Maine 4th grade reading list

Books with a Maine citation for 4th grade include Holes, New Kid and The Tale of Despereaux. This list has 766 total books, 59 of them with a Maine-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1000L.

Top Maine 4th grade pick: Holes by Louis Sachar — on 1 Maine list

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Total books766Lexile390L–1000LSourceMaine Learning Results✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: 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).

Our pick to start — most-cited for Maine 4th grade

These are the 30 titles named in Maine’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. Holes

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 3 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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  2. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 3 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers race and identity, code-switching, middle school adjustment.

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  3. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 3 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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  4. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 2 national references, 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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  5. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 2 national references, 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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  6. Shiloh

    Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 2 national references, 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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  7. Smile

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers growing up, friendship and self-acceptance. At 410L it reads well below the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  8. Diary of a Wimpy Kid

    Jeff Kinney

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, 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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  9. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 6.

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  10. Frizzy

    Claribel Ortega

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 5.

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  11. Number the Stars

    Lois Lowry

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, friendship and Holocaust. At 670L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  12. Puzzleheart

    Jenn Reese

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers mystery, family and puzzles.

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  13. Roller Girl

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, 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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  14. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 1)

    Rick Riordan

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers Greek mythology, neurodivergence (dyslexia, ADHD) and friendship. At 740L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  15. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 7. Covers facial difference, kindness and bullying. At 790L it falls inside the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  16. A Game of Noctis

    Deva Fagan

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers adventure, ambition and fantasy.

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  17. Alone

    Megan E. Freeman

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

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  18. Amir and the Jinn Princess

    M. T. Khan

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy, family and courage.

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  19. Between Two Brothers

    Crystal Allen

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers family, brothers and grief.

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  20. Boy 2.0

    Tracey Baptiste

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers identity, family and adventure.

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  21. Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody

    Patrick Ness

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers friendship, school and humor.

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  22. Code Name Kingfisher

    Liz Kessler

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers history, courage and family.

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  23. Ella Enchanted

    Gail Carson Levine

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers courage, fairy-tale and independence.

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  24. Evidence! How Dr. John Snow Solved the Mystery of Cholera

    Deborah Hopkinson

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers science, history and biography.

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  25. Falling Up

    Shel Silverstein

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8.

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  26. Fudge-a-Mania

    Judy Blume

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

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  27. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

    J. K. Rowling

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy fiction, orphans and foster homes.

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  28. Hoops

    Matt Tavares

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers courage, perseverance and history.

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  29. Impossible Creatures

    Katherine Rundell

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers fantasy, courage and friendship.

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  30. Loser

    Jerry Spinelli

    Cited in 1 Maine curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 6. Covers families, family and elementary schools.

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59 books cited for Maine 4th grade

Assignments tied directly to Maine’s Maine Learning Results with a Maine-specific citation.

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707 additional grade-appropriate books for 4th grade readers

The 766-book total above includes 59 titles with direct Maine citation; these 707 additional titles cover 4th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Maine-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 707 titles

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Other Maine 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

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About the Maine 4th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Maine Learning Results with books from national sources that list titles for 4th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Golden Kite Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the Newbery Medal. ReadingList currently tracks 766 titles for 4th grade in Maine, of which 59 carry a direct Maine citation and 707 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 4th grade. 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 58 titles here with a Lexile score 34 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.

Maine’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Maine Learning Results (maine.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 4th grade list below blends Maine-specific assignments with widely taught national titles. 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 Maine-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

What books do 4th grade students read in Maine?
Books with a Maine-specific citation for 4th grade include Holes, New Kid, The Tale of Despereaux, Because of Winn-Dixie and El Deafo. Individual schools and districts choose their own titles, so check with your child's teacher for the exact list.
How many books are assigned to 4th grade students in Maine?
This list has 766 books for 4th grade students in Maine. 59 of them have a Maine-specific citation; the other 707 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 4th grade reading in Maine?
Lexile measures across the 4th grade Maine 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?
Maine-specific entries reference Maine Learning Results (published at www.maine.gov). The other books come from national sources that list books for 4th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Golden Kite Award, the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award and the Newbery Medal. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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

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