Minnesota 4th grade reading list

Books with a Minnesota citation for 4th grade include El Deafo, 11 Birthdays and Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library. This list has 733 total books, 14 of them with a Minnesota-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1000L.

Top Minnesota 4th grade pick: El Deafo by Cece Bell — on 1 Minnesota list

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Total books733Lexile390L–1000LSourceMN Academic Standards in ELA✓ 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 Minnesota 4th grade

These are the 14 titles named in Minnesota’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. El Deafo

    Cece Bell

    Cited in 1 Minnesota 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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  2. 11 Birthdays

    Wendy Mass

    Cited in 1 Minnesota curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 3 to 5.

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  3. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  4. Because of Mr. Terupt

    Rob Buyea

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

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  5. Belly Up

    Stuart Gibbs

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

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  6. Champ

    Marcia Thornton Jones

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

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  7. Deep and Dark and Dangerous

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  8. Flush

    Carl Hiaasen

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

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  9. Please Write in this Book

    Mary Amato

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

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  10. Restart

    Gordon Korman

    Cited in 1 Minnesota curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers identity, bullying and memory. At 730L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  11. Ruby Holler

    Sharon Creech

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

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  12. The Terrible Two

    Mac Barnett

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

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  13. When Stars Are Scattered

    Victoria Jamieson

    Cited in 1 Minnesota curriculum document, taught from grade 5 to 8. Covers refugees, family and hope.

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  14. Wish

    Barbara O'Connor

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

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14 books cited for Minnesota 4th grade

Assignments tied directly to Minnesota’s MN Academic Standards in ELA with a Minnesota-specific citation.

719 additional grade-appropriate books for 4th grade readers

The 733-book total above includes 14 titles with direct Minnesota citation; these 719 additional titles cover 4th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Minnesota-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 719 titles

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Teacher or librarian? Print this list as a checklist — free to photocopy for your class or library (details).

Other Minnesota 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 Minnesota 4th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in MN Academic Standards in ELA 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 733 titles for 4th grade in Minnesota, of which 14 carry a direct Minnesota citation and 719 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 59 titles here with a Lexile score 34 are grade-level, 25 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.

Minnesota’s English Language Arts requirements are set by MN Academic Standards in ELA (education.mn.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 4th grade list below blends Minnesota-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 Minnesota-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 Minnesota?
Books with a Minnesota-specific citation for 4th grade include El Deafo, 11 Birthdays, Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Because of Mr. Terupt and Belly Up. 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 Minnesota?
This list has 733 books for 4th grade students in Minnesota. 14 of them have a Minnesota-specific citation; the other 719 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 4th grade reading in Minnesota?
Lexile measures across the 4th grade Minnesota 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?
Minnesota-specific entries reference MN Academic Standards in ELA (published at education.mn.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 education.mn.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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