Tennessee 4th grade reading list

Books with a Tennessee citation for 4th grade include Bud, Not Buddy; Holes and New Kid. This list has 736 total books, 26 of them with a Tennessee-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 390L to 1000L.

Top Tennessee 4th grade pick: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis — on 1 Tennessee list

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Total books736Lexile390L–1000LSourceTN Academic Standards✓ 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 Tennessee 4th grade

These are the 26 titles named in Tennessee’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 Tennessee curriculum document and 4 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 Tennessee 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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  3. New Kid

    Jerry Craft

    Cited in 1 Tennessee 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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  4. The Tale of Despereaux

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Tennessee 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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  5. Because of Winn-Dixie

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 Tennessee 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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  6. The War That Saved My Life

    Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

    Cited in 1 Tennessee curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 4 to 7. Covers war, resilience and disability. At 580L it sits just under the 740–1010L band for this grade.

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  7. 11 Birthdays

    Wendy Mass

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

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  8. Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library

    Chris Grabenstein

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

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  9. Out of My Mind

    Sharon M. Draper

    Cited in 1 Tennessee 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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  10. There's a Boy in the Girls' Bathroom

    Louis Sachar

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

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  11. Wait Till Helen Comes

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  12. Wonder

    R.J. Palacio

    Cited in 1 Tennessee 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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  13. A Royal Conundrum

    Lisa Yee

    Cited in 1 Tennessee curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, humor and adventure.

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  14. Amari and the Night Brothers

    B. B. Alston

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

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  15. Fablehaven

    Brandon Mull

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

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  16. Ferris

    Kate DiCamillo

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

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  17. Found

    Margaret Peterson Haddix

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

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  18. Fudge-a-Mania

    Judy Blume

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

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  19. Guts

    Raina Telgemeier

    Cited in 1 Tennessee curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers anxiety, growing up and courage.

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  20. Odder

    Katherine Applegate

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

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  21. Ruby Holler

    Sharon Creech

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

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  22. The Best School Year Ever

    Barbara Robinson

    Cited in 1 Tennessee curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers humor, family and school.

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  23. The Million Dollar Shot

    Dan Gutman

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

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  24. The Old Willis Place

    Mary Downing Hahn

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

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  25. The Terrible Two

    Mac Barnett

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

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  26. Wayside School Is Falling Down

    Louis Sachar

    Cited in 1 Tennessee curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 5. Covers humor, school and friendship.

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26 books cited for Tennessee 4th grade

Assignments tied directly to Tennessee’s TN Academic Standards with a Tennessee-specific citation.

Show all 26 titles

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710 additional grade-appropriate books for 4th grade readers

The 736-book total above includes 26 titles with direct Tennessee citation; these 710 additional titles cover 4th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Tennessee-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 710 titles

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Other Tennessee 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 Tennessee 4th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in TN Academic Standards 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 736 titles for 4th grade in Tennessee, of which 26 carry a direct Tennessee citation and 710 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.

Tennessee’s English Language Arts requirements are set by TN Academic Standards (tn.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 4th grade list below blends Tennessee-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 Tennessee-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 Tennessee?
Books with a Tennessee-specific citation for 4th grade include Bud, Not Buddy; Holes; New Kid; The Tale of Despereaux and Because of Winn-Dixie. 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 Tennessee?
This list has 736 books for 4th grade students in Tennessee. 26 of them have a Tennessee-specific citation; the other 710 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 4th grade reading in Tennessee?
Lexile measures across the 4th grade Tennessee 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?
Tennessee-specific entries reference TN Academic Standards (published at www.tn.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.tn.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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