Fourth graders often get the short end of the stick when it comes to middle grade books, so I always do a little dance when I read middle grade books that are short, feature protagonists in elementary school, and have the sweetness level that appeals just perfectly to curious 4th graders. If you’ve been searching for realistic fiction books for 4th graders, this post will help! I’ve compiled gentle mysteries, illustrated middle grade books, great-on-audio stories, and all-around funny books to appeal to your kids.
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20 Fabulous Realistic Fiction Books for 4th Graders
Here are 20 of the best realistic fiction books for 4th graders:
Sew Zoey: Ready to Wear
Published: June 4, 2013
This is the first in a cute series about Zoey, a fashion lover who discovers a love for sewing after a visit to the fabric store over the summer break. She eventually starts a blog to show case her designs and quickly begins to garner a following. But when school reopens, it’s not so easy to share her newfound style with classmates (some of whom aren’t always the nicest). A school fashion show presents the perfect opportunity to reintroduce herself. This is very low-stakes story for sensitive kids who love books about friendship and school issues.
Ferris
Published: March 5, 2024
DiCamillo’s stories can be hit or miss for me, but this one I adored. It’s about Emma Phineas (also known as Ferris because she was born under a Ferris wheel), whose family is having a chaotic summer. Her younger sister Pinky is determined to be an outlaw, her grandmother Charisse is insistent that she’s seeing a ghost, and her father’s brother is separated from his wife and living in their basement. Despite how stressful all these circumstances sound, this book is more funny and heartfelt than anything else, as Ferris and her family find love and tenderness for each other.
Lolo Weaver Swims Upstream
Published: April 25, 2023
Willow (Lolo) Weaver’s summer is not going well. Her grandfather has recently died, her grandma isn’t herself, and she’s given away her grandfather’s foster dog, Hank. Lolo’s mother is heavily pregnant, and Lolo is in summer school because she didn’t do too well in her last exams. On top of that, their lake town isn’t a lake town anymore because the lake’s been drained and smells awful now. Lolo wants to help her grandmother feel better, and she’s convinced that getting back her grandfather’s dog will do the trick. The only problem is that the dog now belongs to someone else. So Lolo gets on Pop’s boat to steal Hank back—only to run into her summer school classmate, Noah (who’s the new dog owner). This is a charming story about persistence, unlikely friendships, and the enduring love for a grandparent despite the odds.
Link + Hud: Heroes by a Hair
Published: March 7, 2023
rothers Lincoln and Hudson Dupré are constantly pretending to be on one adventure or another–and destroying their home in the process. Until their parents get an experienced babysitter who wrangles both boys using unconventional methods–much to their dismay. Their plot to get rid of her yields unexpected results. This hilarious graphic novel-prose hybrid shows the brothers’ imaginations in panels and the real story as plain text with illustrations.
Audrey Covington Breaks the Rules
Published: April 18, 2023
Audrey is graduating from elementary school and struggling with having overprotective parents. She notices that her friends seem uninterested in hanging out with her (because she can’t do many of the things their parents allow them to — getting ice cream together alone, watching non-PG movies alone, and more). The breaking point comes when they officially uninvite from their much-anticipated graduation sleepover. Deeply upset, Audrey takes the opportunity to abscond with her celebrity grandmother (who’s desperate to get away for her own reasons). From escaping security on movie lots to crashing celebrity parties, the two have a hijinks-filled day. This is an exciting, escapist, and insightful middle grade book about identity and finding balanced freedom as a tween.
Turtle in Paradise
Published: April 25, 2010
It’s the Great Depression era, and life is hard. So when Turtle’s mom lands a good job with a single caveat (no kids aloud), she’s shipped off to her aunt in Key West, only to encounter a gaggle of male cousins who don’t seem to want her around. From babysitting to island expeditions gone wrong, Turtle learns more about her mother’s family and how to let people in. This is a really sweet story that takes a while to get going but has plenty of heart at the end. It felt reminiscent of DiCamillo’s writing and would make a good read-aloud if your family loves old-timey books. It’s also been adapted into a graphic novel if you’d rather that format.
The Doughnut Fix
Published: April 3, 2018
This book reminded me so much of The Lemonade War, even if the premise isn’t similar to the latter. Perhaps because it’s about a boy with a sister who’s also gifted? Tristan’s parents have moved him and his sisters to a small town, and because of timing issues, they’ve missed the chance to join school that term and have to stay home, bored to tears until the following one. Tristan loves baking, and after discovering that the town’s popular chocolate cream doughnut is no longer being made decides to start a doughnut stand selling those doughnuts. What follows is a funny, entrepreneurial slice-of-life story about their family, the doughnuts, and a mischievous raccoon.
The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street
Published: September 4, 2018
If your 4th graders haven’t already met the Vanderbeekers, there’s no better time than now. I love this series, and the fact that there are five different kids provides readers with ample choice of favorite characters to love. It’s also set in New York city, so if you’re looking for books about city kids, it’s a wholesome choice.
Fish in a Tree
Published: February 5, 2015
Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions. She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.
These Unlucky Stars
Published: March 2, 2021
Annie feels different from her extroverted dad and brother, who get along easily with other people. She’s concluded that she’s unlucky and bad things always happen to her — after all, her mom did leave after she was born. But an encounter with a grumpy neighbor leads to Annie looking after the elderly woman, changes her view of herself. This book is cozy and full of small-town hijinks, including a float parade.
To Catch a Thief
Published: April 4, 2023
Amelia MacGuffin is no detective. She’s eleven, quiet, and unlike her four younger siblings, she has no special talents. But Amelia loves her town, Urchin Beach. Unfortunately, the special staff for the town’s Dragonfly Day Festival has recently been stolen. If Amelia doesn’t find the staff, the Dragonfly Day Festival will be canceled, and her town needs the tourist money to stay afloat. So it’s up to Amelia and her siblings to catch the thief, and boy, are there many options: from the new twins in their neighborhood and their two moms to the grumpy mystery writer who lives in a scary mansion. This is a quirky cozy mystery that works well for a read-aloud. It does progress a bit slowly.
Take Back the Block
Published: January 26, 2021
Wes Henderson has the best style in sixth grade. That–and hanging out with his crew (his best friends since little-kid days) and playing video games–is what he wants to be thinking about at the start of the school year, not the protests his parents are always dragging him to. But when a real estate developer makes an offer to buy Kensington Oaks, the neighborhood Wes has lived his whole life, everything changes. The grownups are supposed to have all the answers, but all they’re doing is arguing. Even Wes’s best friends are fighting. And some of them may be moving. Wes isn’t about to give up the only home he’s ever known. Wes has always been good at puzzles, and he knows there has to be a missing piece that will solve this puzzle and save the Oaks. But can he find it . . . before it’s too late?
Leeva At Last
Published: March 7, 2023
In Leeva at Last, we meet Leeva, a child who’s been kept indoors and put to work by her famous parents. Her mom is the Mayor, and her dad is the Treasurer. They both only care about fame and money, respectively, but not about their daughter or townspeople. They don’t even send her to school, and Leeva learns new words from a vocabulary section of the newspaper and teaches herself to read. But when Leeva finds her way to the town library one day, her eyes are opened to the world around her, and she finds the answer to a question that’s been on her mind forever: “What are people for?” This is a funny, charming, and whimsical young middle grade book about what it means to care about others.
Welcome Back, Maple Mehta-Cohen
Published: October 12, 2021
Maple’s dreams of going to middle school with her best friends come crashing down when she’s held back in the fifth grade because she can’t read. Maple is Indian and Jewish (Hin-Jew as she calls herself) and constantly feels caught in between — never fully belonging on one side. On top of that, Maple gets caught in a web of lies when she tells a new fifth grader that she’s only in the class to support the new kids — and not because she’s a repeater. It doesn’t help that her friends Marigold and Aislin totally dump her because she didn’t move on to a new class with them. This is a realistic middle grade book about dealing with the social and emotional impact of learning difficulties like dyslexia.
Golden Ticket
Published: June 21, 2022
After Ash McAnulty won the school-wide Quiz Bowl in the fifth grade, it was almost like she got a golden ticket. Although she’d been in the school’s Gifted and Talented program since first grade, now everyone viewed her as the smartest of the bunch. But now fifth grade is wrapping up, and Ash feels less gifted. She can’t seem to grasp the abstract concepts other kids in her class do, and she begins to feel like a fraud. If she asks for help and her teachers learn she’s struggling, she’ll no longer be “gifted,” will she? Then who will she be without her “gifted” identity? She resolves to prove herself in the upcoming Quiz Bowl, but her plan doesn’t go to plan, triggering a sequence of events that forces Ash to evaluate what matters most. This is a true-to-life middle grade book about intelligence, identity, and recovering from poor choices as a kid.
Nothing Else But Miracles
Published: September 5, 2023
It’s 1944 and Dory’s father has been joined the US Army in World War II, leaving behind 12-year-old Dory and her brothers, Fish (17) and Pike (7) with the parting words that the neighborhood will always give them what they need. So far, her father’s words have been true, with the neighborhood Italian restaurant Caputo’s offering them one free dinner a week and their neighbor sending them Polish food. But when the new landlord demands to see their father if they want to keep living there, the kids are in a fix. At the same time, Dory discovers an old dumbwaiter (old school elevator) in Caputo’s, which she follows one night to a hideout beyond her expectations. This is a heartwarming, slice-of-life middle grade novel about New York City, family, and the safety of community.
Sofia Acosta Makes a Scene
Published: January 25, 2022
Sofia Acosta Makes a Scene follows fifth grader Sofia Acosta who feels like the black sheep of her ballet-loving family. Her parents were professional dancers who emigrated from Cuba to the United States. Her sister, Regina is a ballet prodigy whose eyes are set on the American Ballet Theater (ABT) and even their little brother Manuel is an excellent ballet dancer. Sofia, though? She can’t stop stepping on people’s toes when she dances. What she loves the most is sewing the costumes for the dancers and hanging out with her best friend Tricia. But when a family friend visiting from Cuba hints at staying in the US long-term to dance for the ABT, Tricia’s response hints at prejudice that Sofia never saw coming. This a sweet, thought-provoking middle grade book about finding one’s path, recognizing inequality, and handling prejudice when it comes from unexpected places.
The $150,000 Rugelach
Published: August 31, 2021
This book follows Jillian and Jack, two kids with opposing personalities and a shared love of food and cooking. Jillian’s mom died a year ago, and her dad is working two jobs to keep them afloat after her mother’s restaurant closed. They’ve also had to move in with Jillian’s grandma, Rita. So when Jillian finds out about a cooking competition hosted by major corporation CEO Phineas Farnsworth II, she thinks it’s a good opportunity to make money to help out the family. Jack is also hugely interested in the contest, as Farnsworth is his role model. When the two kids are assigned as teammates, Jack’s loud attitude clashes with Jillian’s quieter personality, but even worse, the kids realize that Farnsworth has a more sinister plan for the contest than they could have imagined. This is a charming, entertaining, and moving middle grade book about Jewish culture, cooking, and dealing with grief.
Peter Lee’s Notes From the Field
Published: March 2, 2021
Peter, or Petey, as he’s affectionately called by his sister Charlotte aka L.B is obsessed with dinosaurs. He wants to be a paleontologist when he’s older and is constantly digging in the sandpit at his grandparents’ (Haji and Hammy) house. Peter also plays soccer and is super tall for an 11-year-old Korean boy. In the summer, the family takes a trip to Drumheller for a dinosaur expedition, which ends up being a bust for Peter. To cap it off, his Hammy is forgetful and seems dazed from time to time. Then he discovers that his parents are planning to send Hammy to a care facility. This book features a Korean-Canadian boy with asthma and a love for fossil digging. With a delightful genius little sister, heartwarming grandparent relationships, and a dash of Korean culture, this book is perfect for lovers of family-centered stories.
The Big Sting
Published: February 7, 2023
Leo is not a risk-taker; he prefers to adventure through the pages of his books. So when his parents leave him and his little sister with their grouchy grandfather, Leo is disturbed. It gets worse when Grandpa discovers that their late grandma’s bee hives have been stolen and takes both kids on a road trip to track down the thief. This was a fun story set in Canada, and I loved seeing Leo discover how brave he can be. Lots of funny moments and several tender moments. This is great for younger kids who love mysteries and gentle adventures.
There they are: 20 of the best realistic fiction books for 4th graders! Which of these books have you read and loved? What did I miss?
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More 4th Grade Books
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