UWCSEA Grade 4 Reading List

A Vietnamese girl flees Saigon and starts a new life in Alabama. Told in verse, it captures the confusion, loneliness, and quiet courage of being a refugee child. Based on the author's own experience.

Moon Base Alpha's first resident dies under suspicious circumstances. Dashiell Gibson, 12, is the only one who thinks it was murder. Sci-fi meets whodunit in a sealed lunar habitat.

A boy travels back in time to 17th-century France and joins the Musketeers. Swashbuckling fun that sneaks in real history.

The star hippo at FunJungle zoo dies and 12-year-old Teddy suspects it was not natural causes. A funny, fast-paced mystery with real animal conservation themes.

Twin siblings discover their family is part of a secret spy organization. Their first mission is packed with gadgets, codes, and danger.

A lyrical story about a girl who finds a fox and, through caring for it, learns to heal from her own loss. Beautiful prose that reads like poetry.

A city girl named Sunflower is sent to the countryside during the Cultural Revolution and forms a deep bond with Bronze, a mute boy. One of China's most celebrated children's novels, now in English.

Opal adopts a scruffy dog from a supermarket and names him Winn-Dixie. Together they bring a lonely Florida town to life. Simple, warm, and unforgettable.

Rio connects with a whale in the wild and fights to protect it from danger. A story about conservation, courage, and the bond between humans and the ocean.

Peter and his fox Pax are separated when Peter's father leaves for war. Both embark on a journey to find each other. A powerful, quiet story about love, loss, and the cost of conflict.

A refugee boy joins a London school and sits at the back. His classmates hatch a plan to reunite him with his family. Funny, warm, and quietly powerful.

Murph Cooper is the only kid at a school for superheroes who does not have a power. Or does he? Hilarious and action-packed.

Andy and Terry live in a 13-storey treehouse with a bowling alley, a shark tank, and a marshmallow machine. Pure illustrated insanity that kids devour.

A boy crash-lands on Earth during the 1960s Space Race. Can he get home before the government finds him? David Walliams at his most imaginative.

Joe Spud is the richest boy in the world. He has everything except a real friend. A funny story about what money can and cannot buy.

Eleven-year-old Joe lives in a hospital bubble because his immune system cannot handle the outside world. A moving story about dreaming big from the smallest space.

Kids are locked overnight in a spectacular new library and must solve puzzles to escape. Part Willy Wonka, part escape room, all fun.

Sophie discovers she is an elf with telepathic abilities and enters a hidden world. The first book in a massive fantasy series that hooks readers for years.

Sal can pull things from parallel dimensions. When he and Gabi team up at their Miami school, the universe starts to unravel. Cuban-American culture meets quantum physics comedy.

After a disaster, Gwen survives in the Australian wilderness with a pack of dingoes. Fast-paced survival adventure from the author of Ninja Kid.

Twelve-year-old Sora and her brother flee North Korea during the Korean War in a desperate winter journey. Based on the author's mother's true story.

A class kindness project creates unexpected ripple effects. Told from multiple perspectives, it shows how small acts of courage can change a whole school.

A tiny mouse with enormous ears falls in love with a princess and embarks on a quest. Four interwoven stories about bravery, forgiveness, and light. A modern classic.

Meilan moves from Boston to her Chinese grandmother's town and struggles to fit in. A story about names, identity, and the courage to be both Chinese and American.

Ten deliciously naughty stories about the most badly behaved children in the world. Hilarious, illustrated, and the kind of book kids read under the covers with a flashlight.