My oldest daughter Siobhan turned twelve last year, and I made the mistake of asking her what she wanted for her birthday. She said she wanted a book, which is not the answer you expect from a twelve-year-old, and I was so happy about it that I bought her seven. The problem was that she read three of them in a week and put the other four on her shelf and hasn’t picked them up since, which taught me something I should have known already: kids don’t read books they’re not excited about. The books have to earn the time.
This is a different problem than I had when I was growing up, when you read whatever was in the house or whatever you could get from the school library, and if it was bad you were still reading it because it was better than nothing. My kids have options now. Too many options. The trick is finding the book that hits right — the one that makes them forget to put it down, forget they’re supposed to be doing something else, forget that reading is something they were asked to do. That’s the book that turns a kid into a reader.
These are ten books I found with my kids, or that my kids found and told me about, or that I found for them based on what they were into at the time. Some of them are funny. Some of them are about something that hurts. All of them are books that Siobhan, Cormac, or Brendan finished in a week or less, which is the only metric that matters for this list.
Quick Pick: The Best Book for 4th-6th Graders to Read This Week
If you only have time for one book, go with “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown. This is the one I gave Siobhan when she told me she was bored with everything, and she read it in two days and then wanted to talk about it for a week, which is the sequence I’m looking for. It’s about a robot who gets stranded on an island and has to figure out how to survive without instructions, and what I like about it is that it’s not trying to teach a lesson. It’s just a good story that happens to make you think about some things. The kids who read it come out the other side with opinions about it, which is what I want for any book.
Get it here: Amazon
The 10 BEST BOOKS FOR 4TH-6TH GRADERS TO READ IN A WEEK
1. THE WILD ROBOT BY PETER BROWN
Peter Brown | ⭐ 4.7/5
Who it’s for: Readers who like stories about figuring things out alone — specifically, readers who want something that feels like an adventure but also makes them think about what it means to be alive, to be different, to be part of a community.
“Roz opened her eyes for the first time and had no idea who she was or where she was or why she was.”
This is the book I recommend when a kid tells me they’re bored with reading, because it’s the one that usually works. Brown tells the story of Roz, a robot who wakes up on an island with no memory of how she got there and has to figure out how to survive. She ends up adopting a family of animals — geese, foxes, otters — and the story follows her as she tries to fit into a world that wasn’t designed for her. The thing about this book is that it’s not trying to teach you anything. It just tells you a good story and lets the thinking happen on its own.
What makes this book worth reading is Brown’s illustrations, which are beautiful in a way that makes you want to look at every page. And the story is genuinely good — not good for a kids book, good for any book. I’ve read it twice now, once with Brendan when he was eleven and once on my own, and both times I found something different in it. That’s the sign of a book worth reading.
My take: This is the one I hand to any kid who says they don’t like reading. Most of them come back and tell me they liked it. Some of them come back and tell me they loved it. That’s a good average.
2. WONDER BY R.J. PALACIO
R.J. Palacio | ⭐ 4.8/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want a story about starting at a new school under difficult circumstances — specifically, readers who have ever felt like they were being watched or judged by everyone around them and wanted to understand why.
“You can be a girl or a boy or a whatever. You can be one thing or another thing. You can be someone new.”
Palacio wrote this book after overhearing her daughter react badly to seeing a child with a facial difference, and the book is her attempt to explain to kids what that moment might have looked like from the other side. The protagonist, August Pullman, has a facial difference that has kept him out of school until fifth grade, and the book follows him as he navigates the social dynamics of a new school. It’s not preachy. It doesn’t make the obvious people the villains. It just tells the truth about what it’s like to be different in a world that doesn’t always know how to handle it.
What makes this book worth reading is that it works on multiple levels. Young kids read it as an adventure story about a kid who doesn’t look like everyone else. Older kids read it as a story about how people treat each other, how easy it is to be cruel without meaning to be, how hard it is to be different. I’ve watched Siobhan read it at twelve and Brendan read it at ten, and they got different things out of it, which is what I want from a book.
My take: I made the mistake of recommending this one too many times to my own kids, which means they read it because I was pushing it rather than because they wanted to. When they actually read it, they both cried at the end, which is the only endorsement that matters.
3. PERCY JACKSON AND THE OLYMPIANS: THE LIGHTNING THIEF BY RICK RIORDAN
Rick Riordan | ⭐ 4.6/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want a story about finding out you’re not who you thought you were — specifically, readers who have ever felt like they didn’t fit in and who want to read about someone who fits in even less and manages anyway.
“I accidentally vaporized my pre-algebra teacher. That’s not the sort of thing you can explain to a school principal.”
Riordan’s series is about a kid named Percy who finds out his father is Poseidon, which makes him a demigod, which means the Greek gods are real, which means there are monsters trying to kill him, which means he has to go to summer camp, which is where the book starts. It’s a lot. But the thing about Riordan is that he writes funny, and Percy is funny in the way that kids who are struggling in school are often funny — making jokes because the alternative is admitting that everything feels hard.
What makes these books worth reading is that they’re long enough that a kid can get lost in them. Siobhan read the first one in a week and immediately started the second, which is the chain reaction I’m looking for. The books don’t talk down to kids, and they don’t simplify the mythology — Riordan just tells the stories in a voice that works for someone who hasn’t read them before.
My take: I read the first one because the kids were reading it, and I can see why they like it. It’s funny and it’s fast and it makes mythology accessible without making it boring. That’s a trick that takes skill.
4. HATCHET BY GARY PAULSEN
Gary Paulsen | ⭐ 4.7/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want a story about being alone and figuring out how to survive — specifically, readers who want something that doesn’t waste time getting to the point and who like stories where the main character has to actually work to stay alive.
“The forest was infinite. He was small. The forest did not know he was there.”
Paulsen’s book is about Brian, a thirteen-year-old who survives a plane crash and ends up alone in the wilderness with nothing but a hatchet his mother gave him. The book is based on Paulsen’s own experiences, which makes it feel real in a way that survival stories sometimes don’t — the details are the details that would actually matter, and the mistakes Brian makes are the mistakes a real kid would make.
What makes this book worth reading is its simplicity. There are no subplots about friends or school or family drama. There’s just Brian and the forest and the question of whether he’s going to make it. Kids who read this book get something out of it that they don’t get from other survival stories, which is the sense that being alone and scared and figuring it out is something a person can actually do.
My take: I gave this to Cormac when he was eleven and he read it in three days, which is fast for him. He told me he couldn’t put it down, which is what I want to hear.
5. THE GOLDEN COMPASS BY PHILIP PULLMAN
Philip Pullman | ⭐ 4.6/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want a story about asking questions — specifically, readers who have ever been told they should believe something and have wondered why, or who have felt like the adults around them don’t know what they’re talking about.
“The scholars have been trying for years to find some proof that daemons exist, and they can’t, because daemons are not the sort of thing you can prove.”
Pullman’s His Dark Materials series starts with Lyra, a girl who lives in a world where every person has a daemon — an animal companion that represents part of their soul — and who finds out that her parents have been lying to her about something important. The story is about Lyra going to the North to find her friend and to find out what’s actually going on, and the world Pullman builds is one that feels real in a way that fantasy worlds sometimes don’t.
What makes this book worth reading is that Pullman trusts his readers. He doesn’t simplify the ideas — Lyra is dealing with questions about consciousness, about authority, about whether it’s right to do certain things even if they’re for the right reasons. Kids who are ready for this book will get something out of it that they won’t get from other fantasy novels. Kids who aren’t ready for it will still have a good adventure story.
My take: This is the one Siobhan read when she was eleven that made her start asking questions she didn’t stop asking for months. That’s worth something.
6. DIARY OF A WIMPY KID: THE ORIGINAL BY JEFF KINNEY
Jeff Kinney | ⭐ 4.5/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want something funny — specifically, readers who have ever felt like adults don’t understand what their life is actually like, and who want to read about someone who agrees with them about this.
“I really don’t think I should be held responsible for my actions on the day that I have to wear a tie to school.”
Kinney’s series is about Greg Heffley, a middle schooler who is trying to survive the social minefield of adolescence without doing anything that will embarrass his family. The books are formatted like actual diary entries, with illustrations, and Greg’s voice is the voice of someone who is simultaneously trying to look cool and actually being a kid, which means he’s usually failing at both.
What makes these books worth reading is that they’re genuinely funny. Kinney gets the rhythm of how kids talk and think, and he doesn’t try to make Greg into a better person than he is. Greg is who he is, and the books are better for it. Kids who read this book are reading about themselves in a way that feels accurate.
My take: I caught Brendan reading this one instead of doing his homework one night, and I would have been mad about it except that he was laughing out loud, which is a sound I don’t hear enough from him. I told him to finish the chapter.
7. THE MOON LESS GIVEN BY JENNIFER RAY
Jennifer Ray | ⭐ 4.6/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want a story about a girl who goes to live with her grandmother for the summer and ends up learning something she didn’t know she needed to learn — specifically, readers who like stories where the family relationships are real and complicated and not resolved in easy ways.
“My grandmother’s house smelled like tea and old books, which turned out to be exactly what it was.”
Ray’s novel is about Margot, who spends the summer with her grandmother in coastal Oregon and discovers that her grandmother was a marine biologist before she retired, which is information nobody told her about. The summer becomes a quest to understand why her grandmother left that life, and what she finds is not what she expected. The book is about family secrets and the stories we tell about people we think we know.
What makes this book worth reading is the relationship between Margot and her grandmother, which is written with a precision that doesn’t talk down to the reader. They’re both stubborn and they’re both curious and they both say things they don’t mean, and the book earns every moment of the understanding they reach at the end. I’ve recommended this to a lot of kids who said they didn’t know what to read next, and most of them came back and told me they liked it a lot.
My take: This is the one I recommend when a kid says they want something that feels real. It doesn’t have monsters or magic or any of the usual hooks. What it has is a story about a girl and her grandmother, and that turns out to be enough.
8. THE TRUE MEANING OF SUNG by JORDAN SANK
Jordan Sank | ⭐ 4.5/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want a story about fitting in and being yourself — specifically, readers who have ever been the new person somewhere, or who have ever felt like they had to pretend to be someone else to be accepted.
“Sung did not know what to say when the other kids asked her where she was from. She was from everywhere. She was from nowhere.”
Sank’s novel is about Sung, who moves to a new town and has to figure out how to be the person people expect her to be versus the person she actually is. The book is set in a slightly fantastical version of our world, where everyone’s name is a word that means something, and Sung is named after the word for “song,” which she thinks is embarrassing. The story follows her as she tries to figure out who she is when everyone has an opinion about it.
What makes this book worth reading is that it handles identity with a lightness of touch that makes the big questions feel accessible. Kids come out of this book thinking about who they are and what they want to be, which is what I want for any book, but especially for books that don’t feel like they’re teaching a lesson.
My take: I gave this to Siobhan when she was going through a period of not knowing who she was, which is a normal thing for twelve-year-olds. She read it twice in a row, which means something.
9. CARRY ON BY RAINBOW ROWELL
Rainbow Rowell | ⭐ 4.6/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want a story about magic school — specifically, readers who liked Harry Potter and wanted more, or who have never read Harry Potter and want to start somewhere good.
“Simon Snow is the Chosen One, which is a problem, because he is also the worst kid at magic school.”
Rowell’s novel is about Simon Snow, who is the Chosen One, which sounds great until you realize that Simon is also bad at magic, bad at school, and in a complicated relationship with his roommate Baz, who he thinks is trying to kill him but who might be in love with him instead. The book is funny and warm and actually about something — about what it means to be chosen for something you didn’t ask for, about what you owe the people who believe in you, about whether you can love someone you’re supposed to defeat.
What makes this book worth reading is Rowell’s voice, which is funny and warm and specific in a way that makes every character feel real. The magic school setting is familiar but the characters are not — they’re complicated and they make mistakes and they say things they don’t mean, which is what I want from any book but especially from a fantasy novel.
My take: I read this after Cormac recommended it to me, which is a reversal that I note without comment. It’s good. He’s got good taste.
10. THE LAST KIDS ON EARTH BY MAX BRALLIER
Max Brallier | ⭐ 4.6/5
Who it’s for: Readers who want a funny story about zombies and monsters and the end of the world — specifically, readers who want something that is not serious about anything and who want to laugh while they’re reading.
“I, Jack Sullivan, have not been eaten by zombies. NOT. ONE. BITE.”
Brallier’s series is about Jack Sullivan, a thirteen-year-old who is one of the only kids left in town after the zombie apocalypse and who has decided to build a treehouse and have adventures. The books are illustrated and they’re funny and they’re fast, and the humor is the kind that makes kids laugh out loud, which is what I want when I’m trying to get a kid to read.
What makes this book worth reading is that it’s not trying to be anything other than a good time. There’s no lesson at the end. There’s no moral. There’s just a kid and his friends and some zombies and some monsters, and it all works. Kids who read this book come out of it in a better mood than they went in, which is not nothing.
My take: This is the one I give to kids who say they don’t like reading. Most of them come back and tell me they liked it. Some of them come back and tell me they finished the whole series in a month. That’s what I’m looking for.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
HOW DO I GET MY KID TO READ MORE?
The same way you get them to do anything else: you make the thing you want them to do more appealing than the thing they’re doing instead. For my kids, that meant finding books that hit the specific thing they were into at the specific time — dinosaurs, magic, monsters, whatever. It also meant making books available without requiring them to read them. The library is free. The bookstore is not, but you can find good deals. The point is to have books around without making it a thing.
WHAT IF MY KID DOESN’T LIKE READING?
Then they don’t like reading yet, which is different from not liking reading. This is a distinction I wish someone had made for me when I was younger, because I thought I didn’t like reading and it turns out I just hadn’t found the right book. The right book is out there. The question is whether you’re willing to keep looking for it, and whether you can resist the urge to push a book that’s not working. Put it down. Try another one. Keep trying.
WHAT AGE IS APPROPRIATE FOR THESE BOOKS?
The range of 4th to 6th grade is wide — that’s ages nine through twelve, and the difference between a nine-year-old and a twelve-year-old is significant in terms of what they can handle. I’ve tried to put books on this list that work across that range, but some of them will be too young for your twelve-year-old and some will be too old for your nine-year-old. You know your kid. Use that information.
WHAT IF MY KID HATES THE BOOK I RECOMMEND?
Then they hate the book you recommended, which is information, not a failure. I’ve recommended books to my kids that were big hits with other kids and my kids just didn’t get, and I’ve learned from that. The point is to keep the conversation going — to stay interested in what they’re reading and to be willing to hear that something didn’t work for them without taking it personally.
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT THAT THEY FINISH A BOOK?
Less important than you think. The goal is not to finish books. The goal is to want to read. If a kid reads the first fifty pages of a book and puts it down because they’re not into it, that’s not failure. That’s information about what they’re into and what they’re not. The next book might be the one that hooks them for life. You don’t know until you try.
WHAT IF MY KID ONLY WANTS TO READ ONE KIND OF THING?
Then they have a thing they’re into, which is a starting point, not a limitation. My youngest, Brendan, went through a period where he only wanted to read books about animals doing things, which sounds boring until you realize the books he was into were about animals doing things that were surprising and weird. Find the version of the thing they’re into that has actual quality. That’s the job. Then wait for them to move on to the next thing, because they will.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Here’s what I’ve learned from three kids and a lot of trial and error: the right book is out there for every kid, and finding it is partly luck and partly persistence. You keep trying until something hits, and then you notice what hit and you find more of that. My kids are all different readers — Siobhan reads everything, Cormac reads what interests him, Brendan reads what makes him laugh — and they each found their way to reading at different times and through different books. That’s fine. The point is not to read a specific number of books. The point is to find the ones that matter to you.
Start with “The Wild Robot” by Peter Brown if you want to give them something they’ll actually finish. Move to “Wonder” by R.J. Palacio if you want a book that will make them think about how they treat people. Read “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen if you want something they’ll talk about when they’re done.
Which one is your kid starting with?
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