Adventure Books for 2nd Graders

Ned has a cosy shed, a bossy magic book, and a brand new stone pickaxe - but what happens when The Book sends him straight into a dark cave in the hillside? When something hisses in the shadows, Ned must run for his life, past the doorway, across the seashore, and far, far offshore. Can he outsmart a grumpy creeper before nightfall? A fun decodable reader practising compound words such as ‘backyard,’ ‘hillside,’ ’lunchbox,’ and ’nightfall.’

Tim is a tiny tin robot no bigger than a thimble, and he is certain he was built for BIG adventures. So when a lost blue button bounces past his feet, off he marches to find its owner! But can one little robot dodge giant sneakers, slobbery dogs, and splashing cars without getting squashed along the way? This decodable reader practises le/al/el/il words such as ’little,’ ‘puddle,’ ‘scramble,’ ‘wobbled,’ and ‘simple.’

Tim is the world’s worst bird at not stopping. Show him a butterfly, a shiny bug, or a pretty cloud, and off he drifts into another daydream - while his flock zooms away without him! Now night is falling, Bird Catchers are creeping through the wildflowers, and Tim is all alone. Can one very distractible little bird keep his eyes on the sky until sunrise? This decodable reader practises compound words such as ‘daydream,’ ‘firefly,’ ‘sunshine,’ ‘without,’ and ‘daybreak.’

Every night, monsters pour out of the darkness, and Ned only has a sword, two bone-chewing wolves, and a bossy floating Book to help him survive. Can a half-built wall hold back the zombies? Will shiny new armour be enough when the creatures invade again? And why is The Book always hiding when things get scary? This decodable reader practises words with prefixes such as ‘defend,’ ‘rebuild,’ ‘retreat,’ and ‘return.’

When Cam closes his eyes after a long day, something magical happens - suddenly he’s floating, soaring past treetops and waving at birds! But what happens when an eagle warns him to hold on tight, and there’s nothing to hold on to? How high can one boy fly before the stars start to shake? Will Cam find his way back before morning? This decodable reader practises the igh phonogram in words like ‘bright,’ ‘flight,’ ’night,’ and ’tight.’

Long ago, all the stories of the world lived locked in a chest high in Nyame the Sky God’s palace, and clever Anansi the spider wants them for his own. But how can one small spider pay a price that even mighty kings could not? Can he outwit a python, the hornets, a leopard, and a fairy to win them all? This Bookbot EE-level story practises the ’ee’ sound with words like ‘see’, ‘deep’, ’three’, ‘green’, and ‘feet’.

One cold season, every campfire has drowned in the rain, and the nights are long and dark. Far up a lonely ridge, a selfish old ape guards the only living flame and shares it with no one. Can a small, quiet boy named Kele, armed with nothing but a reed flute and a clever plan, really bring warmth home? This Bookbot OU level practises the /ou/ sound with words like ‘found’, ’loud’, ‘proud’, ‘round’, and ‘shout’.

Before there were stars, the Kalahari sky was a black, empty bowl, and no one dared step past the campfire glow. But when a little boy chases a lizard into the dark and cannot find his way home, his big sister Sena refuses to believe the dark is too wide to cross. What could one brave girl and a scoop of glowing embers possibly do against a whole sky of night? This Bookbot level practises two-syllable compound words like ‘campfire’, ‘sunset’, ‘without’, ‘handful’, and ‘footstep’.

Ned is having a gentle day picking flowers outside the castle walls, humming a little song and ignoring every warning The Book tries to give him. But what happens when a sneaky green creeper hisses right behind him? Can Ned find a clever way to tackle this explosive problem, or will he end up in trouble all over again? Grab your bow and find out! This decodable reader practises the le/al/el/il endings in words like ‘castle,’ ‘bundle,’ ‘gravel,’ ‘metal,’ and ‘settle.’

Kalulu the Hare is the smallest animal in the whole woodland, and everybody keeps telling him he is too little to matter. So when the mighty Ngombe the Buffalo seizes the field everyone planted together, who could possibly challenge him? Kalulu can. With a clay pot of ash and a clever plan, this tiny hare dares a buffalo to a sunrise race. But how can small feet ever beat big hooves? This Bookbot book practises long words of three or more syllables, like ‘buffalo’, ’everybody’, ‘suddenly’, and ’together’.