Second-Grade Books, Easy Reading

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Average second-grade books are longer and more complex than first-grade books. They may have 10 to 20 lines of print per page, and contain a wider range of words, including a number of words that have more than one syllable. Most of the words, however, will be in the students' listening vocabularies. Easy books include those written on a first-grade level, but which would be mature enough for second-graders. Challenging books are those written on a third-grade level.

Fiction

Easy Reading

Reading Level: End of Grade 1 (interest Level: Grade 2)

Byars, Betsy, & Truesdale, Sue. The Golly Sisters Go West. HarperCollins, 1985, 64 pp. Heading West in a covered wagon to put on shows, the Golly sisters have a series of humorous misadventures and misunderstandings. Although their horse runs off, they get lost, they become frightened, and have arguments, they continue to put on shows in good-humored fashion.

Chardiet, Bernice, & Maccarone, Grace. The Best Teacher in the World. Scholastic, 1990, 29 pp. Bunny feels very proud when Ms. Darcy, the best teacher in the world, chooses her to deliver a note to Mrs. Walker. Unable to find Mrs. Walker and too embarrassed to ask for help, Bunny fails to deliver the note. Admitting her failure two days later, she learns that you should never be afraid to ask questions. Provides writing topic: a time when I made a mistake.

Levinson, Nancy Smiler. Snowshoe Thompson. HarperCollins, 1992, 64 pp. Wanting to mail a letter to his dad, who has gone to search for gold in California, Danny is told that it will be impossible to get over the mountains until spring. But Snowshoe Thompson makes a pair of skis and promises to deliver the mail. Shortly before Christmas, after two treacherous trips across the Sierra Nevada, Snowshoe returns with a letter from Danny's father. Provides history tie-in: the gold rush.

Rylant, Cynthia. Poppleton Everyday. Scholastic, 1997, 48 pp. Poppleton, the pig, gets seasick looking at the stars, makes many demands as he buys a grown-up bed, and finds that sailing is not relaxing when a storm comes up and flips you into the water.

Schwartz, Alvin. All of Our Noses Are Here and Other Noodle Tales. HarperCollins, 1985, 64 pp. Although noodle families are kind and loving, they have very little brain power and do foolish things such as believing that the people they see in a mirror are another family. Provides a model for writing a noodle story.

Smith, Janice Lee. Wizard and Wart in Trouble. HarperCollins, 1998, 48 pp. Using magic, Wizard turns ants into butterflies, a flood into whipped cream, and ice zings into trees.