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By age · 4 years

Books for 4 year olds: six books for longer stories

5 min read11 sources6 books

Illustration: picture books fanned out, one open on a lake and forest landscape with a fox

At four, a child can follow a longer story, with a journey, a setback and a way home. Some four-year-olds in Ireland are already in Junior Infants.

Here's what's going on at this age, six books rated from four, and how reading together changes as school comes closer.

In brief

What's going on at this age

  • Because and when. Subordinate clauses with “when” or “because” fall into place.1
  • School can begin in Ireland. A child can start Junior Infants in the September after turning four: they must be at least four on 1 September of the year they start. School is compulsory from six at the latest.2
  • Questions work a little less. The effect of dialogic reading, where the adult asks questions and the child tells the story, is clearly smaller in children aged four to five.3 It says nothing against reading aloud as such.
  • Irish at school for many children. In 2023, over 40,000 pupils attended 188 Gaelscoileanna at primary level outside the Gaeltacht.4
Our suggestions

Six books for a 4 year old

BookTrust often gives an interest age and a reading age.5 At four, the interest age is the one that counts: these are books to read aloud.

  1. 01

    Stick Man

    Julia Donaldson · Illustrations: Axel Scheffler · Scholastic · BookTrust: interest age 4 to 6

    Stick Man is carried further and further from his family tree, and finds his way home in time for Christmas. A long journey in rhyme, with a happy return.

  2. 02

    Something Else

    Kathryn Cave · Illustrations: Chris Riddell · Puffin · BookTrust: interest age 4+, reading age 6+

    A creature who doesn't fit in anywhere, until someone even more different knocks at the door. A gentle story about belonging, and about how we treat newcomers.

  3. 03

    Winnie-the-Pooh

    A. A. Milne · Methuen, 1926 · BookTrust: interest age 4+, reading age 7+

    The bear of very little brain and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood. Chapters short enough for one evening each, and a humour that grown-ups enjoy too.

  4. 04

    The Cat in the Hat

    Dr. Seuss · Random House, 1957 · Common Sense Media: age 4+

    A rainy day, two bored children and a cat who turns the house upside down. Rhymes that practically read themselves.

  5. 05

    If You Give a Mouse a Cookie

    Laura Numeroff · Illustrations: Felicia Bond · HarperCollins, 1985 · Common Sense Media: age 4+

    Give a mouse a cookie and he'll want a glass of milk, and then something else, and then something else. Children love guessing the next step.

  6. 06

    The Cat and the Devil

    James Joyce · Little Island, 2021 · Little Island: 4-8

    A story James Joyce wrote in a letter to his grandson, about the devil, a bridge and a clever mayor. An Irish book that Little Island lists for four to eight.

In practice

Reading with a four-year-old

Longer stories, a chapter at a time. Winnie-the-Pooh can be read one chapter an evening. Stopping at the right moment makes the next evening easier.

Let your child retell. After the last page, ask what happened. A four-year-old who retells a story in order is already doing what school will ask of them.

Starting school. If Junior Infants is coming up, a story about a first day can help. Our page on starting school has ideas, and our page on reading development follows your child up to twelve.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

What books are good for a 4 year old?

Books with a longer story to read aloud: Stick Man, Something Else, Winnie-the-Pooh, The Cat in the Hat, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie or, from Ireland, The Cat and the Devil, each rated for this age by BookTrust, Common Sense Media or the publisher.

Can a 4 year old start school in Ireland?

Yes. A child can start Junior Infants if they are at least four on 1 September of the year they start. School is compulsory from six at the latest, and some schools decide for themselves whether to take four- or five-year-olds.

Should I ask my 4 year old questions while reading?

You can, and a short question keeps a child involved. A meta-analysis found the effect of question-and-answer reading on vocabulary clearly smaller at four to five than in younger children. Reading aloud itself stays just as valuable.

Should a 4 year old be able to read?

No age list asks that of a four-year-old. The reading ages BookTrust gives for these books start at six or seven; at four, the interest age is what matters.

References

Sources

  1. 1.Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung (BZgA): language development, kindergesundheit-info.de. (in German)What it confirms: First words between 12 and 18 months, 50 to 200 words at 20 months, two- then three-word sentences, subordinate clauses at four to five, more than 3,000 words at school age, a passing stammer in the fourth year.
  2. 2.Citizens Information: Starting primary school.What it confirms: A child must be at least four on 1 September of the year they start; school is compulsory from six at the latest.
  3. 3.Mol, Bus, de Jong and Smeets (2008): Added Value of Dialogic Parent-Child Book Readings, meta-analysis, Early Education and Development.What it confirms: An average effect of d = 0.59 on expressive vocabulary; a clearly smaller effect in children aged four to five.
  4. 4.Gaelscoileanna: Irish-medium education, facts and figures.What it confirms: In September 2023, 188 Gaelscoileanna at primary level with over 40,000 pupils outside the Gaeltacht.
  5. 5.BookTrust Bookfinder.What it confirms: Books listed with two ages, an interest age and a reading age.
  6. 6.BookTrust: Stick Man.What it confirms: Interest age 4 to 6; Scholastic.
  7. 7.BookTrust Bookfinder: Something Else.What it confirms: Interest age 4+, reading age 6+; the first UNESCO prize for children's literature in the service of tolerance.
  8. 8.BookTrust Bookfinder: Winnie-the-Pooh.What it confirms: Interest age 4+, reading age 7+; Methuen, 1926.
  9. 9.Common Sense Media: The Cat in the Hat.What it confirms: The rating “age 4+”.
  10. 10.Common Sense Media: If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.What it confirms: The rating “age 4+”.
  11. 11.Little Island: The Cat and the Devil.What it confirms: The catalogue category 4-8, and a review mentioning older readers of 7+.

A word about us

A story where your child is the one on the journey

At four, children follow a hero far from home and back again, and they like it best when the hero is a lot like them.

At Sagalino, your child becomes the hero of a story with their name, in one of our 21 illustration styles. You read the whole story for free, and only pay afterwards.

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