Best Fourth & Fifth Grade Books!
To help fourth and fifth grade readers progress in reading AND develop a love of reading, it is crucial to provide them with really great books to that match their current reading level and interests. You can teach reading and spelling in isolation all day long, but if early readers aren't putting that new knowledge into practice by reading those words in real books, the knowledge remains superficial. Many of the most clever, engaging, even addicting series start being accessible to readers in fourth and fifth grade!
Here are some popular books for fourth and fifth grade kids to read:
The difficulty level increases as you move down the lists. If you aren't sure where to start, perhaps start fourth graders with a book in list 1 or 2 and start a fifth grader with a book in list 4 or 5. Then you can adjust up for down from there.
4th & 5th grade -- LIST #1
These books are a great place to start for the beginning of fourth grade or for fifth graders who find books on the subsequent list to be a little challenging. Books in this level expose children to settings that are often not as familiar to the reader (ie: a different country). This allows readers to gain experience in understanding the perspectives of others and in relating to settings across time and space.
4th & 5th grade -- LIST #2
These books are also written at a level for fourth and fifth graders, and they continue to
expose children to less familiar settings (in time and space) as well as perspectives outside of their own.
The difficulty level increases as you move down the lists.
4th & 5th grade -- LIST #3
These books contain the next subsequent level of complexity (as these lists build on each other). Since children reading the books on this level are generally preadolescents, books often have themes that relate to their current lives. Readers at this level are also ready to be read works with obvious symbolism and more complex fantasy elements.
The difficulty level increases as you move down the lists.
4th & 5th grade -- LIST #4
These books contain much of the same features as the above list, but often also incorporate more figurative language, symbolism, and literary devices like story-within-a-story. Additionally, books at this level can start to touch on common human and societal problems and require readers to using critical thinking to interpret and develop their own opinions on what they read.
4th & 5th grade -- LIST #5
These books are similar in scope and content to the books in the previous list, requiring critical thinking, developing one's own opinion on characters and themes, and deciphering more complex literary devices.
4th & 5th grade -- LIST #6
This is the last list for
fourth and fifth graders, with all the features of previous lists. This list happens to contain some of our personal favorite books (and we find books from this level on to actually be engaging enough for adults as well.)
The difficulty level increases as you move down the lists.
Too easy? Too hard? Here's help:
Are these recommended fourth and fifth grade books too hard for your reader?
Try some of the books recommended for third graders. Kids all learn to read at their own pace. As long as there's progress...that's cause for celebration!
Has your child progressed past the fourth and fifth grade level reading books listed above?
Check out our lists of books sixth, seventh and eighth graders can read. Just be sure to check for comprehension often.
Got recommendations for fourth and fifth grade books to read?
We think the books one these lists are THE BEST books for fourth and fifth grade. Not only are they all books the average fourth and fifth grader can actually read on their own, but they also have solid storylines that will help with comprehension and help kids learn to love reading. We hope you enjoy this list!
Have we missed one? If you know of any amazing books for fourth or fifth grade -- popular books
that MUST be on this list --
please let us know! (Note: This website is devoted to book that kids can read THEMSELVES, not those read to them by others. So for this page, we are aiming to list only fourth and fifth grade level reading books). Thank you!
