Michigan 4th grade reading list

The 637 books most commonly assigned to Michigan 4th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books637Lexile360L–1000LSourceMichigan ELA Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned nationally: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Elementary (K–5) titles appearing in the most states are Wonder (29 states), Because of Winn-Dixie (26 states), and Shiloh (25 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Start here — most-cited for Michigan 4th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Michigan’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. When You Reach Me

    Rebecca Stead

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers time travel (speculative), friendship and 1970s NYC. At 750L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

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  3. The One and Only Ivan

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers animal welfare, captivity and freedom, friendship across species. At 570L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  4. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers courage, forgiveness and light vs dark. At 670L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  5. Unspeakable

    Carole Boston Weatherford

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 3 to 7.

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  6. Blended

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers family, race and identity. At 610L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  7. Clementine

    Sara Pennypacker

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 8.

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  8. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers disability, friendship and self-acceptance. At 420L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  9. Fish in a Tree

    Lynda Mullaly Hunt

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, friendship and school. At 550L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  10. Flora and Ulysses

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  11. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers disability, inclusion and intelligence. At 700L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  12. The BFG

    Roald Dahl

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, courage and imagination. At 720L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  13. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers love, loss and journey.

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  14. The Penderwicks

    Jeanne Birdsall

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  15. Traction Man Is Here!

    Mini Grey

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 5.

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  16. Wonderstruck

    Brian Selznick

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7.

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  17. A Bad Case of Stripes

    David Shannon

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers individuality, popularity and ficción juvenil.

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  18. Adopted by an Owl

    Robbyn Smith van Frankenhuyzen

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers great horned owl, owls as pets and biography.

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  19. Amari and the Night Brothers

    B. B. Alston

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers magic, family and courage.

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  20. Arnie, the Doughnut

    Laurie Keller

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers humorous stories and doughnuts.

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  21. Bink & Gollie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers humorous stories, adventure and adventurers, friendship.

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  22. Bone

    Jeff Smith

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers fantasy, cartoons and comics, cousins.

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  23. Class Act

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race, friendship and class.

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  24. Counting by 7s

    Holly Goldberg Sloan

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers realistic, autistic children and genius.

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  25. Dog Breath

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers humorous stories, dogs and bad breath.

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  26. Donut Feed the Squirrels

    Mika Song

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8.

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  27. Down the Rabbit Hole

    Peter Abrahams

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers mystery, murder in fiction, detective and mystery stories.

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  28. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  29. Ferris

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers family, humor and growing up.

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  30. Fever 1793

    Laurie Halse Anderson

    Cited in 1 Michigan curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers yellow fever, epidemics and survival.

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637 books cited for Michigan 4th grade

Assignments tied directly to Michigan’s Michigan ELA Standards or national curricula with a Michigan-specific citation.

Show all 637 titles

Reading the whole Michigan 4th grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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New members only · many assigned titles are included with the membership. As an Amazon Associate, ReadingList earns from qualifying purchases and membership trials at no extra cost to you.

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Other Michigan grades

3rd grade · 5th grade · 2nd grade · 6th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

3rd grade · 5th grade · 2nd grade · 6th grade

Same 4th grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

Browse 4th grade reading by theme

About the Michigan 4th grade reading list

In Michigan schools, 4th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Michigan ELA Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 637 titles for 4th grade in Michigan, each tied to a Michigan-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 360L–1000L.

4th grade sits in the 3-5 grade band, where students are transitional readers. At this stage the emphasis is on shifting from learning-to-read to reading-to-learn and sustaining attention across longer chapter books. Assigned reading skews toward early novels, narrative non-fiction, and a student's first assigned full-length stories, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 400L to 800L. Measured against that 740–1010L range, of the 53 titles here with a Lexile score 29 are grade-level, 24 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 0 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 4th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Michigan’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Michigan ELA Standards (michigan.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 4th grade list below blends Michigan-specific assignments with the widely-taught national canon. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 4th grade unit can pair a Michigan-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

How many books are assigned to 4th grade students in Michigan?
637 books appear on ReadingList for 4th grade students in Michigan, sourced from Michigan ELA Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 4th grade reading in Michigan?
Lexile measures across the 4th grade Michigan reading list range from 360L to 1000L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Entries reference Michigan ELA Standards (published at www.michigan.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Michigan schools: Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English Literature and Language, IB Diploma Programme, and Cambridge Assessment International. Every assignment row on each book's detail page links its primary source.

Reading guides for parents

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State-specific entries sourced from www.michigan.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.