Reading Challenge
Fourth and Fifth Grade
2025-2026
By reading 15 great books this year, South students in grades 4 and 5 will be recognized school wide, will receive a special t-shirt recognizing their accomplishment, and will enjoy a pizza party and movie night in the library. Students have until Friday, April 17, 2026 to complete the Reading Challenge.
Students may read any combination of fiction and nonfiction books to get up to 15 books, but they must read at least one fiction and one nonfiction book. When selecting fiction books to read, students may choose from a list of fiction titles that have quotes or may ask Mrs. Glasgo for approval to read a fiction book of their choice.
After finishing a fiction book, students may 1) identify the correct quote for the book, 2) write a detailed one-page summary of the book, OR 3) create a bookmark for the book (drawing and words using the bookmark template in the library). For nonfiction books, students have the choice of writing a detailed one-page summary of the book or creating a bookmark (bookmark template in the library) for the book.
The correctly identified quote, summaries, or bookmarks should be turned in to Mrs. Glasgo throughout the year. Students who read 22 books will earn the designation of “Super Reader.” Enjoy the stories!
Fiction Book Quotes:
“I don’t understand. She could know everything! She would be the most important and powerful person in the world!”
“I knew I'd be working in a drift of pollen and the endless velvet dust of the old barn, but that was something many painters dealt with. The touch of the outside world. The price of painting in sunlight. And maybe the reward."
“My sister towed him to a sandbar out behind Sule Skerrie. But it’s a low one, barely above sea level, and there’s not a tree, not a bush there, just a few tufts of beach grass. He’s out in the weather, exposed to the wind and cold.”
“Aha! The missing wolf pup. How she’s grown.”
“Berries spill everywhere! The chickens pounce on them, gobbling quickly and clucking in delight.”
“It was perfect. Well, it would have been, if there’d been something decent to eat in this store besides burnt popcorn.”
“Her head buzzed with thoughts of the Huntsman and the bandits and everything else in the greedy woods. The woods had taken so much already. It didn’t occur to her that she could be taken, too.”
“I want to ask y’all to do something. Our names aren’t Pete and Ernie. They’re Pineda and Ernesto. I’d rather you call us that.”
“You tell them these stories over and over and over again, until they believe them. Until they will die for them. Until they will murder for them. Another word for stories is lies.”
“I wouldn’t go to Japan without you.”
“A grown woman in need of a chaperone. A scientist in need of an escort. What and how long will it take for women to be taken seriously?”
“People don’t just commit crimes for no reason. Alex Vincenzo taught me that. Find the motive, you find your culprit.”
“The sweater was softer than flower petals and warmer than a cup of tea, and it glowed like sunshine coming through the clouds.”
“Adults think every major problem is grown-up stuff. But it’s MY problem too. One way or another, grown-up stuff is the reason why my best friend isn’t around anymore.”
“You know, my parents didn’t let me have dogs growing up–allergic, both of them, tragic. So I got into this business, and when I was struggling to find clients, your mom let me walk Mister Pants.”
“It’s the Chinese way of saying how much you love each other. The more you insist, the more you care about them.”
“We have a reason to be here, so no one’s going to bother us. But we have free time, which means we can poke around.”
“The indigo-clad man wore a falconer’s glove, and on his shoulders perched two headless birds, one brown and the other gray.”
“He loved the beauty of sad music, but his life was no opera.”
“You’re both very sweet. We’re glad to have such dedicated young revolutionaries among us.”
“How long does she expect us to last? We literally can’t function without her! There’s no food. We all keep fighting. Ernest turned into some kind of criminal.”
“My school is here! My climbing tree is here! The fair is here! Lulu’s is here! My whole life is here!”
“What I do know is that your grandmother is pursuing all avenues, and I do know that she loves you, Elizabeth. She’s been a blasted thorn in my side and I’m tired of it.”
“And in the rest of that in between, I laid it all out. How I’d been feeling. How I was missing my mom. How Candace had pretty much been cool the whole time and my own distinct uncoolness really had nothing to do with her.”
Fiction Chapter Books
Across So Many Seas by Ruth Behar
Bad Badger by Maryrose Wood
Beti and the Little Round House by Atinuke
The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys
Bog Myrtle by Sid Sharp
Candle Island by Lauren Wolk
Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart
Dogtown by Katherine Applegate
Force of Nature by Ann E. Burg
Impossible Creatures by Katherine Rundell
Island of Whispers by Frances Hardinge
Magnolia Wu Unfolds it All by Chanel Miller
Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz
Meet Me on Mercer Street by Booki Vivat
Olivetti by Allie Millington
The Sherlock Society by James Ponti
The Selkie’s Daughter by Linda Crotta Brennan
Snow and Rose by Emily Winfield Martin
Sona and the Golden Beasts by Rajani LaRocca
Stella & Marigold by Annie Barrows
A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall by Jasmine Warga
Squished by Megan Wagner Lloyd
Uprooted by Ruth Chan
What Fell From the Sky by Adriana Cuevas
Nonfiction Books:
All About US: A Look at the Lives of 50 Real Kids From Across the US by Matt LaMothe
Becoming Real: The True Story of the Velveteen Rabbit by Molly Golden
Butt or Face? Revenge of the Butts (Volume 2) by Kari Lavelle
Golden Gate: Building the Mighty Bridge by Elizabeth Partridge
The Great Lakes: Our Freshwater Treasure by Barb Rosenstock
It Happened in Salem by Jonah Winter
Let Liberty Rise! by Chana Stiefel
Listen: How Evelyn Glennie, A Deaf Girl, Changed Percussion by Shannon Stocker
The Mind-Blowing World of Extraordinary Competitions: Meet the Incredible People Who Will Compete at Anything by Ana Goldfield
Mother Aspen: A Story of How Forests Cooperate and Communicate by Annette LeBox
No One Told Sandra Day O’Connor What to Do by Molly Golden
A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef Jose Andres and World Central Kitchen by Erin Frankel
Remembering Rosalind Franklin by Tanya Lee Stone
Ruth Asawa: An Artist Takes Shape by Sam Nakahira
Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature by Rachel Williams
Something About the Sky by Rachel Carson, illustrations by Nikki McClure
Volcanoes by Nell Cross Beckerman
Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson by Lydia Corry
Wings of an Eagle: The Gold Medal Dreams of Billy Mills by Billy Mills
Working Boats: An Inside Look at Ten Amazing Watercraft by Tom Crestodina