Homeschool: Read Aloud Books for 4th Grade

One of the things my son has become really great at over the past couple years is reading. However, that doesn't mean that he doesn't still love to be read to. We've been reading books to our son since he was born and I love that now (since he's older), I get to read books that are interesting to me too! Since we started homeschooling, I definitely wanted to keep Read Aloud time during his "school day". He told me how much he loved it when his public school teachers would do it. My son did NOT have a very good public school experience so if he said there was something he liked, I was absolutely down for keeping that a part of our day. So, every day, I read from a book (that I have chosen) for 20-30 minutes. We also have silent reading time every day where he reads a book of his choosing.

These are the books that we read last year (2019-2020 school year). We truly loved them all (but some more than others, for sure!).

I found these books based on online recommendations and from teachers. I wanted to keep the books age appropriate, but still fun.

1. When You Reach Me by Rebecca Staar
This book was interesting. I don't think it was my son's favorite. But I loved how a lot of things didn't make sense until the end.

2. The Wild Robot by Peter Brown
This was easily my son's favorite book all year! He still talks about how amazing it was. I never thought I would be able to relate to a robot, but this book has made me a believer.

3. The Wild Robot Returns by Peter Brown
Obviously, we had to read the sequel.

4. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor
This book does talk about prison, but it's in a calm, minimum security kind of way. It was definitely different from what we normally read.

5. Fish In A Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
I loved that this book gave the perspective of someone that is unlike my son. The main character has dyslexia, but she's moved so many times that no one has ever caught it. I think reading books like that help to show why should have empathy for people that are suffering even if we don't know what it's like. It also shows why you shouldn't judge others or be mean to them because they might be going through things that you know nothing about. I definitely want to find more books like that this year.

6. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
I remember reading this book when I was a kid. It still held my interest, even to this day.

7. Smack Dab In The Middle Of Maybe by Jo Watson Hackl
There is a lot to unpack with this book. I don't think it was one of my son's favorites. But mostly because he didn't like how sad he felt for the main character. That being said, it is still a pretty good book.

8. The Infinite Lives Of Maisie Day by Christopher Edge
This was an unexpected book. I didn't really know what it was about before wwe read it. There's a lot of science. And it doesn't have your typical happy ending.

9. Gloom Town by Ronald L. Smith
This book is dark. But not in a bad way. It was just very intense. But we still enjoyed it.

10. Matilda by Roald Dahl
This is a classic! And I realized I had never read it before! I have seen the movie a good 20 times, but never read the book. I'm glad I did. And of course, we watched the movie when we were done.

11. Flora & Ulysses by Kate DiCamillo
This book was definitely in my son's top 3 favorites this year! It's such a fun story about a girl and a squirrel.

12. The Seventh Wish by Kate Messner
I loved that this book really showed you the consequences of wishing for things instead of doing everything you can to make them happen. It's a good lesson.

I hope our list gives you some ideas for what to read to your own kids!