2nd Grade

To my favorite group of second graders,

It has be very fun reading to you this year! Here are the books that we read together. I hope that you find your favorites on this list and read them again. They are all available at the public library.

At the bottom of this page, I share twenty great chapter book series for you to read this summer. I have included a variety of types of books on this list. Whether you enjoy graphic novels, mysteries, magical stories, outdoor adventures, historical fiction, funny stories or stories about friends, there is a chapter book series on this list for you!

In case you are wondering who won the Children’s Choice Book Award for best K-2nd grade book, I have included a link to the award ceremony below. The winner surprised me.

Lastly, take another look at Oliver Jeffers’ super funny video. While you’re at it, you can read Stuck again at home and laugh as loud as you’d like.

I hope you guys have a fantastic summer! Happy reading!

-Amy

1st Day

• Crazy Hair Day by Barney Saltzberg
• Big Red Lollipop by Rukhsana Khan
• I Want My Hat Back by Jon Klassen

Mo Willems

• The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! by Mo Willems
• Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs by Mo Willems
• Elephants Cannot Dance! by Mo Willems

Animals

• The Watcher by Jeanette Winter
• A Polar Bear’s World by Caroline Arnold
• The Emporer’s Egg by Martin Jenkins and Jane Chapman

Recommended:

• A Penguin’s World by Caroline Arnold
• Wild Tracks by Jim Arnosky
• Frogs by Nic Bishop

3 Favorite Children’s Books Characters

• Boundless Grace by Mary Hoffman
• Lilly and the Purple Plastic Purse by Kevin Henkes
• Scaredy Squirrel Makes a Friend by Melanie Watt

The Arts

• Tanya and Emily in a Dance for Two by Patricia Lee Gauch
• Piano Starts Here: The Young Art Tatum by Robert Andrew Parker
• Fredrick by Leo Lionni

Recommended:

• The Art of Miss Chew by Patricia Polacco
• Duke Ellington by Andrea Pinkney
• Tanya and the Red Shoes by Patricia Lee Gauch

Mo Willems encore

• Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems
• Can I Play Too? by Mo Willems

Sports

• Hope for Haiti by Jesse Joshua Watson
• America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle by David Adler

Recommended:

• Soccer: Hope for Haiti by Jesse Joshua Watson
• Swimming: America’s Champion Swimmer: Gertrude Ederle by David Adler
• Baseball: Satchel Paige by Lesa Cline-Ransom and James Ransom
• Baseball: Lou Gehrig: The Luckiest Man by David Adler
• Running: Wilma Unlimited by Kathleen Krull
• Biking: Tillie the Terrible Swede by Sue Stauffacher
• Decathalon: Jim Thorpe’s Bright Path by Joseph Bruchac

Oliver Jeffers

• Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers
• The Great Paper Caper by Oliver Jeffers
• Stuck by Oliver Jeffers

 

Gardening / Spring

• Sugar Snow by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Doris Ettlinger
• The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
• Linnea in Monet’s Garden by Christina Bjork and Lena Anderson

Children’s Choice Award Nominees

• I’ll Save You Bobo! by Eileen Rosenthal and Marc Rosenthal
• Big Mean Mike by Michelle Knudsen and Scott Magoon
• Nighttime Ninja by Barbara DaCosta and Ed Young
• The Duckling Gets a Cookie? by Mo Willems
• Pete the Cat and His Four Groovy Buttons by James Dean and Eric Litwin

Find out who won the Children’s Choice Book Award here! The winner of the K-2nd Children’s Choice Book Award is announced from 7 to 12 minutes into the award ceremony.

3 More Favorite Children’s Book Characters

• Vera‘s New School by Vera Rosenberry
• A Birthday for Frances by Russell Hoban and Lillian Hoban
• Frog and Toad Together by Arnold Lobel

Summertime Stories

• Enemy Pie by Derek Munson and Tara Calahan King
• Scaredy Squirrel Goes Camping by Melanie Watt

20 Chapter Book Series to Read This Summer

• Magic Tree House books by Mary Pope Osborne. Begin with any one of the first 28 books in the series that looks fun to you. The books are grouped together in sets of four books with missions that fit together. Thus, it makes sense to begin with one of the following books: Dinosaurs Before Dark (#1), Night of the Ninjas (#5), Dolphins at Daybreak (#9), Vacation Under the Volcano (#13), Tonight on the Titanic (#17), Civil War on Sunday (#21) or Stage Fright on a Summer Night (#25).
• Anna Hibiscus by Atinuke
• Binky the Space Cat by Ashley Spires
• Judy Moody and Stink: The Incredible Shrinking Kid by Megan McDonald and Peter Reynolds
• Alvin Ho: Allergic to Girls, School, and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look
• Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty by Nick Bruel
• Jake Drake, Bully Buster by Andrew Clements (and other Jake Drake books)
• Gooney Bird Greene by Lois Lowry
• Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
• The Hidden Stairs and the Magic Carpet by Tony Abbott (and other The Secret of Droon books)
• Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson
• Ivy & Bean by Annie Barrows and Sophie Blackall
• Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume. See also Fudge-a-Mania, Superfudge and Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great.
• * The World According to Humphrey by Betty G. Birney
• * Meet Addy by Connie Rose Porter (and other books starring Addy)
• * My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George. See also On the Far Side of the Mountain, Frightful’s Mountain, and other outdoor adventures by Jean Craighead George.
• * Starring Grace by Mary Hoffman
• * No Talking by Andrew Clements (and other books by Andrew Clements)
• * Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary
• * Half Magic by Edward Eager (and other Tales of Magic books)

* These books are a little longer than the others, but do not let that deter you. If they look good to you, jump in and give them a try!