Athol Public Library

Athol Public Library
568 Main Street    Athol, MA 01331
978-249-9515    Fax 978-249-7636
info@athollibrary.org    home

Children's Reading List 3rd & 4th

Grades 3 & 4

 2008

Adler, David.  Satchel Paige:  Don’t Look Back.  Eventurlly overcoming racism and the social limitations of the early 1940’s Satchel Paige enjoyed a career in baseball for over 40 years.

Anderson, Hans Christian.  The Nightingale.  Despite being neglected by the emperor for a jewel-studded bird, the little nightingale revives the dying ruler with its beautiful song.  Newbery Honor Book.

Asch, Frank.  Star Jumper:  Journal of a Cardboard Genius.  Alex plans to leave planet Earth and his annoying little brother in Star Jumper – the spaceship he designed and built entirely of cardboard, duct tape, and old items from the basement.

Atwater, Richard.  Mr. Popper’s Penguins.  The unexpected delivery of a large crate containing an Antarctic penguin changes the live and fortune of Mr.Popper.  Newbery Honor Book. 

Avi.  The Good Dog.  McKinley, a malamute, is torn between the domestic world of his human family and the wild world of Lupin, a wolf that is trying to recruit dogs to replenish the dwindling wolf pack.

Banks, Lynne Reid.  Harry the Poisonous Centipede.  Harry’s mother makes him promise never to visit the world of the Hoo-Mins, but Harry’s best friend George has other ideas. (Series)

Baum, Frank  L.  The Wizard of Oz. The first truly American fairy tale crafted out of such familiar items as a cornfield scarecrow, a mechanical woodman, and a humbug wizard who used old fashioned hokum to express the universal theme, “There’s no place like home.” (Frameworks)

Birney, Betty.  Friendship According to Humphrey.  When Humphrey the hamster returns  to Mrs. Brisbane’s class after the winter break, he finds a new class pet.

Blume, Judy.  Double Fudge.  Twelve-year-old Peter describes the highs and lows of life with his little brother, Fudge. (Series)

Bregoli, Jane.  The Goat Lady.  Children of a small Massachusetts town convince their community to love and accept a kind, elderly French Canadian woman, despite her messy yard and noisy goats

Burnett, Frances.  Little Lord Fauntleroy.  The moving story of a boy living on the edge of poverty in New York who suddenly learns that he is the heir to an English Lord with vast lands and wealth.  (Also by this author A Little Princess and The Secret Garden)  (Frameworks)

Byars, Eve.  Me Tarzan.  When Dorothy gets the part of Tarzan in the class play, her tremendous yell attracts the attention of increasingly larger and wilder animals.

Carroll, Lewis.  Alice’s adventures  in Wonderland.  This is the enchanting fantasy of Alice, who falls down the rabbit hole and meets strange characters such as the Mad Hatter. (Frameworks)

Child, Lauren.  Clarice Bean Spells Trouble. Spelling causes lots of trouble for Clarice.  (Series)

Cleary, Beverly.  Ribsy.  When Ribsy gets lost from his family at the shopping center, he begins humorous escapades and wanderings in his quest to find his family. (Series)

Clements, Andrew.  No Talking. The noisy fifth grade class of Laketon Elementary becomes suspiciously quiet when the boys challenge the girls to a “no talking” contest. (Also by this author School Story, Frindle, The Janitor’s Boy and the Jake Drake series)

Coatsworth, Elizabeth.  The Cat Who Went to Heaven.  A little cat and a compassionate Japanese artist bring about a miracle.  (Frameworks)

Cole, Brock.  Buttons.  When their father eats so much that he pops the buttons off his britches, each of his three daughters tries a different plan to find replacements.

Cole, Joanna.  The Magic School Bus Series. (Any)

Collodi, Carlo. Pinocchio.  The little wooden puppet, Pinocchio, has many adventures before he learns how to be truly good.  

Cook, Sally.  Hey Batta Batta Swing!  The Wild Old Days of  Baseball.  This non-fiction title describes the old days of baseball before there were pitching mounds, and contains trivia about players’ nicknames, team names, and the design of the uniforms.

Coombs, Kate.  The Secret-Keeper.  Kalli is entrusted with everyone’s secrets until the potter’s son reveals the best secret of all.

Coville, Bruce.  Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher.  In this sequel to The Monster’s Ring, Jeremy purchases a strange egg which turns out to be a dragon that only he and Mary Lou can see. (Series

Dahl, Roald.  James and the Giant Peach.  Magic and crazy adventures keep the reader’s attention, as well as stir the imagination, in this charming book. (Any by this author) 

 Danziger, Paula.  Amber Brown is Feeling Blue.  After Amber’s parents’ divorce, her father moves back from Paris, and Amber has to decide with which of her parents she will spend Thanksgiving.  (Series)

Davies, Nicola.  Extreme Animals:  the Toughest Creatures on Earth.  This amazing natural history book reveals how animals adapt to and survive the harshest of conditions that would kill any human. 

Deans, Karen.  Playing to Win:  The Story of Althea Gibson.  Growing up in Harlem, Althea Gibson overcame odds to become the first African American woman to be ranked as the number one tennis player in the world.

 

DiCamillo, Kate.  Because of Winn-Dixie.  India Opal Buloni, age 10, describes her first summer in Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog, Winn-Dixie  Newbery Honor Book.

 

Dodge, Mary.  Hans Brinker.  Friends, faith, and a large-hearted doctor give poor Hans and Gretel Brinker a fighting chance at the Silver Skates, the first prize in the annual skating race over the frozen canals of Holland.  (Frameworks)

 

Enright, Elizabeth.  Thimble Summer.   A few hours after nine-year-old Garnet Linden finds a silver thimble in the dried-up riverbed, the rains come and end the long drought on the farm.  As far as Garnet is concerned, the thimble is responsible for each good thing that happens during this magic summer.  (Also by this author Gone-away Lake)  (Frameworks)

 

Estes, Eleanor.  Ginger Pye.  Jerry Pye and his sister, Rachel, feel pretty smart for buying Ginger, the smartest dog ever, until someone steals him.(Also by this author The Hundred Dresses)  (Frameworks)

 

Fleischman, Paul.  Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal:  A Worldwide Cinderella.  This colorful version of the classic fairy tale blends together tidbits of over twenty Cinderella stories from around the world.

 

Gardiner, John R.  Stone Fox.  Willie hopes to win the purse in a dog sled race in order to pay the back taxes on his grandfather’s farm.

 

George, Jean Craighead.  To Climb a Waterfall. Lyrical directions for climbing a waterfall.  (Also by this author Arctic Son and Evergl(Frameworks)

 

George, Jean Craighead.  How to Talk to Your Dog and How to Talk to Your Cat.  These books describe how dogs and cats communicate with people through their behavior and sounds and also explain how to talk back to them using sounds, behavior and body language.

 

Grahame, Kenneth.  The Wind in the Willows.  The story of Mole and his friend Badger. (Frameworks)

 

Greenberg, Jan.  Action Jackson.  Using artist Jackson Pollack’s nickname as its title, this book describes the process for one of his most famous works, “Lavender Mist.”

 

Henry, Marguerite.  King of the Wind.  Ancestor to the thoroughbred horse we know today, Sham and the mute stable boy Agba travel from Morocco, to France, to England before Sham’s true greatness as a racehorse is discovered.  Newbery Medal. (Also by this author Misty of Chincoteague)

 

Hill, Kirkpatrick.  The Year of Miss Agnes.  Ten-year-old Fredericka (Fred) narrates the story of school and village life among the Athabascans in Alaska during 1948 when Miss Agnes arrives as the new teacher.

 

Holt, Kimberly Willis.  Mister and Me.  In a small Louisiana mill town in 1940, Jolene does not want her Momma to marry the logger who is courting her, but even her bad behavior does not drive him away.

 

Hooper, Meredith.  Antarctic Adventure.  Meet the explorers of the Antarctic and read about their triumphs and tragedies in the frozen south.

 

Hooper, Meredith.  The Endurance : Shackleton’s Perilous Expedition.  Watercolor illustrations capture the beauty of the Antarctic landscape and the team’s heroic determination to survive hunger, frostbite, illness and exhaustion after being shipwrecked.

 

Hopkins, Lee Bennett, collector.  My America : A Poetry Atlas of the United States. This collection of poems highlights seven geographical regions of the United States.

 

Horvath, Polly.  The Trolls.  Eccentric Aunt Sally comes from Canada to baby-sit the Anderson children to whom she tells delightful stories of family and childhood experiences.  (Available on cassette)

 

Howe, James.  Bunnicula:  A Rabbit-Tale Mystery.  Though scoffed at by Harold the dog, Chester the cat tries to warn his human family that their foundling baby bunny must be a vampire.  (Series)

 

Hurst, Carol Otis.  Rocks in His Head.  A young man’s lifelong love of rock collecting eventually leads him to working a science museum.

 

Jenkins, Steve.  Dogs and Cats, Cats and Dogs.  Illustrated with eye-catching collage, this book presents a wealth of information about both dogs and cats in an enticing read and flip-it-over format.

 

King-Smith, Dick.  The Golden Goose.  A golden goose seems to have magical powers which bring much good luck and joy to a farmer and his family.  (Any by this author) (Frameworks)

 

Kipling, Rudyard.  Rikki Tikki Tavi.  A small but brave mongoose risks his own life to protect his adopted family from two deadly cobras.  (From Just So Stories)

 

Lin, Grace.  The Year of the Dog.  Frustrated at her seeming lack of talent for anything, a young Taiwanese American girl sets out to apply the lessons of the Chinese Year of the Dog to her own life.

 

Lindgren, Astrid.  Pippi Longstockings.  Pippi is an irresistible nine-year-old who lives alone and manages to get involved in numerous humorous escapades.  (Series)

 

Lowry, Lois.  Gooney Bird and the Room Mother.  In this second story about Gooney Bird Greene, the heroine saves the day by finding her class a surprise room mother.  (Series)

 

Luber, David.  Punished!  Because he was playing tag in the reference section of the library, Logan is punished by Professor Wordsworth, who puts a spell on him that is broken only by finding anagrams, palindromes ,and oxymoron’s

 

 

MacDonald, Alan.  Trolls Go Home!  When the Trolls move in next door to the Priddles, each family finds the other strange, which causes many misunderstandings. (Series)

 

MacDonald, Betty.  Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.  Loved by both children and their parents, Mrs Piggle-Wiggle always knows just the right way to solve any problem.  (Series)

 

MacLachlan, Patricia.  Sarah, Plain and Tall.  Sarah, a mail-order bride comes to the prairie and changes the lives of a motherless family.  Newbery Medal  (Series)

 

MacLachlan, Patricia.  Edward’s Eyes.  Edward has a large and close family that loves baseball, music, books, and each other.  When he unexpectedly dies and his parents donate his organs, his wonderful eyes to a perfect recipient.

 

Mannis, Celeste.  Julia Morgan Built a Castle.  Following her dream to build buildings, Julia Morgan overcame great obstacles to become the first woman licensed architect in California and the builder of the magnificent Hearst Castle.

 

Markle, Sandra.  Little Lost Bat.  A baby Mexican free-tailed bat lives in a cave in Texas and manages to survive after losing its mother.

 

McCully, Emily.  Marvelous Mattie:  How Margaret E. Knight Became an Inventor.  Margaret E. Knight’s inventions ranged from foot warmers to the first paper bag machine and won her the title of “Lady Edison”.

 

McDonough, Yona.  Hammerin’ Hank: The Life of Hank Greenberg.  This picture book biography of Hall of Fame baseball player Hank Greenberg has a winning combination of illustrations and text.

 

Milne, A. A.  Winnie the Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner.  Read the original version by Milne in which Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and friends live and play in Hundred Acre Wood.  (Frameworks)

 

Mills, Claudia.  7 X 9 = Trouble!  Wilson struggles with multiplication tables and the class hamster is missing just when Wilson needs his comfort most.

 

Naylor, Phyllis.  Shiloh.  Marty must make some painful decisions about returning a dog to his abusive owner.  Newbery Medal.  (Series)

 

Nixon, Joan Lowery.  Ghost Town, Seven Ghostly Stories.  Eerie encounters in various ghost towns across the U.S.; each story is accompanied by an afterword about the actual town on which the story is based.

 

North, Sterling.  Rascal.  Tells the story of North’s boyhood and his relationship with a raccoon he discovered as an abandoned kit.  (Frameworks)

 

Norton, Mary.  The Borrowers.  A human boy befriends one of the “little people” in a fascinating miniature world where the inhabitants skillfully “borrow” what they need.  (Frameworks)

 

Nye, Naomi Shihab.  Come With Me:  Poems for a Journey.  Sixteen poems, enhanced by Dan Yaccarino’s colorful collages, take the reader on many different types of journeys.

 

O’Brien, Robert C.  Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH.  Mrs. Frisby, a widowed mouse seeks advice from a colony of unusual rats.  Newbery Medal.  (Series)

 

Old, Wendie.  To Fly:  The Story of the Wright Brothers.  Beautiful illustrations by Robert Andrew Parker enhance this account of the perseverance of two brothers with one dream:  to fly.

 

Osborne, Mary Pope.  The Magic Tree House Series.

 

Park, Barbara.  Skinnybones.  Alex is the smallest kid on the baseball team but very good at wisecracking in this funny story.  (Series)

 

Polacco, Patricia.  When Lightening Comes in a Jar.   A young girl describes her family reunion at Grandmother’s house, from the food, baseball and family photos to the flickering fireflies on the lawn.   (Any by this author)

 

Prelutsky, Jack.  (Any collection of poems by this author)

 

Pringle, Laurence.  A Dragon in the Sky.  Introduces the life cycle, feeding habits, migration, predators, and mating of the green darner dragonfly through the observation of one particular green darner named Anax.

 

Pyle, Howard.  The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.  Relive the adventures of Robin Hood and his band for the sheer joy and fun of it. (Frameworks)

 

Ride, Sally and Tam O’Shaughnessy.  The Mystery of Mars.  Photographs and text tell what has been learned about Mars through unmanned expeditions to the red planet.

 

Rosen, Michael J.  Balls!  This illustrated book includes history, science, records, and some well-rounded trivia about some of your favorite sports balls.

 

Ryan, Pam Munoz.  Riding Freedom.  This fictionalized account of Charley (Charlotte) Parkhurst tells how she ran away from an orphanage, posed as a stable boy, and moved to California, and fooled everyone by her appearance.  (Also by this author When Marian Sang.)

 

Rylant, Cynthia.  Thimbleberry Stories.  Nigel Chipmunk shares a pleasant life with his friends Dipper the hummingbird, Little Owl, Copper the butterfly, Claudius the garter snake, and Mudpuppy the salamander.

 

Rylant, Cynthia.  The Journey:  Stories of Migration.  Six migratory animals from the insect, mammal, bird, and fish groups make incredible migrations from one habitat to another every year.

 

Scieszka, Jon.  See You Later, Gladiator.  Joe, Fred and Sam demonstrate some of their wrestling moves when they are transported to ancient Rome and are forced to fight as gladiators in the Coliseum. (Time Warp Trio Series)

 

Selden, George.  The Cricket in Times Square.  A touch of magic comes to Times Square as Chester learns about city life.  Newbery Honor Book.  (Series) (Frameworks)

 

Silverstein, Shel.  Falling Up.  Enjoy the last collection of humorous poems written by the popular American author.

 

Simon, Seymour.  Seymour Simon’s Book of Trains.  Eye-catching photographs and brief text explore different trains and their cars, such as passenger and freight trains, diesel locomotives, gondolas, hopper cars, tank cars, and more.

 

Slobokin, Louis.  The Space Ship Under the Apple Tree.  One fateful summer night Eddie Blow, an ordinary kid, meets Marty, a green-suited, three-foot-tall Junior Scientist Explorer from the planet Martinea.  (Frameworks)

 

Giesel, Theodore.  Hooray for Diffendorfer Day.  Jack Prelutsky and Lane Smith finished this Dr. Seuss’ book after his death in 1991.  The book celebrates individuality and creativity.

 

Sonenklar, Carol.  Bug Boy.  When someone anonymously gives bug lover Charlie a device called the Amazing Bug-a-View, he uses it to transform himself into a spider, a grasshopper, and a fly.  (Also by this author Bug Girl)

 

Stanley, Diane.  Michelangelo.  Colorful illustrations and informative text combine to tell the biography of the Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect and poet, well known for his work on the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome.

 

Stanley, Diane.  Roughing it on the Oregon Trail.  Twins Liz and Lenny, along with their time-traveling grandmother, join a group of pioneers journeying west join the Oregon Trail in 1843.  (Series)

 

Stevenson, James.  Candy Corn.  A collection of short poems.  (Any poetry collections by this author)

 

Stevenson, Robert Louis.  Kidnapped.  Young David Balfour is cheated of his inheritance by his Uncle Ebenezer who has him kidnapped and put on a ship for the Carolinas.  (Also by this author Treasure Island) (Frameworks)

 

St. George, Judith.  So You Want to be President?  An assortment of facts about the qualifications and characteristics of U. S. presidents form George Washington to Bill Clinton are presented in this Caldecott Winner.

 

Travers, P. L.  Mary Poppins.  Mary Poppins, the nanny, works her magic with the Banks children.  (Frameworks)

 

Truss, Lynne.  The Girl’s Like Spaghetti:  Why You Can’t Manage Without Apostrophes.  Using or not using an apostrophe can change the meaning of a sentence dramaticallyl.

 

Warner, Gertrude Chandler.  The Boxcar Children.  Four orphans set up housekeeping in an old boxcar.  (Series)

 

White, E. B. Charlotte’s Web.  Wilber, the pig, is desolate when he finds out that he is to be the farmer’s Christmas dinner until his spider friend, Charlotte, decides to help him.  Newbery Honor. (Any by this author)  (Frameworks)

 

Wilder, Laura Ingalls.  Little House on the Prairie.  Pioneer life in Wisconsin is described in detail in this simple narrative.  (Series)  (Frameworks)

 

Willey, Margaret.  Clever Beatrice and the Best Little Pony.  Clever Beatrice seeks out the village bread maker to comes up with a plan to protect her pony.  (Series)

 

Wisniewsky, David.  The Secret Knowledge of Grown-ups.  Creative reasons behind rules made by grownups for children are laugh-out-loud funny.

 

Winthrop, Elizabeth.  The Castle in the Attic.  A miniature castle comes to life for ten-year-old William when he shrinks to fit into its adventures.

 

Any book from the Reading Rainbow Collection.

 

(Series)- Any book from the mentioned series may be read not just the book listed.

 

(Frameworks) – Selected author from the English Language Arts Curriculum Framework for Grades 3-4.


Grades 3-4

In addition to the previous lists the following are authors, illustrators and suggested readings from the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Framework for Grades 3-4

For reading, listening, and viewing in addition in the PreK-2 :

Traditional literature:

Greek, Roman, or Norse myths, Myths and legends of native peoples of North America, American folktales and legends, stories about King Arthur and Robin Hood.

The Bible as literature:

Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, David and Jonathan, the Prodigal Son, the visit of the Magi, and psalms 23, 24, 46, 92, 121, and 150.

American authors and illustrators:

L. Frank Baum                                        Eleanor Estes                                          George Selden

Beverly Cleary                                        Jean George                                             Louis Slobodkin

Elizabeth Coatsworth                             Sterling North                                         E. B. White

Mary Mapes Dodge                               Howard Pyle                                           Laura Ingalls Wilder

Elizabeth Enright                                    Carl Sandburg

British authors:

Frances Brunett                                      Dick King-Smith                                     Margery Sharp

Lewis Carroll                                          Edith Nesbit                                            Robert Louis Stevenson

Kenneth Grahame                                   Mary Norton                                          P. L. Travers

 

Poets:

Stephen Vincent and                               Rachel Field                                            Myra Cohn Livingston

Rosemarie Carr Benet                             Robert Frost                                           David McCord

Lewis Carroll                                          Langston Hughes                                    A.A. Milne

John Ciardi                                              Edward Lear                                            Laura Richards


© June 26, 2008 ~ Athol Public Library ~ 568 Main Street ~ Athol, Massachusetts 01331 ~ contact us