Good Reading for Fourth Grade

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All-of-a-Kind Family*  by Sydney Taylor.  J Tay Ella, Jenny, Charlotte, Sarah and Gertie, the five all-of-a-kind family girls, get a big surprise when their mother has a new baby. Babe the Gallant Pig  by Dick King-Smith.   J Kin You've seen the movie - now read the book about the pig who herds sheep better than any sheepdog. Check out the latest Babe movie at movieweb.com/movie/babe2/index.html Batman: Exploring the World of Bats  by Laurence Pringle. J 599.4 Pr Real-life "batman" Merlin Tuttle is a scientist who helps people understand these weird and endangered animals. Find out more at the Bat Conservation International site: www.batcon.org The Beauty of the Beast: Poems from the Animal Kingdom  edited by Jack Prelutsky.   J 811 Be From ants to lizards to wolves, celebrate the world of animals in these funny, mysterious poems. Ben and Me  by Robert Lawson.   J La Just where did Benjamin Franklin get all his bright ideas? Amos the mouse tells all, in this funny account of Franklin's life. The BFG  by Roald Dahl.  J Dah The Big Friendly Giant kidnaps Sophie from the orphanage, and together they concoct a plan to save the world from the "cannybull" giants. The Bully of Barkham Street*  by Mary Stolz.   J Sto Why is Martin Hastings such a bully? If you've already met him in "A Dog on Barkham Street," read this book to hear the same story from his point of view. Clever Gretchen and Other Forgotten Folktales  by Alison Lurie.  J 398.2 Lu Meet Clever Gretchen, Kate Crackernuts, Molly Whuppie and twelve other spunky heroines from European folklore. Dog Friday*  by Hilary McKay.   J McK Who would have thought that Robin Brogan, who landed in the hospital after being attacked by a dog, would actually be hoping against hope that he could adopt the stray dog he found on the beach? The Doll in the Garden  by Mary Downing Hahn.  J Ha Ashley and Kristi make some startling discoveries when they go through a hedge and enter a turn-of-the-century world. Dinah for President  by Claudia Mills.  J Mil Dinah Seabrooke decides that the best way to make friends in middle school is to run for class president. Fat Men From Space  by Daniel Pinkwater.  J Pin Oh, no! We're being invaded by fat men from space who plan to eat up all the junk food on earth! The Five Sisters   by Margaret Mahy.  J Mah Five paper dolls come to life, one by one, as they endure fire, water, and other dangers in their search for a mysterious island. The Four-Legged Ghosts   by Mary Hoffman.  J Ho Alex and his sister own a mouse that magically brings back the ghosts of all the pets that ever lived in their house. From Sea to Shining Sea: a Treasury of American Folklore and Folksongs   compiled by Amy Cohn.  J 810.8 Fr More than a hundred North American folktales, folk songs, poems, stories and essays fill this collection, illustrated by Caldecott Award winning artists. The Good, the Bad and the Goofy*   by Jon Scieszka.   J Sci The Time Warp Trio, also known as Joe, Sam and Fred, find themselves back in time in the Wild West, facing hostile Indians and cowboys. Half Magic   by Edward Eager.  J Eag A magical coin grants the children half of whatever they wish for, with unexpected consequences. Homer Price*  by Robert McCloskey. Homer has big adventures in his small town when he foils some bandits with the help of his pet skunk, finds a diamond bracelet that falls into some doughnut batter, and meets a famous actor who's not as brave as the superhero he plays in the movies. How to Eat Fried Worms   by Thomas Rockwell.  J Ro Billy makes a bet that he can eat fifteen worms in fifteen days. Will he eat them fried, broiled, with ketchup and mustard, or raw? If You Want to Scare Yourself   by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg.  J Som While Freddy is confined to bed, he persuades everyone in his family to tell him the scariest stories they know. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher   by Bruce Coville.  J Cov When Jeremy buys a dragon's egg without knowing it, his adventures begin. Lily's Crossing   by Patricia Reilly Giff. J Gif During the summer of 1944, Lily and her new friend Albert cook up a plan to reunite with Lily's father and Albert's sister, both in Europe for the duration of the war. Lydia, Queen of Palestine   by Uri Orlev.  J Orl Ten-year-old Lydia describes herself as a terror, but it's her strong spirit that helps her survive when she's sent alone to a kibbutz in Palestine to escape the war. Making Friends with Frankenstein   by Colin McNaughton.  J 821 Mc Funny, scary, gross, and silly poems and pictures about monsters, babies, best friends and other unusual creatures. Maxie, Rosie, and Earl - Partners in Grime*   by Barbara Park.  J Par Three kids who are sent to the principal's office leave school for the day and get into hilarious trouble. Me, Mop and the Moondance Kid*   by Walter Dean Myers.  J Mye Now that T.J. and his brother Moondance have been adopted, they do their best to help their friend Mop find a family of her own, too. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle*  by Betty MacDonald.  J Mac Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle always has good advice for families in trouble, whether it's the radish cure for children who won't take a bath or a parrot to cure Answerbackism. Take a look at the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle page created by brothers Andrew and Leland Rudner at ericae.net/~rudner/pig/Piggle.htm The Not-Just-Anybody Family*   by Betsy Byars.  J Bya Maggie and Vern decide it's up to them to rescue their grandfather from jail and their brother from the hospital while their mother is off traveling with the rodeo. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi   by Rudyard Kipling, adapted and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.  J Pin A curious and frisky mongoose overcomes the evil plans of two deadly cobras, Nag and Nagaina, in this beautifully illustrated story from Kipling's Jungle Book. Ruthie's Gift   by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.  J Bra The only girl in a family of six boys, Ruthie tries hard to be the lady her mother wants her to be. Scooter   by Vera Williams.  J Wil Elena Rose Rosen has just moved to New York with her mother and her new blue scooter, and this book tells her story, complete with her drawings and jokes. Song of the Trees*   by Mildred D. Taylor.  J Tay Cassie Logan and her family stand up to their white neighbor in a story that affirms the strength of the African-American family, even during the days of the Depression. Spooky Stories for a Dark and Stormy Night   by Alice Low.  J Spo Scary, but not too scary stories, fill this big book that would be fun to read aloud at slumber parties. The Warm Place   by Nancy Farmer.  J Far When a young giraffe is captured and taken to the San Francisco Zoo, she calls on all her human and animal friends to help her escape and return to the warm place she calls home. White Water   by P.J. Petersen.  J Pet As if a white-water rafting trip isn't scary enough, it's up to Greg to rescue his father and little brother after his father suffers a rattlesnake bite. Why Lapin's Ears Are Long, and Other Tales from the Louisiana Bayou   by Sharon Arms Doucet.  J 398.0976 Do As long as there's fools to be fooled, Rabbit is going to come along and do the fooling! The Wish Giver   by Bill Brittain.  J Bri Four people buy wishes at the county fair, and three of them get into big, big trouble. Can the last wish save them all? Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear*   by Lensey Namioka.  J Nam Yingtao, the youngest in the Yang family, is much better at playing baseball than playing the violin, but his parents expect him to be a gifted musician like everyone else in the family. * Look for more books in this series.

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