Looking for books for a typical 4th grade boy
January 23, 2018 10:52 AM Subscribe
I am looking for long but fun books for my 4th grade boy.
My son enjoys reading and seems to have fine reading comprehension for grade level books. He gets to read for an hour at bedtime and would prefer to pick up a Calvin and Hobbes or old Peanuts book, but once he gets into a book, he loves it, reads it quickly and enjoys doing those online tests after and always get a 90/100 on them. Books read and really enjoyed: Holes, Maniac Magee, House of Robots, Freak the Mighty, Last Kids on Earth series. I am looking for about this reading level.
I am looking for books that aren't harder than the books he's reading, and not more mature/heavy, but LONGER. He reads them in a night or 2 so I'd like something that is fun and not too homework-y feeling but will last longer. Especially for trips when there is a lot more reading time.
difficulty- he's not into Harry Potter and seems to like the main character to be a boy.
My son enjoys reading and seems to have fine reading comprehension for grade level books. He gets to read for an hour at bedtime and would prefer to pick up a Calvin and Hobbes or old Peanuts book, but once he gets into a book, he loves it, reads it quickly and enjoys doing those online tests after and always get a 90/100 on them. Books read and really enjoyed: Holes, Maniac Magee, House of Robots, Freak the Mighty, Last Kids on Earth series. I am looking for about this reading level.
I am looking for books that aren't harder than the books he's reading, and not more mature/heavy, but LONGER. He reads them in a night or 2 so I'd like something that is fun and not too homework-y feeling but will last longer. Especially for trips when there is a lot more reading time.
difficulty- he's not into Harry Potter and seems to like the main character to be a boy.
Chronicles of Narnia, maybe, or the Prydain series by Lloyd Alexander?
posted by The otter lady at 11:03 AM on January 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by The otter lady at 11:03 AM on January 23, 2018 [7 favorites]
Escape From Mr. Lemoncello's Library by Chris Grabenstein. Can't vouch for the sequels but they're probably similar.
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:11 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by JoeZydeco at 11:11 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Zizou Corder’s Lion Boy trilogy was a big hit, both for our sons and as an audiobook in the car for longer family trips.
posted by childofTethys at 11:23 AM on January 23, 2018
posted by childofTethys at 11:23 AM on January 23, 2018
The Boxcar Children books aren't any longer than the ones you cited but holy moly are there a lot of them. (At least 137 at last check.) And you can check them out in bulk from your public library, so having a dozen or so of them at a time doesn't break the bank.
Seconding the Lemoncello books; my 5th grader got into them in 3rd-4th grade and rereads them continuously.
The Melendy Quartet is about at that level. The Origami Yoda books are set in a middle school but definitely accessible to 4th graders.
If he's open to non-human protagonists, the Warriors series (anthropomorphic cats) is very big with that age group. Also available for checkout in bulk at a public library near you.
posted by spamloaf at 11:24 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seconding the Lemoncello books; my 5th grader got into them in 3rd-4th grade and rereads them continuously.
The Melendy Quartet is about at that level. The Origami Yoda books are set in a middle school but definitely accessible to 4th graders.
If he's open to non-human protagonists, the Warriors series (anthropomorphic cats) is very big with that age group. Also available for checkout in bulk at a public library near you.
posted by spamloaf at 11:24 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
"Hatchet" and its sequels. I believe there are four or five now. "Hatchet" is about a boy surviving in the wilderness after a plane crash. I found it very absorbing around your son's age.
posted by millipede at 11:27 AM on January 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by millipede at 11:27 AM on January 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
Bunnicula, Tales of a 4th Grade Nothing, James and the Giant Peach, etc.
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:27 AM on January 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
posted by The_Vegetables at 11:27 AM on January 23, 2018 [3 favorites]
My fourth grader is into the Percy Jackson series and there's always Harry Potter - all the 4th graders I know (including mine0 love them.
posted by otherwordlyglow at 11:39 AM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by otherwordlyglow at 11:39 AM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
My boy is in Grade 5. He loves Calvin and Hobbs, Get Fuzzy. Pretty much all graphic novels he will read. But he will also read novels
His recent lists
- The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris
- Big Nate series
- Captain Underpants series
- Dog Man series
- Red's Planet by Eddie Pittman
- Artemis Fowl (these are a little more advanced)
-Jedi Academy
posted by Ftsqg at 11:41 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
His recent lists
- The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris
- Big Nate series
- Captain Underpants series
- Dog Man series
- Red's Planet by Eddie Pittman
- Artemis Fowl (these are a little more advanced)
-Jedi Academy
posted by Ftsqg at 11:41 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was just about to also recommend the Percy Jackson series and also the How to Train Your Dragon series (my kid seems to prefer series - he's already excited about the next book when he finishes one).
posted by Empidonax at 11:43 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Empidonax at 11:43 AM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oops, sorry. Didn't see your no Harry Potter comment!
posted by otherwordlyglow at 11:57 AM on January 23, 2018
posted by otherwordlyglow at 11:57 AM on January 23, 2018
The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization by Daniel Pinkwater. First of a trilogy. Magical and silly. My daughter absolutely loved these books. The first has a male main character, the second and third female.
The first includes traveling to LA from Chicago, cowboys, movie stars, ghosts, and donuts. You can't go wrong.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:11 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
The first includes traveling to LA from Chicago, cowboys, movie stars, ghosts, and donuts. You can't go wrong.
posted by Kafkaesque at 12:11 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
He might enjoy the Great Brain books, recounting the adventures of the narrator's Tom Sawyer-esque older brother in Utah around the turn of the last century. Note that it was written probably sixty years ago and might reflect some outdated attitudes (I remember that there's a boy who loses his leg in an accident and becomes convinced he's "useless" until the older brother basically talks him out of it), but I'm pretty sure it doesn't throw around the n-word or anything.
posted by praemunire at 12:29 PM on January 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
posted by praemunire at 12:29 PM on January 23, 2018 [4 favorites]
If he doesn't mind books set in the 1960s, I adored the Mad Scientists' Club at that age. I imagine it would feel dated and anachronistic in the past internet and cell phone world, but if he's fine with older but still recent settings, it might be good.
posted by Candleman at 12:29 PM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Candleman at 12:29 PM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
2nding Great Brain and Melendy Family. What about Encyclopedia Brown (also feels dated but still enjoyable)?
posted by Miko at 12:33 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Miko at 12:33 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seconding Daniel Pinkwater and to a lesser extent Encyclopedia Brown (we like the old timey expressions like "flatter than a 10 cent sandwich" and use them all the time in conversations). He may like this Canadian series - And Then it Happened. 3 boys, a little older than the OP's, getting into a lot of crazy real life adventures (no fantasy elements other than a turkey who behaves like a dog). They are episodic with minimal continuity.
Oh and all the measurements discussed in the series are in metric which might be weird for American readers. And mom's should definitely not read them.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:39 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh and all the measurements discussed in the series are in metric which might be weird for American readers. And mom's should definitely not read them.
posted by Ashwagandha at 12:39 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
The Mysterious Benedict Society books are super fun and nice and long (Book 1 is ~500pp).
The A Series of Unfortunate Events books are individually shorter, but more plentiful.
Both series’ have an ensemble of protagonists of different age/gender. Both have lovely/mischievous senses of humour that might appeal to a Calvin + Hobbes lover.
posted by Dorinda at 12:41 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
The A Series of Unfortunate Events books are individually shorter, but more plentiful.
Both series’ have an ensemble of protagonists of different age/gender. Both have lovely/mischievous senses of humour that might appeal to a Calvin + Hobbes lover.
posted by Dorinda at 12:41 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I believe I was about that age when I started devouring Redwall.
(Also Goosebumps and Animorphs, but those are pretty short.)
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 1:18 PM on January 23, 2018
(Also Goosebumps and Animorphs, but those are pretty short.)
posted by Phobos the Space Potato at 1:18 PM on January 23, 2018
I was in 4th grade the first time I read The Hobbit, and I remember 1) Being daunted by the size of it, 2) Finding it not as hard to read as I had assumed it must be and 3) Feeling quite a sense of accomplishment.
I wouldn't call any of these others particularly long compared to other YA books I remember reading at the time, but they are the ones that really stuck with me in 4th grade, and I'll always recommend in threads like this:
2nding Chronicles of Prydain (there are 5 books in the series, plus an anthology of short stories set there.)
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.
And most of all, The House With a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs. (find an older used copy with the Edward Gorey illustrations if you can!) There are several other Lewis Barnavelt stories too.
posted by Funeral march of an old jawbone at 2:11 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I wouldn't call any of these others particularly long compared to other YA books I remember reading at the time, but they are the ones that really stuck with me in 4th grade, and I'll always recommend in threads like this:
2nding Chronicles of Prydain (there are 5 books in the series, plus an anthology of short stories set there.)
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.
And most of all, The House With a Clock in its Walls by John Bellairs. (find an older used copy with the Edward Gorey illustrations if you can!) There are several other Lewis Barnavelt stories too.
posted by Funeral march of an old jawbone at 2:11 PM on January 23, 2018 [1 favorite]
I was completely hooked on Gordon Korman at that age. His books aren't especially long but some of them are series. I'd recommend either the Macdonald Hall or Bugs Potter books.
posted by mannequito at 3:39 PM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by mannequito at 3:39 PM on January 23, 2018 [2 favorites]
Seconding Gordon Korman. My Teacher is an Alien by Bruce Coville (start of a series) The Plant that are Dirty Socks, by Nancy McArthur.
Hardy Boys were popular with my guys, even though they were old.
Also, I recommend the Horrible Histories series (the Rotten Romans, at al) you can't go wrong with Garfield, either.
posted by Enid Lareg at 5:15 PM on January 23, 2018
Hardy Boys were popular with my guys, even though they were old.
Also, I recommend the Horrible Histories series (the Rotten Romans, at al) you can't go wrong with Garfield, either.
posted by Enid Lareg at 5:15 PM on January 23, 2018
Another vote for James and the Giant Peach, as well as some of Dahl's other children's novels, in particular Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, and Danny, the Champion of the World.
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 6:14 PM on January 24, 2018
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 6:14 PM on January 24, 2018
Hi!
High school English teacher here.
I love a lot of the suggestions (everything I’d suggest has been mentioned actually!) but I’d also like to push back on a few things you mentioned. Just for context, I work with a lot of students who identify 3rd and 4th grade as the year that killed their love of reading. And it’s programs like AR that push a lot of kids that way. I’m assuming that’s the online tests you mention. One of the problems is that it turns reading into a competition, which makes it less about reading for the love of reading. Another reason is that the tests focus on superfluous detail that is actually antithetical to the way we ask students to read in middle and high school. AR trains them to memorise the names of characters and the sequence of plot points but not to look at stories for what they bring to us. There is power in a story, and AR ignores the way most people who love to read tend to read: to learn something, to feel something, and to be changed by something.
That’s why kids return to the same books, isn’t it? They want to feel something they’ve felt before. It’s not so they can get the names and details straight. It’s because the story starts to feel like part of them.
Reading at home shouldn’t be about pushing new books on your child so he can get more AR points. It should be about engaging his love of stories and his imagination. If reading isn’t primarily something he directs, it will become a chore. But definitely ask him about what he’s reading and what he noticed and what he wondered about. And predict - that is one of the best ways to help students read critically, actually.
If I were in your position, I’d take him to a bookstore, get a bunch of the books suggested here in a big pile and let him choose anything he likes. Then let him browse a bit and see if he finds anything else. Then no pressure - he reads what he wants. Sometimes giving kids some help with choosing is a good thing, so long as they are the one in the driver’s seat.
And thank you for being a parent who cares and takes an active role in the reading life of your child. You’re already doing so much and your son is lucky to have a parent to care so much about his reading! Reading ANYTHING - yes, even Calvin and Hobbes for the millionth time - for an hour a day will make a difference in his reading life in the future.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:22 PM on January 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
High school English teacher here.
I love a lot of the suggestions (everything I’d suggest has been mentioned actually!) but I’d also like to push back on a few things you mentioned. Just for context, I work with a lot of students who identify 3rd and 4th grade as the year that killed their love of reading. And it’s programs like AR that push a lot of kids that way. I’m assuming that’s the online tests you mention. One of the problems is that it turns reading into a competition, which makes it less about reading for the love of reading. Another reason is that the tests focus on superfluous detail that is actually antithetical to the way we ask students to read in middle and high school. AR trains them to memorise the names of characters and the sequence of plot points but not to look at stories for what they bring to us. There is power in a story, and AR ignores the way most people who love to read tend to read: to learn something, to feel something, and to be changed by something.
That’s why kids return to the same books, isn’t it? They want to feel something they’ve felt before. It’s not so they can get the names and details straight. It’s because the story starts to feel like part of them.
Reading at home shouldn’t be about pushing new books on your child so he can get more AR points. It should be about engaging his love of stories and his imagination. If reading isn’t primarily something he directs, it will become a chore. But definitely ask him about what he’s reading and what he noticed and what he wondered about. And predict - that is one of the best ways to help students read critically, actually.
If I were in your position, I’d take him to a bookstore, get a bunch of the books suggested here in a big pile and let him choose anything he likes. Then let him browse a bit and see if he finds anything else. Then no pressure - he reads what he wants. Sometimes giving kids some help with choosing is a good thing, so long as they are the one in the driver’s seat.
And thank you for being a parent who cares and takes an active role in the reading life of your child. You’re already doing so much and your son is lucky to have a parent to care so much about his reading! Reading ANYTHING - yes, even Calvin and Hobbes for the millionth time - for an hour a day will make a difference in his reading life in the future.
posted by guster4lovers at 7:22 PM on January 24, 2018 [2 favorites]
Amazon tells me that A Wrinkle in Time is 256 pages long. And of course there’s a movie trailer for it, so if he wants to read it before the movie, now is the time. (If he wants to go the other direction, then I guess this summer will be the time...)
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:44 AM on January 25, 2018
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:44 AM on January 25, 2018
On a lighter note, if he hasn’t read the Beverly Cleary or some of the Judy Blume books (I know! More girls as main characters! Who knew?), it may be worth doing those, but they’re shorter.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:45 AM on January 25, 2018
posted by Huffy Puffy at 10:45 AM on January 25, 2018
Beverly Cleary also has some boy protagonists (there's a Henry Huggins series that intersects with the Beezus & Ramona series, plus Otis Spofford is part of the Ellen Tebbits series).
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 1:11 PM on January 25, 2018
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 1:11 PM on January 25, 2018
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posted by Carillon at 11:00 AM on January 23, 2018