Tarshis

These popular nonfiction chapter book adventures are now fast-paced graphic novels! You’ll want the entire series for sure.

Buy it: I Survived Graphix at Amazon

26. Grace Needs Space! by Benjamin A. Wilgus and Rii Abrego

We were glad to add this futuristic, inclusive graphic novel to our fourth grade book offerings. Grace can’t wait to travel on her own to visit one of her moms, who works on a space station on a distant moon. Despite the out-of-this-world setting, kids will have lots of connections to how hard it can feel when a highly anticipated experience doesn’t quite go as expected.

Buy it: Grace Needs Space! at Amazon

27. When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

This unparalleled graphic novel shares the true story of Somali brothers’ life growing up in a refugee camp. Put this at the top of your stack of fourth grade books to build kids’ background knowledge about the experiences of refugees. We’ve seen many kids finish it and then immediately start it over again!

Buy it: When Stars Are Scattered at Amazon

28. Paws series by Nathan Fairbairn

This graphic novel series is ideal for kids who like the Baby-Sitters Club graphic novels . Four best friends who love animals but aren’t allowed to have pets come up with a masterful plan to start a dog-walking business.

Buy it: Paws series at Amazon

29. Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd

Avery Lee is one of seven siblings, and she wishes she could just have some of her own space! This graphic novel shares all the drama, chaos, and love that happens in a big family. It’s perfect for kids who live in large families themselves or have wondered what it would be like. We adore this author-illustrator team—also check out Allergic —and hope they keep creating together.

Buy it: Squished at Amazon

30. Witches of Brooklyn series by Sophie Escabasse

When Effie moves in with her aunts in Brooklyn and finds out she’s part of a family of witches, everything changes. This graphic novel series has an appealing balance of fantasy and realistic themes about growing up.

Buy it: Witches of Brooklyn series at Amazon

31. Front Desk series by Kelly Yang

This delightful series follows the adventures of Mia Tang, who lives in a motel with her immigrant parents. As her parents clean the motel and help other immigrant families, Mia dreams of being a writer. A timely collection of fourth grade books that honors Chinese culture and experiences.

Buy it: Front Desk series at Amazon

32. New From Here by Kelly Yang

Just go ahead and stock your fourth grade bookshelves with every title Kelly Yang writes! Kids especially love this pandemic-themed story. Ten-year-old Knox has to move suddenly from Hong Kong to California when COVID-19 first begins to spread. The racism he faces in his new home is an unexpected challenge.

Buy it: New From Here at Amazon

33. City Spies series by James Ponti

In this thrilling series that Stuart Gibbs called “a must-read,” Edgar Award winner James Ponti brings together five kids from all over the world and transforms them into real-life spies. It’s wonderful for fans of Spy School and Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls .

Buy it: City Spies series at Amazon

34. Count Me In by Varsha Bajaj

An uplifting story, told through the alternating voices of two middle schoolers, in which a community rallies to reject racism.

Buy it: Count Me In at Amazon

35. A Rover’s Story by Jasmine Warga

Mars rover Res (short for Resilience) is not designed to have feelings—but as he observes the humans around him, emotional responses seem to start creeping in. When his Mars mission launches, he has to dig deep to live up to his name. Quick chapters and varying formats and points of view keep readers hooked on this story. It would be a huge hit as a class read-aloud or for coding- and robotics-loving kiddos.

Buy it: A Rover’s Story at Amazon

36. Welcome to Wonderland series by Chris Grabenstein

Kids will race through this zany series about ambitious P.T. Wilkie, who goes to desperate creative lengths to save his grandfather’s Florida motel. It has a perfect blend of humor and inspirational kid power winning over greedy adults. Plus, kids will learn a bit about business. Add these to your fourth grade books to energize reluctant readers.

Buy it: Welcome to Wonderland series at Amazon

37. The Many Fortunes of Maya by Nicole D. Collier

Maya has a lot on her mind. She loves soccer, music, and her family. But this summer, it feels like things aren’t right. Fresh, readable, and relatable, kids who have experience with parental separation will connect with Maya and appreciate the feel-good ending. The fortune cookie fortunes at the start of each chapter are a fun detail.

Buy it: The Many Fortunes of Maya at Amazon

38. Speculation by Nisi Shawl

When Winna breaks her glasses by mistake, her grandfather gives her a pair that used to belong to her great aunt. She’s in for a huge surprise when it turns out the glasses are magic! They can transport her back in time to learn more about her ancestors—and now it’s up to Winna to solve a crucial mystery. Fantasy-lovers will blaze through this enthralling story, but you can also add this title to your fourth grade books that build kids’ background knowledge about slavery.

Buy it: Speculation at Amazon

39. The Firefly Summer by Morgan Matson

For as long as Ryanna can remember, it’s just been her and her movie-director dad living a quiet, organized life in California. Then her dad gets a letter from her maternal grandparents on the East Coast inviting Ryanna to spend the summer at their camp. She plunges into a wild extended-family scene and a family mystery, complete with a mysterious treasure map to decipher. Share this fun story with fourth graders as they anticipate summer break, or anytime they need a dose of summer family fun.

Buy it: The Firefly Summer at Amazon

40. The Probability of Everything by Sarah Everett

This recent title gets rave reviews from educators for good reason—it’s breathtaking. Eleven-year-old Kemi shares her experiences and reflections as a catastrophic asteroid approaches Earth. This would make a powerful class read-aloud. Be sure to preview it: You’ll love savoring it solo but also because the ending is a surprise, and the book includes themes you’ll want to know about before sharing with students.

Buy it: The Probability of Everything at Amazon

41. Gold Rush Girl by Avi

Wanting to stay with her father, Tory stows away on a ship heading west to search for gold in 1848. Spot-on details and high suspense make this a vivid, absorbing historical adventure for your collection of fourth grade books.

Buy it: Gold Rush Girl at Amazon

42. Shuri: A Black Panther Novel by Nic Stone

Add this to your fourth grade books for students who love the Marvel Universe. This story, written by award-winning YA author Nic Stone, takes readers on an adventure with Shuri, the younger sister of T’Challa (aka the Black Panther).

Buy it: Shuri: A Black Panther Novel at Amazon

43. Mañanaland by Pam Muñoz Ryan

A beautifully written fantasy novel about a young man setting out on a perilous quest. This book, written by the author of Esperanza Rising , is sure to be well loved by your fourth grade students.

Buy it: Mañanaland at Amazon

44. New Kid by Jerry Craft

Winner of the Newbery Medal, the Coretta Scott King Author Award, and the Kirkus Prize for Young Readers’ Literature, this is a graphic novel about the struggles of being the new kid in school.

Buy it: New Kid at Amazon

45. Weird Little Robots by Caroline Crimi

When two science-savvy girls create an entire robot world, they don’t expect the robots to come alive. But life may be a bit more magical than they thought.

Buy it: Weird Little Robots at Amazon

46. Pumpkin Falls Mysteries by Heather Vogel Frederick

These stories follow the adventures of Truly Lovejoy, a young girl whose family has moved from Texas to a tiny town in New Hampshire to take over their family’s century-old bookstore. Left largely to her own devices, Truly finds herself chasing down clues found in old books.

Buy it: Pumpkin Falls Mysteries at Amazon

47. Pax books by Sara Pennypacker

Included on the National Book Award Longlist, this poignant tale follows the growing pains of a relationship between a boy and his fox.

Buy it: Pax series at Amazon

48. Dragons in a Bag series by Zetta Elliott

This urban fantasy series begins when Jaxon finds out the mean old lady next door is a witch, and she asks him for his help delivering baby dragons to a magical world where they’ll be safe.

Buy it: Dragons in a Bag series at Amazon

49. Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Inspired by her childhood love of classic books like A Secret Garden and The Chronicles of Narnia , bestselling author Tahereh Mafi crafts a spellbinding new world where color is currency, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.

Buy it: Furthermore at Amazon

50. Clean Getaway by Nic Stone

There are so many levels to this story of an 11-year-old boy and his grandmother’s unconventional road trip. The story packs in tons of background about the Civil Rights era without being preachy.

Buy it: Clean Getaway at Amazon

51. The One and Only series by Katherine Applegate

Endearing animal characters and perspectives, relatable emotions—this series of instant fourth grade book classics is a delight to kids and teachers alike!

Buy it: The One and Only series at Amazon

52. The Nerviest Girl in the World by Melissa Wiley

Pearl lives on a cattle-and-ostrich ranch and dreams of following in her brothers’ footsteps as a stunt double in silent films. This historical fiction title is full of fun and spunk and is great for learning about a storyteller’s voice.

Buy it: The Nerviest Girl in the World at Amazon

53. On These Magic Shores by Yamile Saied Méndez

When Minerva’s mother doesn’t come home from her night shift, Minerva takes care of her younger sisters. Amid grave uncertainty, unexplained events bring bits of comfort. This Peter Pan spinoff layers magical thinking with real themes of resilience, responsibility, and family bonds. It’s a fantastic class discussion novel or one to add to a list of fourth grade books to push independent readers toward deeper comprehension.

Buy it: On These Magic Shores at Amazon

54. Pie in the Sky by Remy Lai

Jingwen has lots to cope with between his recent move to Australia and his father’s death, but there’s still room for plenty of humor in this highly readable Own Voices graphic novel. It will particularly resonate with ELL students and those who’ve had to navigate a move to a new place.

Buy it: Pie in the Sky at Amazon

55. Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh by Uma Krishnaswami

Part sports novel, part World War II–era historical fiction—with a strong dose of girl power—readers will be cheering for Maria.

Buy it: Step Up to the Plate, Maria Singh at Amazon

56. Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster by Jonathan Auxier

We’re predicting it here: This will become a new classic for kids. It’s a fable that stars a young chimney sweep girl during Victorian times who meets tragic circumstances, but the themes of friendship, acceptance, and resilience are timeless. If you have sensitive kiddos, preview it first before reading aloud.

Buy it: Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster at Amazon

57. We’re Not From Here by Geoff Rodkey

This book asks students to imagine they were sent to a completely different planet where they were the outcasts. When it happens to the main character, the situations range from funny to potentially dangerous, but the overall message is timely and meant to make your students think. And isn’t that what the best fourth grade books do?

Buy it: We’re Not From Here at Amazon

Plus, check out our other elementary grade–level book lists:

Best kindergarten books, best 1st grade books, best 2nd grade books, best 3rd grade books, best 5th grade books, which recent fourth grade books are your favorites let us know in the comments, looking for more great book lists subscribe to our newsletters to receive notifications when we post new ones .

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Blog – Posted on Friday, Mar 29

17 book review examples to help you write the perfect review.

It’s an exciting time to be a book reviewer. Once confined to print newspapers and journals, reviews now dot many corridors of the Internet — forever helping others discover their next great read. That said, every book reviewer will face a familiar panic: how can you do justice to a great book in just a thousand words?

As you know, the best way to learn how to do something is by immersing yourself in it. Luckily, the Internet (i.e. Goodreads and other review sites , in particular) has made book reviews more accessible than ever — which means that there are a lot of book reviews examples out there for you to view!

In this post, we compiled 17 prototypical book review examples in multiple genres to help you figure out how to write the perfect review . If you want to jump straight to the examples, you can skip the next section. Otherwise, let’s first check out what makes up a good review.

Are you interested in becoming a book reviewer? We recommend you check out Reedsy Discovery , where you can earn money for writing reviews — and are guaranteed people will read your reviews! To register as a book reviewer, sign up here.

Pro-tip : But wait! How are you sure if you should become a book reviewer in the first place? If you're on the fence, or curious about your match with a book reviewing career, take our quick quiz:

Should you become a book reviewer?

Find out the answer. Takes 30 seconds!

What must a book review contain?

Like all works of art, no two book reviews will be identical. But fear not: there are a few guidelines for any aspiring book reviewer to follow. Most book reviews, for instance, are less than 1,500 words long, with the sweet spot hitting somewhere around the 1,000-word mark. (However, this may vary depending on the platform on which you’re writing, as we’ll see later.)

In addition, all reviews share some universal elements, as shown in our book review templates . These include:

• A review will offer a concise plot summary of the book. 
• A book review will offer an evaluation of the work. 
• A book review will offer a recommendation for the audience. 

If these are the basic ingredients that make up a book review, it’s the tone and style with which the book reviewer writes that brings the extra panache. This will differ from platform to platform, of course. A book review on Goodreads, for instance, will be much more informal and personal than a book review on Kirkus Reviews, as it is catering to a different audience. However, at the end of the day, the goal of all book reviews is to give the audience the tools to determine whether or not they’d like to read the book themselves.

Keeping that in mind, let’s proceed to some book review examples to put all of this in action.

How much of a book nerd are you, really?

Find out here, once and for all. Takes 30 seconds!

Book review examples for fiction books

Since story is king in the world of fiction, it probably won’t come as any surprise to learn that a book review for a novel will concentrate on how well the story was told .

That said, book reviews in all genres follow the same basic formula that we discussed earlier. In these examples, you’ll be able to see how book reviewers on different platforms expertly intertwine the plot summary and their personal opinions of the book to produce a clear, informative, and concise review.

Note: Some of the book review examples run very long. If a book review is truncated in this post, we’ve indicated by including a […] at the end, but you can always read the entire review if you click on the link provided.

Examples of literary fiction book reviews

Kirkus Reviews reviews Ralph Ellison’s The Invisible Man :

An extremely powerful story of a young Southern Negro, from his late high school days through three years of college to his life in Harlem.

His early training prepared him for a life of humility before white men, but through injustices- large and small, he came to realize that he was an "invisible man". People saw in him only a reflection of their preconceived ideas of what he was, denied his individuality, and ultimately did not see him at all. This theme, which has implications far beyond the obvious racial parallel, is skillfully handled. The incidents of the story are wholly absorbing. The boy's dismissal from college because of an innocent mistake, his shocked reaction to the anonymity of the North and to Harlem, his nightmare experiences on a one-day job in a paint factory and in the hospital, his lightning success as the Harlem leader of a communistic organization known as the Brotherhood, his involvement in black versus white and black versus black clashes and his disillusion and understanding of his invisibility- all climax naturally in scenes of violence and riot, followed by a retreat which is both literal and figurative. Parts of this experience may have been told before, but never with such freshness, intensity and power.

This is Ellison's first novel, but he has complete control of his story and his style. Watch it.

Lyndsey reviews George Orwell’s 1984 on Goodreads:

YOU. ARE. THE. DEAD. Oh my God. I got the chills so many times toward the end of this book. It completely blew my mind. It managed to surpass my high expectations AND be nothing at all like I expected. Or in Newspeak "Double Plus Good." Let me preface this with an apology. If I sound stunningly inarticulate at times in this review, I can't help it. My mind is completely fried.

This book is like the dystopian Lord of the Rings, with its richly developed culture and economics, not to mention a fully developed language called Newspeak, or rather more of the anti-language, whose purpose is to limit speech and understanding instead of to enhance and expand it. The world-building is so fully fleshed out and spine-tinglingly terrifying that it's almost as if George travelled to such a place, escaped from it, and then just wrote it all down.

I read Fahrenheit 451 over ten years ago in my early teens. At the time, I remember really wanting to read 1984, although I never managed to get my hands on it. I'm almost glad I didn't. Though I would not have admitted it at the time, it would have gone over my head. Or at the very least, I wouldn't have been able to appreciate it fully. […]

The New York Times reviews Lisa Halliday’s Asymmetry :

Three-quarters of the way through Lisa Halliday’s debut novel, “Asymmetry,” a British foreign correspondent named Alistair is spending Christmas on a compound outside of Baghdad. His fellow revelers include cameramen, defense contractors, United Nations employees and aid workers. Someone’s mother has FedExed a HoneyBaked ham from Maine; people are smoking by the swimming pool. It is 2003, just days after Saddam Hussein’s capture, and though the mood is optimistic, Alistair is worrying aloud about the ethics of his chosen profession, wondering if reporting on violence doesn’t indirectly abet violence and questioning why he’d rather be in a combat zone than reading a picture book to his son. But every time he returns to London, he begins to “spin out.” He can’t go home. “You observe what people do with their freedom — what they don’t do — and it’s impossible not to judge them for it,” he says.

The line, embedded unceremoniously in the middle of a page-long paragraph, doubles, like so many others in “Asymmetry,” as literary criticism. Halliday’s novel is so strange and startlingly smart that its mere existence seems like commentary on the state of fiction. One finishes “Asymmetry” for the first or second (or like this reader, third) time and is left wondering what other writers are not doing with their freedom — and, like Alistair, judging them for it.

Despite its title, “Asymmetry” comprises two seemingly unrelated sections of equal length, appended by a slim and quietly shocking coda. Halliday’s prose is clean and lean, almost reportorial in the style of W. G. Sebald, and like the murmurings of a shy person at a cocktail party, often comic only in single clauses. It’s a first novel that reads like the work of an author who has published many books over many years. […]

Emily W. Thompson reviews Michael Doane's The Crossing on Reedsy Discovery :

In Doane’s debut novel, a young man embarks on a journey of self-discovery with surprising results.

An unnamed protagonist (The Narrator) is dealing with heartbreak. His love, determined to see the world, sets out for Portland, Oregon. But he’s a small-town boy who hasn’t traveled much. So, the Narrator mourns her loss and hides from life, throwing himself into rehabbing an old motorcycle. Until one day, he takes a leap; he packs his bike and a few belongings and heads out to find the Girl.

Following in the footsteps of Jack Kerouac and William Least Heat-Moon, Doane offers a coming of age story about a man finding himself on the backroads of America. Doane’s a gifted writer with fluid prose and insightful observations, using The Narrator’s personal interactions to illuminate the diversity of the United States.

The Narrator initially sticks to the highways, trying to make it to the West Coast as quickly as possible. But a hitchhiker named Duke convinces him to get off the beaten path and enjoy the ride. “There’s not a place that’s like any other,” [39] Dukes contends, and The Narrator realizes he’s right. Suddenly, the trip is about the journey, not just the destination. The Narrator ditches his truck and traverses the deserts and mountains on his bike. He destroys his phone, cutting off ties with his past and living only in the moment.

As he crosses the country, The Narrator connects with several unique personalities whose experiences and views deeply impact his own. Duke, the complicated cowboy and drifter, who opens The Narrator’s eyes to a larger world. Zooey, the waitress in Colorado who opens his heart and reminds him that love can be found in this big world. And Rosie, The Narrator’s sweet landlady in Portland, who helps piece him back together both physically and emotionally.

This supporting cast of characters is excellent. Duke, in particular, is wonderfully nuanced and complicated. He’s a throwback to another time, a man without a cell phone who reads Sartre and sleeps under the stars. Yet he’s also a grifter with a “love ‘em and leave ‘em” attitude that harms those around him. It’s fascinating to watch The Narrator wrestle with Duke’s behavior, trying to determine which to model and which to discard.

Doane creates a relatable protagonist in The Narrator, whose personal growth doesn’t erase his faults. His willingness to hit the road with few resources is admirable, and he’s prescient enough to recognize the jealousy of those who cannot or will not take the leap. His encounters with new foods, places, and people broaden his horizons. Yet his immaturity and selfishness persist. He tells Rosie she’s been a good mother to him but chooses to ignore the continuing concern from his own parents as he effectively disappears from his old life.

Despite his flaws, it’s a pleasure to accompany The Narrator on his physical and emotional journey. The unexpected ending is a fitting denouement to an epic and memorable road trip.

The Book Smugglers review Anissa Gray’s The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls :

I am still dipping my toes into the literally fiction pool, finding what works for me and what doesn’t. Books like The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray are definitely my cup of tea.

Althea and Proctor Cochran had been pillars of their economically disadvantaged community for years – with their local restaurant/small market and their charity drives. Until they are found guilty of fraud for stealing and keeping most of the money they raised and sent to jail. Now disgraced, their entire family is suffering the consequences, specially their twin teenage daughters Baby Vi and Kim.  To complicate matters even more: Kim was actually the one to call the police on her parents after yet another fight with her mother. […]

Examples of children’s and YA fiction book reviews

The Book Hookup reviews Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give :

♥ Quick Thoughts and Rating: 5 stars! I can’t imagine how challenging it would be to tackle the voice of a movement like Black Lives Matter, but I do know that Thomas did it with a finesse only a talented author like herself possibly could. With an unapologetically realistic delivery packed with emotion, The Hate U Give is a crucially important portrayal of the difficulties minorities face in our country every single day. I have no doubt that this book will be met with resistance by some (possibly many) and slapped with a “controversial” label, but if you’ve ever wondered what it was like to walk in a POC’s shoes, then I feel like this is an unflinchingly honest place to start.

In Angie Thomas’s debut novel, Starr Carter bursts on to the YA scene with both heart-wrecking and heartwarming sincerity. This author is definitely one to watch.

♥ Review: The hype around this book has been unquestionable and, admittedly, that made me both eager to get my hands on it and terrified to read it. I mean, what if I was to be the one person that didn’t love it as much as others? (That seems silly now because of how truly mesmerizing THUG was in the most heartbreakingly realistic way.) However, with the relevancy of its summary in regards to the unjust predicaments POC currently face in the US, I knew this one was a must-read, so I was ready to set my fears aside and dive in. That said, I had an altogether more personal, ulterior motive for wanting to read this book. […]

The New York Times reviews Melissa Albert’s The Hazel Wood :

Alice Crewe (a last name she’s chosen for herself) is a fairy tale legacy: the granddaughter of Althea Proserpine, author of a collection of dark-as-night fairy tales called “Tales From the Hinterland.” The book has a cult following, and though Alice has never met her grandmother, she’s learned a little about her through internet research. She hasn’t read the stories, because her mother, Ella Proserpine, forbids it.

Alice and Ella have moved from place to place in an attempt to avoid the “bad luck” that seems to follow them. Weird things have happened. As a child, Alice was kidnapped by a man who took her on a road trip to find her grandmother; he was stopped by the police before they did so. When at 17 she sees that man again, unchanged despite the years, Alice panics. Then Ella goes missing, and Alice turns to Ellery Finch, a schoolmate who’s an Althea Proserpine superfan, for help in tracking down her mother. Not only has Finch read every fairy tale in the collection, but handily, he remembers them, sharing them with Alice as they journey to the mysterious Hazel Wood, the estate of her now-dead grandmother, where they hope to find Ella.

“The Hazel Wood” starts out strange and gets stranger, in the best way possible. (The fairy stories Finch relays, which Albert includes as their own chapters, are as creepy and evocative as you’d hope.) Albert seamlessly combines contemporary realism with fantasy, blurring the edges in a way that highlights that place where stories and real life convene, where magic contains truth and the world as it appears is false, where just about anything can happen, particularly in the pages of a very good book. It’s a captivating debut. […]

James reviews Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight, Moon on Goodreads:

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown is one of the books that followers of my blog voted as a must-read for our Children's Book August 2018 Readathon. Come check it out and join the next few weeks!

This picture book was such a delight. I hadn't remembered reading it when I was a child, but it might have been read to me... either way, it was like a whole new experience! It's always so difficult to convince a child to fall asleep at night. I don't have kids, but I do have a 5-month-old puppy who whines for 5 minutes every night when he goes in his cage/crate (hopefully he'll be fully housebroken soon so he can roam around when he wants). I can only imagine! I babysat a lot as a teenager and I have tons of younger cousins, nieces, and nephews, so I've been through it before, too. This was a believable experience, and it really helps show kids how to relax and just let go when it's time to sleep.

The bunny's are adorable. The rhymes are exquisite. I found it pretty fun, but possibly a little dated given many of those things aren't normal routines anymore. But the lessons to take from it are still powerful. Loved it! I want to sample some more books by this fine author and her illustrators.

Publishers Weekly reviews Elizabeth Lilly’s Geraldine :

This funny, thoroughly accomplished debut opens with two words: “I’m moving.” They’re spoken by the title character while she swoons across her family’s ottoman, and because Geraldine is a giraffe, her full-on melancholy mode is quite a spectacle. But while Geraldine may be a drama queen (even her mother says so), it won’t take readers long to warm up to her. The move takes Geraldine from Giraffe City, where everyone is like her, to a new school, where everyone else is human. Suddenly, the former extrovert becomes “That Giraffe Girl,” and all she wants to do is hide, which is pretty much impossible. “Even my voice tries to hide,” she says, in the book’s most poignant moment. “It’s gotten quiet and whispery.” Then she meets Cassie, who, though human, is also an outlier (“I’m that girl who wears glasses and likes MATH and always organizes her food”), and things begin to look up.

Lilly’s watercolor-and-ink drawings are as vividly comic and emotionally astute as her writing; just when readers think there are no more ways for Geraldine to contort her long neck, this highly promising talent comes up with something new.

Examples of genre fiction book reviews

Karlyn P reviews Nora Roberts’ Dark Witch , a paranormal romance novel , on Goodreads:

4 stars. Great world-building, weak romance, but still worth the read.

I hesitate to describe this book as a 'romance' novel simply because the book spent little time actually exploring the romance between Iona and Boyle. Sure, there IS a romance in this novel. Sprinkled throughout the book are a few scenes where Iona and Boyle meet, chat, wink at each, flirt some more, sleep together, have a misunderstanding, make up, and then profess their undying love. Very formulaic stuff, and all woven around the more important parts of this book.

The meat of this book is far more focused on the story of the Dark witch and her magically-gifted descendants living in Ireland. Despite being weak on the romance, I really enjoyed it. I think the book is probably better for it, because the romance itself was pretty lackluster stuff.

I absolutely plan to stick with this series as I enjoyed the world building, loved the Ireland setting, and was intrigued by all of the secondary characters. However, If you read Nora Roberts strictly for the romance scenes, this one might disappoint. But if you enjoy a solid background story with some dark magic and prophesies, you might enjoy it as much as I did.

I listened to this one on audio, and felt the narration was excellent.

Emily May reviews R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy Wars , an epic fantasy novel , on Goodreads:

“But I warn you, little warrior. The price of power is pain.”

Holy hell, what did I just read??

➽ A fantasy military school

➽ A rich world based on modern Chinese history

➽ Shamans and gods

➽ Detailed characterization leading to unforgettable characters

➽ Adorable, opium-smoking mentors

That's a basic list, but this book is all of that and SO MUCH MORE. I know 100% that The Poppy War will be one of my best reads of 2018.

Isn't it just so great when you find one of those books that completely drags you in, makes you fall in love with the characters, and demands that you sit on the edge of your seat for every horrific, nail-biting moment of it? This is one of those books for me. And I must issue a serious content warning: this book explores some very dark themes. Proceed with caution (or not at all) if you are particularly sensitive to scenes of war, drug use and addiction, genocide, racism, sexism, ableism, self-harm, torture, and rape (off-page but extremely horrific).

Because, despite the fairly innocuous first 200 pages, the title speaks the truth: this is a book about war. All of its horrors and atrocities. It is not sugar-coated, and it is often graphic. The "poppy" aspect refers to opium, which is a big part of this book. It is a fantasy, but the book draws inspiration from the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Rape of Nanking.

Crime Fiction Lover reviews Jessica Barry’s Freefall , a crime novel:

In some crime novels, the wrongdoing hits you between the eyes from page one. With others it’s a more subtle process, and that’s OK too. So where does Freefall fit into the sliding scale?

In truth, it’s not clear. This is a novel with a thrilling concept at its core. A woman survives plane crash, then runs for her life. However, it is the subtleties at play that will draw you in like a spider beckoning to an unwitting fly.

Like the heroine in Sharon Bolton’s Dead Woman Walking, Allison is lucky to be alive. She was the only passenger in a private plane, belonging to her fiancé, Ben, who was piloting the expensive aircraft, when it came down in woodlands in the Colorado Rockies. Ally is also the only survivor, but rather than sitting back and waiting for rescue, she is soon pulling together items that may help her survive a little longer – first aid kit, energy bars, warm clothes, trainers – before fleeing the scene. If you’re hearing the faint sound of alarm bells ringing, get used to it. There’s much, much more to learn about Ally before this tale is over.

Kirkus Reviews reviews Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One , a science-fiction novel :

Video-game players embrace the quest of a lifetime in a virtual world; screenwriter Cline’s first novel is old wine in new bottles.

The real world, in 2045, is the usual dystopian horror story. So who can blame Wade, our narrator, if he spends most of his time in a virtual world? The 18-year-old, orphaned at 11, has no friends in his vertical trailer park in Oklahoma City, while the OASIS has captivating bells and whistles, and it’s free. Its creator, the legendary billionaire James Halliday, left a curious will. He had devised an elaborate online game, a hunt for a hidden Easter egg. The finder would inherit his estate. Old-fashioned riddles lead to three keys and three gates. Wade, or rather his avatar Parzival, is the first gunter (egg-hunter) to win the Copper Key, first of three.

Halliday was obsessed with the pop culture of the 1980s, primarily the arcade games, so the novel is as much retro as futurist. Parzival’s great strength is that he has absorbed all Halliday’s obsessions; he knows by heart three essential movies, crossing the line from geek to freak. His most formidable competitors are the Sixers, contract gunters working for the evil conglomerate IOI, whose goal is to acquire the OASIS. Cline’s narrative is straightforward but loaded with exposition. It takes a while to reach a scene that crackles with excitement: the meeting between Parzival (now world famous as the lead contender) and Sorrento, the head of IOI. The latter tries to recruit Parzival; when he fails, he issues and executes a death threat. Wade’s trailer is demolished, his relatives killed; luckily Wade was not at home. Too bad this is the dramatic high point. Parzival threads his way between more ’80s games and movies to gain the other keys; it’s clever but not exciting. Even a romance with another avatar and the ultimate “epic throwdown” fail to stir the blood.

Too much puzzle-solving, not enough suspense.

Book review examples for non-fiction books

Nonfiction books are generally written to inform readers about a certain topic. As such, the focus of a nonfiction book review will be on the clarity and effectiveness of this communication . In carrying this out, a book review may analyze the author’s source materials and assess the thesis in order to determine whether or not the book meets expectations.

Again, we’ve included abbreviated versions of long reviews here, so feel free to click on the link to read the entire piece!

The Washington Post reviews David Grann’s Killers of the Flower Moon :

The arc of David Grann’s career reminds one of a software whiz-kid or a latest-thing talk-show host — certainly not an investigative reporter, even if he is one of the best in the business. The newly released movie of his first book, “The Lost City of Z,” is generating all kinds of Oscar talk, and now comes the release of his second book, “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI,” the film rights to which have already been sold for $5 million in what one industry journal called the “biggest and wildest book rights auction in memory.”

Grann deserves the attention. He’s canny about the stories he chases, he’s willing to go anywhere to chase them, and he’s a maestro in his ability to parcel out information at just the right clip: a hint here, a shading of meaning there, a smartly paced buildup of multiple possibilities followed by an inevitable reversal of readerly expectations or, in some cases, by a thrilling and dislocating pull of the entire narrative rug.

All of these strengths are on display in “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Around the turn of the 20th century, oil was discovered underneath Osage lands in the Oklahoma Territory, lands that were soon to become part of the state of Oklahoma. Through foresight and legal maneuvering, the Osage found a way to permanently attach that oil to themselves and shield it from the prying hands of white interlopers; this mechanism was known as “headrights,” which forbade the outright sale of oil rights and granted each full member of the tribe — and, supposedly, no one else — a share in the proceeds from any lease arrangement. For a while, the fail-safes did their job, and the Osage got rich — diamond-ring and chauffeured-car and imported-French-fashion rich — following which quite a large group of white men started to work like devils to separate the Osage from their money. And soon enough, and predictably enough, this work involved murder. Here in Jazz Age America’s most isolated of locales, dozens or even hundreds of Osage in possession of great fortunes — and of the potential for even greater fortunes in the future — were dispatched by poison, by gunshot and by dynamite. […]

Stacked Books reviews Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers :

I’ve heard a lot of great things about Malcolm Gladwell’s writing. Friends and co-workers tell me that his subjects are interesting and his writing style is easy to follow without talking down to the reader. I wasn’t disappointed with Outliers. In it, Gladwell tackles the subject of success – how people obtain it and what contributes to extraordinary success as opposed to everyday success.

The thesis – that our success depends much more on circumstances out of our control than any effort we put forth – isn’t exactly revolutionary. Most of us know it to be true. However, I don’t think I’m lying when I say that most of us also believe that we if we just try that much harder and develop our talent that much further, it will be enough to become wildly successful, despite bad or just mediocre beginnings. Not so, says Gladwell.

Most of the evidence Gladwell gives us is anecdotal, which is my favorite kind to read. I can’t really speak to how scientifically valid it is, but it sure makes for engrossing listening. For example, did you know that successful hockey players are almost all born in January, February, or March? Kids born during these months are older than the others kids when they start playing in the youth leagues, which means they’re already better at the game (because they’re bigger). Thus, they get more play time, which means their skill increases at a faster rate, and it compounds as time goes by. Within a few years, they’re much, much better than the kids born just a few months later in the year. Basically, these kids’ birthdates are a huge factor in their success as adults – and it’s nothing they can do anything about. If anyone could make hockey interesting to a Texan who only grudgingly admits the sport even exists, it’s Gladwell. […]

Quill and Quire reviews Rick Prashaw’s Soar, Adam, Soar :

Ten years ago, I read a book called Almost Perfect. The young-adult novel by Brian Katcher won some awards and was held up as a powerful, nuanced portrayal of a young trans person. But the reality did not live up to the book’s billing. Instead, it turned out to be a one-dimensional and highly fetishized portrait of a trans person’s life, one that was nevertheless repeatedly dubbed “realistic” and “affecting” by non-transgender readers possessing only a vague, mass-market understanding of trans experiences.

In the intervening decade, trans narratives have emerged further into the literary spotlight, but those authored by trans people ourselves – and by trans men in particular – have seemed to fall under the shadow of cisgender sensationalized imaginings. Two current Canadian releases – Soar, Adam, Soar and This One Looks Like a Boy – provide a pointed object lesson into why trans-authored work about transgender experiences remains critical.

To be fair, Soar, Adam, Soar isn’t just a story about a trans man. It’s also a story about epilepsy, the medical establishment, and coming of age as seen through a grieving father’s eyes. Adam, Prashaw’s trans son, died unexpectedly at age 22. Woven through the elder Prashaw’s narrative are excerpts from Adam’s social media posts, giving us glimpses into the young man’s interior life as he traverses his late teens and early 20s. […]

Book Geeks reviews Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love :

WRITING STYLE: 3.5/5

SUBJECT: 4/5

CANDIDNESS: 4.5/5

RELEVANCE: 3.5/5

ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3.5/5

“Eat Pray Love” is so popular that it is almost impossible to not read it. Having felt ashamed many times on my not having read this book, I quietly ordered the book (before I saw the movie) from amazon.in and sat down to read it. I don’t remember what I expected it to be – maybe more like a chick lit thing but it turned out quite different. The book is a real story and is a short journal from the time when its writer went travelling to three different countries in pursuit of three different things – Italy (Pleasure), India (Spirituality), Bali (Balance) and this is what corresponds to the book’s name – EAT (in Italy), PRAY (in India) and LOVE (in Bali, Indonesia). These are also the three Is – ITALY, INDIA, INDONESIA.

Though she had everything a middle-aged American woman can aspire for – MONEY, CAREER, FRIENDS, HUSBAND; Elizabeth was not happy in her life, she wasn’t happy in her marriage. Having suffered a terrible divorce and terrible breakup soon after, Elizabeth was shattered. She didn’t know where to go and what to do – all she knew was that she wanted to run away. So she set out on a weird adventure – she will go to three countries in a year and see if she can find out what she was looking for in life. This book is about that life changing journey that she takes for one whole year. […]

Emily May reviews Michelle Obama’s Becoming on Goodreads:

Look, I'm not a happy crier. I might cry at songs about leaving and missing someone; I might cry at books where things don't work out; I might cry at movies where someone dies. I've just never really understood why people get all choked up over happy, inspirational things. But Michelle Obama's kindness and empathy changed that. This book had me in tears for all the right reasons.

This is not really a book about politics, though political experiences obviously do come into it. It's a shame that some will dismiss this book because of a difference in political opinion, when it is really about a woman's life. About growing up poor and black on the South Side of Chicago; about getting married and struggling to maintain that marriage; about motherhood; about being thrown into an amazing and terrifying position.

I hate words like "inspirational" because they've become so overdone and cheesy, but I just have to say it-- Michelle Obama is an inspiration. I had the privilege of seeing her speak at The Forum in Inglewood, and she is one of the warmest, funniest, smartest, down-to-earth people I have ever seen in this world.

And yes, I know we present what we want the world to see, but I truly do think it's genuine. I think she is someone who really cares about people - especially kids - and wants to give them better lives and opportunities.

She's obviously intelligent, but she also doesn't gussy up her words. She talks straight, with an openness and honesty rarely seen. She's been one of the most powerful women in the world, she's been a graduate of Princeton and Harvard Law School, she's had her own successful career, and yet she has remained throughout that same girl - Michelle Robinson - from a working class family in Chicago.

I don't think there's anyone who wouldn't benefit from reading this book.

Hopefully, this post has given you a better idea of how to write a book review. You might be wondering how to put all of this knowledge into action now! Many book reviewers start out by setting up a book blog. If you don’t have time to research the intricacies of HTML, check out Reedsy Discovery — where you can read indie books for free and review them without going through the hassle of creating a blog. To register as a book reviewer , go here .

And if you’d like to see even more book review examples, simply go to this directory of book review blogs and click on any one of them to see a wealth of good book reviews. Beyond that, it's up to you to pick up a book and pen — and start reviewing!

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Martha May McKenzie

Martha May McKenzie and The Magic Cake Big Mistake! by Brian Starr is a gloriously spectacular story of magic and unpredictability. It all starts when Martha plans to tell her grandchildren that she is a witch by presenting them with a particularly delicious but strange...

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Welcome To The Enchanted Forest

Living in a too-small trailer with three older sisters was tough for young Rose. Since their mother’s waitressing job kept her busy all day, the sisters had to maintain the household themselves, which led to inevitable skirmishes. Drew, on the other hand, had a different...

The Road That Weaves and Bends

Have you ever wondered if you were alone or felt that way? Caroline L. Thornton offers reassurance that you are not alone in The Road that Weaves and Bends. This tale helps children face the changes that occur in their daily lives. As we journey...

Ember of the Woods

Birdie and her father moved to Fenske Lake in Minnesota to start a new chapter in their lives in Ember of the Woods by Christene Kamberis. Upon arriving at their cabin, they realized it wasn't what they had expected, and Birdie was devastated. She missed...

The Breaking Game

How do you help athletic children with lots of energy but not enough sportsmanship? Scott Charles explores the options in The Breaking Game. Rebecca is 12 years old and loves to play soccer. She tends to get extremely aggressive and over-competitive, especially when she thinks she...

Carers vs Crooks

Carers vs Crooks written by Chip Colquhoun and Pauline Cordiner, and illustrated by Korky Paul, consists of two short stories aimed at young children. The stories, based on Scottish and Colombian folk tales, are retold here by the authors. The first one follows Cauld Johnnie,...

Adam and Ava Are Not Taken

Adam and Ava Are Not Taken by Betty Collier is a story with a compelling message for young children. It is about twin siblings, Adam and Ava. Being young is not always easy. Adam comforts his sister, Ava, and changes her skewed and incorrect outlook...

An Ode to Cleve

An Ode to Cleve is penned by author John Paul McKinney in the adventure, animals, and drama genres. It is intended for young independent readers. Readers are introduced to sixth grader Nicholas Tullamore, whose struggle with stuttering and relentless bullying has driven him to despair....

Race to the Great Invention

Race to the Great Invention is an action-adventure sci-fi/fantasy novel for children. Written by Bronwen Butter Newcott, the story follows the adventures of sixth graders and best friends Tessa Hardy and Gus Tucker. While spying on their eccentric neighbor, Professor Argus Henchworth, and his yard,...

Sword and Mirror

Sword and Mirror by Melissa McGehee is a captivating fantasy for children that follows the journey of Princess Moray in the Kingdom of Velis. In this kingdom, regardless of their background, children undergo ascension on their 10th birthday. During this event, they discover their unique...

Judge rules against Los Ranchos development project

LOS RANCHOS, N.M. – It’s business as usual on 4th Street and Osuna as crews continue construction on a 12-acre multi-use center in Los Ranchos.

“In the face of the allegations of not complying with the law, and in the face of the planning and zoning commission that they shouldn’t be doing this, even today after the judge has ruled, they are still doing construction,” said Mel Eaves, who is a member of Friends of Los Ranchos.

However, some Los Ranchos residents say there is a lot more happening behind the scenes. Developers started construction in late 2022 which came as a surprise to many residents who say they never held the proper public meetings to get approval to break ground.

“Those procedures require public notice to the residents, and they require that decisions be made in open public meetings,” said Eaves.

Eaves is also a retired attorney and has helped Friends of Los Ranchos pursue legal action. He said when they noticed the construction they warned the Village leadership and developers that they were planning to pursue legal action if they did not follow procedure.

“During that time, we filed briefs, cited the law and told them we were opposed to it. They really didn’t pay any attention to us if anything I think they speeded the construction up,” he said.

More than a year later a district court judge has ruled that developers and village leadership did in fact violate the Open Meetings Act and none of the plans drawn up this far for the project are valid.

“All actions, all approvals previously done in violation of the law are invalid. That means they do not have valid authority to do what they are doing today,” said Eaves.

The victory for Los Ranchos residents is now dimmed as construction continues at the site. Eaves said they will continue to put pressure on new village leadership to put an end to it.

“The board of trustees and the mayor now have the authority and I say the duty, to go to district court and stop construction and to assess a penalty and they ultimately can ask the court to remove the construction,” Eaves said.

KOB 4 reached out to developers and Los Ranchos leadership about the judge’s ruling. They shared the following statement:

“We want a chance to review with Legal Council and the Board, the case finding and implications. We have a posted special meeting to get that understanding.”

They will have a closed meeting on Monday, May 6 to discuss their options moving forward.