Montana 4th grade reading list

The 591 books most commonly assigned to Montana 4th grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books591Lexile390L–1000LSourceMontana Content 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 Montana 4th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Montana’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. Bud, Not Buddy

    Christopher Paul Curtis

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers family, identity and perseverance. At 950L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  2. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers fate vs choice, friendship and justice. At 660L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  3. Maniac Magee

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers race, homelessness and family. At 820L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  4. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Montana 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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  5. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Montana 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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  6. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers loss, friendship and mother absence. At 610L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  7. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Montana 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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  8. King of the Wind

    Marguerite Henry

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7.

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  9. Mr. Popper's Penguins

    Richard Atwater · Florence Atwater

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers family, adventure and imagination. At 910L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  10. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH

    Robert C. O'Brien

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers family, courage, science and ethics. At 790L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  11. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers animal welfare, morality and family. At 890L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  12. Swim Team

    Johnnie Christmas

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers perseverance, friendship and race.

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  13. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers siblings, family and everyday life. At 470L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  14. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

    Kate DiCamillo

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

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  15. 11 Birthdays

    Wendy Mass

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  16. Blubber

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers bullying, friendship and school.

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  17. Bunnicula

    Deborah Howe

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6.

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  18. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers school, friendship and family. At 950L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  19. Dog Man

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers humor, friendship and good vs evil. At 390L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  20. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  21. Frindle

    Andrew Clements

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers creativity, language and thought, intelligence. At 830L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  22. Ramona the Pest

    Beverly Cleary

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 4. Covers family, school and growing up. At 750L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  23. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers friendship, perseverance and growing up. At 440L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  24. Superfudge

    Judy Blume

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6.

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  25. The Dollhouse Murders

    Betty Ren Wright

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers mystery, family and ghosts.

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  26. The Indian in the Cupboard

    Lynne Reid Banks

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, responsibility and imagination.

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  27. The Mouse and the Motorcycle

    Beverly Cleary

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 4. Covers friendship, responsibility and coming of age. At 860L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  28. The Thief Lord

    Cornelia Funke

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

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  29. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

    Louis Sachar

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

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  30. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

    Cited in 1 Montana curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers ghosts, family and jealousy.

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591 books cited for Montana 4th grade

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

Show all 591 titles

Reading the whole Montana 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 Montana 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 Montana 4th grade reading list

In Montana schools, 4th grade students are most often assigned books drawn from Montana Content Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 591 titles for 4th grade in Montana, each tied to a Montana-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 390L–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 55 titles here with a Lexile score 31 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.

Montana’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Montana Content Standards (opi.mt.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 4th grade list below blends Montana-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 Montana-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 Montana?
591 books appear on ReadingList for 4th grade students in Montana, sourced from Montana Content Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 4th grade reading in Montana?
Lexile measures across the 4th grade Montana reading list range from 390L 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 Montana Content Standards (published at opi.mt.gov) plus national curricula that apply to Montana 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 opi.mt.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.