Pick of the Decade 1995-2005: 4th Grade Best Fiction Easton, Patricia. Davey's Blue-Eyed Frog , 2003. Davey finds a talking frog that claims to be a princess and plans to take her to school to show off, until he begins to consider the consequences of his actions. Gorman, Carol. Dork in Disguise , 1999. Jerry Flack is smart enough to know that when he starts school in a new town he can escape the label of "Dork," by acting cool, but he soon finds he would rather hang out with the kids on the science team. (Sequel: Dork on the Run .) Gutman, Dan. The Million Dollar Shot . 1997. Eleven-year-old Eddie gets a chance to win a million dollars by sinking a foul shot at the National Basketball Association finals. (Sequels: The Million Dollar Kick ; The Million Dollar Strike and The Million Dollar Goal .) Hest, Amy. The Private Notebook of Katie Roberts, Age 11 , 1996. In a series of journal entries and letters to a pen pal, Katie relates her feelings about her father's death in World War II, her mother's remarriage, and the family's move from New York City to Texas . (Sequel: The Great Green Notebook of Katie Roberts: Who Just Turned 12 on Monday .) Hobbs, Valerie. Charlie's Run , 2000. Hoping to stop his parents' impending separation and keep them from getting a divorce, eleven-year-old Charlie runs away from their home in inland California and finds a ride to the coast. Hoffman, Mary. Starring Grace , 2000. Grace and her friends have all sorts of adventures during their summer vacation--going to the circus, taking an imaginary safari, making friends with an elderly neighbor, pretending to be astronauts, and calling the paramedics when her grandmother has an accident. (Sequels: Encore, Grace! and Bravo, Grace! .) Holt, Kimberly Willis. Mister and Me , 1998. In a small Louisiana mill town in 1940, Jolene does not want her Momma to marry the logger who is courting her, but it seems that even her most defiantly bad behavior cannot make him go away. Howe, James. Bunnicula Strikes Again , 1999. When Bunnicula the rabbit starts acting strangely, the Monroe dogs and cat renew their suspicions that he is a vampire. (Previous titles: Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Mystery ; Howliday Inn , Celery Stalks at Midnight ; Nighty-Nightmare and Return to Howliday Inn .) Hurwitz, Johanna. Fourth Grade Fuss , 2004. Julio and his best friend Lucas are having a blast in fourth grade until they must prepare for the end of the year tests. (Previous titles: Class Clown , Teacher's Pet , School's Out and Starting School .) King-Smith, Dick. A Mouse Called Wolf , 1997. Wolfgang Amadeus Mouse, the runt of the litter, is a mouse whose talent for singing eventually comes in handy. Kurtz, Jane. I'm Sorry Almira Ann , 1999. Eight-year-old Sarah's high spirits help make her family's long journey from Missouri to Oregon more bearable, though they do cause both her and her best friend Almira Ann some problems. Lowry, Lois. Zooman Sam , 1999. Four-year-old Sam's appearance as a zookeeper at his nursery school's Future Job Day leads him to a number of exciting activities and discoveries, including reading. (Previous titles: All about Sam , Attaboy, Sam and See You Around, Sam .)

Featured List Pick of the Decade: 1995-2005 The Best Books for Children Grades K-8 Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade Complete List NJSL would like to thank the following people for compiling this comprehensive list: Susan Fichtelberg Woodbridge Public Library Bonnie Kunzel New Jersey State Library Pat Vasilik Clifton Public Library