Books by Grade Level
Second Grade Recommendations.
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One
Saturday Evening
by Barbara Baker
On a Saturday evening, the members of a bear family busy themselves
with cleaning up the kitchen, taking baths, and reading.
Little Rat
Makes Music
by Monika Bang-Campbell
Little Rat loves the violin but hates to practice, until her teacher
suggests she perform a duet with one of the advanced students at the
holiday concert.
Let
the Good Time Roll with Pirate Pete and Pirate
Joe
by A. E. Cannon
Pirate Pete and Pirate Joe visit the Pirate Queen and have fun playing
games and going to Disco Dan's House of Pins until it is bedtime and
the Pirate Queen becomes just their mother once again.
Cork & Fuzz: Good
Sports
by Dori Chaconas
Short-legged Cork is upset when tall Fuzz wins every game they play,
until he learns that their friendship is more important than
winning.
Mimmy and
Sophie All Around Town
by Miriam Cohen
Describes the experiences of two sisters growing up in Brooklyn in the
time of Shirley Temple movies and trolleys.
Rafi and
Rosi: Carnival!
by Lulu Delacre
Two Latin American tree frogs, mischievous Rafi and his younger sister
Rosi, enjoy the events of Puerto Rico's Carnival season. Includes
glossary.
Mercy
Watson to the Rescue
by Kate DiCamillo
After Mercy the pig snuggles to sleep with the Watsons, all three
awaken with the bed teetering on the edge of a big hole in the
floor.
Halfway
Hank
by Joe Fallon
Hank always does things halfway, but one day he finds a way to finish
something while still being true to himself.
Snowed in
With Grandmother Silk
by Carol Fenner
Ruddy is disappointed when his parents go on a cruise and he must stay
with his fussy grandmother for a whole week, but an unexpected
snowstorm reveals a surprising side of Grandmother Silk.
Waltur Buys a Pig in a
Poke
by Barbara Gregorich
Two bears, Waltur and Darwin, learn from their friend Matilda such
lessons as "do not buy a pig in a poke" and "you can lead a horse to
water, but you can't make him drink."
Bad Dog
Marley
by John Grogan
Marley, a rambunctious puppy, makes himself at home while causing lots
of trouble but then proves in a very dramatic way that he is a valuable
member of the household.
Iris and
Walter and Cousin Howie
by Elissa Haden Guest
Walter's favorite cousin is coming to visit, but Iris is disappointed
when Howie does not turn out to be so great--or friendly--after
all.
Birthday
Pony
by Jessie Haas
Grandma Aggie tries to help her granddaughter Jane and the independent
pony Popcorn, who were born on the same day, become riding
partners.
How Not
to Start Third Grade
by Cathy Hapka
The first day of school becomes chaotic when third-grader Will's
younger brother, Steve, arrives for kindergarten.
Mud
soup
by Judith Head
Josh tries to avoid eating the "mud soup" prepared by Rosa's abuela
(grandmother). Includes a recipe for black bean soup.
From
Slave to Soldier: Based on a True Civil War Story
by Deborah Hopkinson
A boy who hates being a slave joins the Union Army to fight for
freedom and proves himself brave and capable of handling a mule team
when the need arises.
Scared
Silly
by James Howe
Harold, Chester, and Howie have a harrowing Halloween night worrying
about Bunnicula as well as about a witch who comes into the house.
Best Seat
in Second Grade
by Katharine Kenah
Sam's favorite thing about second grade is the class pet, a hamster
named George Washington. So when the class goes on a field trip to a
science museum, Sam cannot resist bringing George along.
Gooney, The
Fabulous
by Lois Lowry
Gooney Bird Greene takes charge of a class project as she and her
fellow students in Mrs. Pidgeon's second grade class learn about fables
by each making up their own based on an animal that begins with the
same letter as their first name.
Stink:
The Incredible Shrinking Kid
by Megan McDonald
Every morning, Judy Moody measures Stink and it's always the same:
three feet, eight inches tall. Stink feels like even the class newt is
growing faster than he is. Then, one day, the ruler reads-can it
be?-three feet, seven and three quarters inches! Is Stink
shrinking?.
Rufus the
Scrub Does Not Wear a Tutu
by James McEwan
Rufus plays football and practices ballet and he is teased all the
time.
Once I
Ate Pie
by Patricia MacLachlan
Thirteen dogs tell their stories in simple poems.
Squirrel's
World
by Lisa Moser
Squirrel's well-meaning attempts to help his forest friends do not
always turn out as planned.
Thomas
Jefferson's Feast
by Frank Murphy
Tells of Thomas Jefferson's trip to France in 1784, and all the exotic
foods he learned about and then introduced to America, including ice
cream, macaroni and cheese, and tomatoes.
Henrietta, There's No
One Better
by Matine Murray
Henrietta, whose favorite color is red and who wants to be an
explorer, describes some of her life with her baby brother Albert, her
dog Madge, her best friend Olive, and what it is like to be "half a Hen
and half a Rietta."
Barn
Party
by Clare O'Brien
Chicken decides to hold a party, but Rooster makes trouble by trying
to exclude the animals he thinks are too untidy.
Gimme Cracked Corn
and I Will Share
by Kevin O'Malley
Chicken dreams about a treasure and sets off on a dangerous journey to
find it.
Amelia
Bedelia's Masterpiece
by Herman Parish
Housekeeper Amelia Bedelia visits an art museum, where her confusion
leads to surprising results.
Lewis and
Clark: A Praire Dog for the President
by Shirley Raye Redmond
Introduces Meriwether Lewis and William Clark who, during their
exploration of the West for Thomas Jefferson, captured a prairie dog
and sent it to the President as a gift.
Annie and
Snowball and the Dress-up Birthday
by Cynthia Rylant
Annie and her pet rabbit, Snowball, invite Henry and Mudge to a
dress-up birthday party, but there is some confusion about what the
guests are supposed to wear.
Coco and
Cavendish: Circus Dogs
by Judy Sierra
When the owner of the circus where they work replaces them with robot
dogs, Coco and Cavendish set out to find a new job--but it is not as
easy as they thought it would be.
Cowgirl
Kate and Cocoa: School Days
by Erica Silverman
Cocoa the horse does not want Cowgirl Kate to go to school without
him.
Pinwheel
Days
by Ellen Tarlow
In four separate stories, Pinwheel the donkey learns about friendship
when his loneliness ends after meeting his "echo," a lovely picnic
stems from a mistake, his rubbing on a tree seems to break it, and his
best dream ever comes true.
Oliver
Pig and the Best Fort Ever
by Jean Van Leeuwen
Oliver Pig decides to build a fort in the backyard and his friends
become involved with the project as well.
When Pigs
Fly
by Lisa Wheeler
Fitch and Chip learn that you do not have to wear a cape to be a
hero.
