Historical Fiction Books for 4th Graders

Help kids pick out fun and exciting books to read while taking an adventure through history with these Historical Fiction Books for 4th Graders. This list of  over 25 historical fiction for 4th graders contains lots of fun, exciting stories for children to travel through history and experience living in Egypt, join John Smith, live in the Aztec Empire, live in a cabin in 1700s, and so many more great historical fiction children’s books.

Historical Fiction Books for 4th Graders

Historical fiction is one of the most fun ways to introduce kids to life in the past. By putting them in the shoes of people who lived back then, they are more likely to be engaged in the details and curious about how the characters’ lives differ from their own. This list of historical fiction books for 4th graders covers a wide range of historical periods, and offers exciting stories both real and imagined.

Historical Fiction for 4th Graders

Come take a peak at these engaging historical fiction books to read and learn thorugh history!

Ancient Egypt: An Interactive History Adventure by Heather Adamson is a choose your own ending book that allows the reader to explore life in ancient Egypt through 3 different storylines and 22 possible endings.

The Aztec Empire: An Interactive History Adventure by Elizabeth Raum explores life during the Aztec Empire for a young girl, a noble, and a Spanish page. Readers can choose between 3 storylines and 25 possible endings.

Blood on the River: James Town, 1607 by Elisa Carbone follows 12 year old Samuel Collier as he becomes a page for Captain John Smith and heads to the New World. But he soon learns that it isn’t what he expected.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare tells the story of a 16 year old girl named Kit Tyler who arrives in colonial Connecticut and befriends a woman the other villagers believe to be a witch.

The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare follows a young boy named Matt in the 1700s who is left to protect his family’s cabin and befriends a young boy in the neighboring Beaver Clan.

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham tells the story of Nathaniel Bowditch who grew up in Salem in the late 1700s and eventually wrote The American Practical Navigator.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Hoskins Forbes shares the story of 14 year old Johnny Tremain, an apprentice silversmith who begins working for the Sons of Liberty, and the events of the American Revolution that he finds himself involved in.

The Revolutionary War: An Interactive History Adventure by Elizabeth Raum offers readers a chance to explore the American Revolution through 3 different storylines and 16 possible endings.

My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier introduces readers to the American Revolution. A young boy named Tim Meeker finds himself torn between the Revolutionaries and his older brother, and the Redcoats and their father.

The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz follows a young girl named Ann Hamilton and her family as they move to the western frontier in Pennsylvania

Historical fiction books for kids

The Town that Fooled the British: A War of 1812 Story by Lisa Papp and Robert Papp shares the story of St. Michaels, Maryland during the War of 1812, when the small town figured out how to outsmart the British forces sailing up the Chesapeake River.

The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Scholastic Gold) by Avi follows 13 year old Charlotte as she sails home to Rhode Island from England in 1832 and finds herself caught in a battle between a captain and his mutinous crew.

Lyddie by Katherine Paterson explores the life of a young girl named Lyddie who travels to Lowell, Massachusetts to work in a textile mill and try to earn enough money to reunite her family.

Amos Fortune, Free Man by Elizabeth Yates follows Amos Fortune, a man sold into slavery as a fifteen year old boy, who spends his life dreaming of freedom and fighting for a chance to be a free man.

The Ballad of Lucy Whipple by Karen Cushman introduces readers to life in a California mining town through the eyes of a 12 year old girl named Lucy who is determined to find a way back home.

Historical fiction for kids

Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink and Trina Schart Hyman tells the story of 11 year old Caddie who lives with her family in Wisconsin in the mid 1800s. When Caddie’s family hosts a family from Boston, her mother hopes Caddie will learn some refinement from the visiting child.

Boston Jane: An Adventure by Jennifer L. Holm follows a young girl named Jane Peck who accepts a proposal and finds herself journeying to the untamed Washington Territory in 1855.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson shares the adventures of Jim Hawkins, a young boy who goes on a voyage for buried treasure and finds himself in trouble with pirates.

Voyage on the Great Titanic (Dear America): The Diary of Margaret Ann Brady, R.M.S. Titanic, 1912 by Ellen Emerson White shows readers the tragedy of the Titanic through the diary entries of a young girl named Margaret Ann Brady, who is traveling to America to join her brother in Boston.

A Time For Courage: The Suffragette Diary of Kathleen Bowen, Washington, D.C. 1917 by Kathryn Lasky uses a diary format to put readers in the shoes of women fighting for the right to vote as part of the burgeoning Suffragette Movement.

Historical fiction children’s books

All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor introduces readers to a family with 5 young girls and their life in New York City before World War I begins.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor follows a black family living in Mississippi during the Depression, as 9 year old Cassie learns about racism.

Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse introduces readers to life in Oklahoma in the 1930s and the results of the dust storms on family farms. The young girl at the center of the story is named Billie Jo, and she must learn to face the difficulties of farm life with a devastating injury.

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry explores the German occupation in Denmark through the eyes of a young girl named Annemarie whose family takes in her best friend and conceals her from the Nazis.

I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis and Scott Dawson shares the events of September 11th through the eyes of a young boy named Lucas who is visiting his uncle’s firehouse in NYC.