Fourth-Grade Books, Easy Reading (continued)

Buy this book »

Little, Emily. The Trojan Horse: How Greeks Won the War. Random House, 1992, 48 pp. Because the Trojans have kidnapped Helen, King Meneelaus' wife, and demanded tolls from Greek ships, the Greeks declared war on Troy. The war went on and on without any winner. Having fought the Trojans for 10 years without overcoming them, the Greeks built a huge horse and tricked the Trojans into taking it into their walled city. The Greek soldiers hidden inside then conquered the Trojans.

Louie, Ai-Ling. Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story from China. Philomel, 1982, 28 pp. Raised by a jealous stepmother, Yeh-Shen is forced to do most of the housework and is not allowed to attend the spring festival where young girls meet future husbands. But the magical bones of a fish that she once took care of provide her with a beautiful outfit. Admired by those attending the festival, Yeh-Shen leaves in a hurry when she fears that her identity might be discovered. On her way, she loses one of her golden slippers, which is given to the king. The king starts a search for the owner and eventually locates Yeh-Shen. Students might compare this with other versions of Cinderella story. Multicultural.

*Lundell, Margo (Retold by). Lad: A Dog. Scholastic, 1997, 44 pp. In this excerpt from Terhune's classic tale, Lad, a collie, befriends a crippled child. When the child is threatened by a copperhead, Ladd defends her and is twice bitten, but recovers.

MacLachlan, Patricia. Skylark. HarperCollins, 1994, 87 pp. In this sequel to Sarah, Plain and Tall, a drought and wildfires hit the prairie. After their wells run dry, some of the families leave, but Jacob says he will never leave because their names are written on the land. After the drought worsens, Sarah, Anna, and Caleb travel to Maine to visit Sarah's aunts. Jacob stays behind to watch over the farm and hope for rain. Provides model for journal writing.

Moore, Floyd C. I Gave Thomas Edison My Sandwich. Whitman, 1995, 30 pp. While on a field trip, Floyd Moore shook hands and briefly spoke with Thomas Edison. After Edison commented on Moore's sandwich, Moore gave it to the conductor to give to Edison. Provides history tie-in: Thomas Edison, early days of twentieth century.

Pinkwater, Daniel. Mush: A Dog from Space. Atheneum, 1995, 40 pp. Kelly begs her parents for a dog, but, having just moved into a new house, they want to wait a while. Meanwhile, Kelly finds a dog who can speak and cook. As the dog explains, it is from another planet and very well educated.

Pinkwater, Manus. Blue Moose. Putnam, 1975, 47 pp. Although Mr. Breton served a large number of customers in his restaurant on the edge of the big woods, no one made any comments about the food. The first patron to compliment him on his cooking was a blue moose who wandered in one day, and said that the food was the best he had ever eaten. The moose then became a waiter for the restaurant and encouraged people to offer compliments if they liked their meals.

*Sachar, Louis. Wayside School Is Falling Down. Avon, 1989, 179 pp. Instead of being built horizontally to accommodate its 30 classrooms, the Wayside School was built vertically so that it is 30 stories high. Its teachers and students are as strange as its construction. The book is a collection of 30 wacky stories. For instance, when Mrs. Jewls gets a new computer, she uses it to demonstrate gravity. She pushes it out the window of her thirtieth-floor classroom. Part of Wayside School series.