Children's Books for 2nd Graders
Don't Flatten My Curls!
Mara has one big rule: curly is ALWAYS better than straight! But what happens when she meets a lion with a perfectly straight tail, climbs a spiral staircase fit for a princess, and spots a golden carpet of silky hair belonging to her very own sister? Can curly really beat straight every single time, or might Mara discover a few surprises along the way? This decodable reader practices VC/CV syllables through words like ‘basket,’ ‘carpet,’ ‘rabbit,’ and ‘picnic.’
Don't Run, Lady!
Meet a puppet maker who builds every show by hand - but what happens when the wrong backdrop drops a fancy Rich Lady straight into a jungle with a hungry tiger? Will she panic, run, or do something nobody expects? With a calm doctor puppet, a confused tiger, and an audience leaning in close, tonight’s show might not go exactly as planned. This decodable reader practices prefixes in words like ‘pretend,’ ’explain,’ ’nonstop,’ and ‘design.’
Don't Sit on That Cloud!
Birds swoop, dragonflies dart, and butterflies drift past on fancy yellow wings - but what about kids without feathers? Could you climb onto a soft cloud and float away at sunset? Could a kite carry you upwards over forests and valleys? Three brilliant friends are determined to find out, even if a silly mistake or two might send them tumbling! This decodable reader practices VC/CV syllables in words like ‘rabbit,’ ‘sunset,’ ‘yellow,’ ‘mountains,’ and ‘until.’
Don't Step in the Lava!
What happens when the best miner in the village takes her friends on a field trip? Tom just wants coal for his oven, and Max dreams of portals to another dimension - but Jill has a bubbling, glowing surprise waiting deep underground. Can they chip away at the hardest block in the world without taking one wrong step? Whatever you do, don’t step in the lava! This decodable reader practices ci/si/ti making /sh/ in words such as ‘mission,’ ‘vacation,’ ‘ancient,’ and ‘patient.’
Hot or not?
Steve has caught a big fat cod, and he is sure he can cook it over a roaring fire. But is raw fish unsafe until it is properly cooked? And when his first try ends with very hot fingers, will he repeat the same mistake the next day, or find a wild new way to heat his lunch? Join Steve for a sizzling, smoky adventure! This decodable reader practices words with prefixes, including ‘preheat,’ ‘react,’ ‘rebuild,’ ‘unsafe,’ and ‘dismay.’
Loop That Troll!
Nib is happily spinning red wool when her brothers head off to the hills, leaving the door unlocked as always. But what creeps out of the woods with a rumbling belly and a hungry grin? When a shaggy troll snatches Nib up and carries her off to his cave, can one clever girl and a ball of red wool really outsmart a beast? This decodable reader practices the ‘oo’ sound in words like ‘wool,’ ’look,’ ‘boom,’ ‘hoot,’ and ‘food.’
Wait! Don't Go!
Today is Sen’s birthday, and the giant boy has crawled up from his underground cave with one enormous wish: to find a friend. But when three village children spot him patting a shiny little bike, everything goes CRUNCH! Can a boy with banana-sized fingers and a thunder-loud voice ever show the kids he only wants to play? Will anyone be brave enough to come back? This decodable reader practices suffixes in words such as ‘boldly,’ ‘gently,’ ‘friendly,’ ‘sadly,’ and ‘slowly.’
We Made It Rain!
Walt sings to the sky every day, begging the clouds for rain on the dry, gray plain. But what happens when a giant, grinning dinosaur thumps down the trail and wants to join in? Can two loud voices and one silly song really call the clouds down to play? This decodable reader practices the ai/ay phonogram in words like ‘rain,’ ‘day,’ ‘plain,’ ’trail,’ and ‘sway.’
Who Turned Off the Lights?
The festival sparkles, the carnival twinkles, and the whole town glows like a bundle of candles - until someone starts flicking the lights off, one by one. Who is grumbling in the shadows, and why does The Dark hate the glow so much? When even the lighthouse goes silent, can anyone set things right before disaster strikes on the waves? This decodable reader practices the le/al/el/il phonogram in words like ‘candle,’ ‘single,’ ‘sparkle,’ ‘signal,’ and ’twinkle.’
Cod
Deep in the cold sea lives the fastest, sneakiest cod on the coast - and every fisherman has given up trying to catch it. Every one, that is, except Steve. But Steve has no rod, no net, and no boat. How on earth will he catch a fish with his bare hands? And when the tide washes something unexpected onto the shore, could Steve finally have a chance? This decodable reader practices vowel team syllables in words such as ‘diet,’ ‘quiet,’ ’naive,’ ‘reacts,’ and ’triumph.’