Book recommendations for 2nd grade?

[mom2alix]

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke (same author who wrote Inkheart series). This is a really cute book about a girl who wants to become a night. If your DD likes adventure stories I think she would likely enjoy this one.

It can be kind of hard to find "adventure books" with female protagonists. My DD also loves non-fiction, so I'm always looking for biographies of women who've led interesting lives. She's especially fascinated with Cleopatra right now, but just mentioned last night that she'd like to find a book about Amelia Earhart.

 

[wanttobeinvienna]

A lot that we read has already been mentioned- But another one my 2nd grade DD likes is the Clementine series... Much like Junie B Jones and Judy Moody, but I like her character better. I am not a fan of the snotty little girls in books . She likes Amelia Bedelia books also.

For boys- My DS9 LOVES the Football Genius series by Tim Greene, a former NFL player. It is perfectly age appropriate, with a great story line and characters that are nice! If your kid likes football- they are great in helping them further understand their game- it is technical- not over the top technical, but great for 3-5th grade minds!

We also like reading manga books for fun- however- I read through them first to make sure that they are appropriate...

 

[Tommys Mommy]

My DD7 is also a second grader and loves a lot of the books already mentioned. She has also enjoyed these:

Mallory McDonald series by Laurie Friedman
Horrible Harry series by Suzy Kline
Frannie K. Stein series by Jim Benton
Bailey School Kids series by Marcia Thornton Jones & Debbie Dadey
Ramona series & Henry Huggins series by Beverly Cleary

 

[gower525]

I would suggest "Horrible Harry" and "Cam Jansen". These books are on about the same reading level as Magic Tree House - and not girly. Many of the books mentioned here are on a much higher reading level - not typical reading material for 2nd grade.

 

[tinkrebell]

BOXCAR CHILDREN!

Now, I'm 24, but shouldn't these be on the list? Or did I miss them going out of print and should I run out and buy them up on Ebay???

Now I'm having a moment. . .I think I may dig up childhood books again. ..

 

[deegack]

My niece always liked the whimpy kid series.
And tales of a fourth grade nothing and superfudge.

 

[grace&philipsmom]

My daughter also just started second grade and she LOVES the Rainbow Magic Fairies series, and Nancy Drew.

 

[acrayon]

I teach first grade-but have the high readers-so they are reading 2nd+ grade. The ones I use with them that they like besides MTH are Cam Jansen, A-Z Mysteries, and Ready Freddy.

 

[2kids2luv]

Judy Blume books are usually a hit with boys and girls. Other popular series are Ramona and Box Car Kids.

 

[nikkers]

You have gotten some great suggestions! My DS's school librarian suggested the Time Warp Trio series. There is also a website that we refer to after he has read a book. There are a lot of different activities for each book on the site. And it helps me to know he is comprehending what he is reading.
http://www.timewarptrio.com/

 

[Bibbidi]

A new series that just came out are the "Frankly, Frannie" books. My dd7 just received the "Doggy Day Care" edition. Our scholastic book order forms were selling these individually for $3 or both the 1st and 2nd books for $5 together.

My dd9 is going to try out the new "Goddess Girls" series which are about the daughters of Greek Gods/Goddesses - but the stories revolve around these girls at "Mount Olympus Academy". From amazon - "This is a clever take on Greek deities and the Trojan War" and "this is a quick, agreeable read particularly well suited for those who enjoy a good Disney princess movie now and then."

 

[mommyof2princesses]

My dd is loving these books right now. In fact, they are what got her reading chapter books. (she is only 6 but reading on a 3rd/4th grade level)

Judy Moody books
Books by Beverly Clearly, Judy Blume
Clementine series

 

[Lauren79]

The Ramona Series by Beverly Cleary...or the "Fudge" series by Judy Blume. My daughter and I are reading the Ramona series right now.

 

[Zoesmama03]

DD just got into the candy apply series this year when another girl was reading one. In K and 1st she was in love with the Junie B series but now she reads them so quick and has pretty much read them all. She was also into the Arthur series at the same time.

She picks out magic tree house ones sometimes but some are scary to her. She says she has bad dreams after reading them. She does have a big imaginations. She also reads the Ramona books, the bella horse series(forget the series name) or anything about horses including Black Beauty since she adores horses. And she is a huge fan of non-fiction books particularly ones about animals.

I agree with the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys she will probably love those.

DD just checked out a long(402 pages) books titled "The Star of Kazan" its very adventure type but the grade level is 5th which dd is starting to branch into, she is solidly reading 4th grade level. I searched similar books on scholastic.com and found a lot more in the range. So do a similar search on there you may find some she will enjoy.

 

[LadyGirl001]

I echo the A to Z Mysteries - these are a lot of fun.

Also - an old favorite - Encyclopedia Brown. These are great short stories and make you really pay attention to the details.

 

[dizneechic]

You could try The Secrets of Droon series they are a little like magic tree house but a little bit harder, my oldest really liked those.. They are adventure books with 2 boys and 2 girls.

My now 3rd grader LOVED the Droon series as well. He read all of A-Z after MTH and found them disappointing because they were predictable (same formula/result in every story where MTH mixed it up some). After A-Z he read Droon and fell in love with those. He also really enjoyed the Deltora Quest series and the Percy Jackson series. A few weeks back he read the Great Escape and subsequently the rest from the Cat Pack series and really enjoyed those too.

Currently he's reading books from Classic Starts, which are adaptations of classic novels paired down to a 3-5th grade reading level. They still remain true to the originals, but in the scaling back make them a bit more interesting for the younger set to read. Just this past weekend he read King Arthur and Sherlock Holmes.

 

[jlhill4444]

My second grade son loves the Boxcar Children, Diary of a Wimpy Kid series and he especially likes the Goosebumps seriers of books. They are supposed to be scary, but he thinks they are a bit funny and really enjoys them.

 

[Adrienne]

Judy blume
ramona
Famous five series and secret seven series by enid blyton - u may have to check out amazon for them she is a VERY famous english writer, she also wrote loads of other childrens books - the faraway tree, the magic chair etc.