Animal Books for 2nd Graders

When the sun beats down and Mum’s smile starts to wobble, Giraffe hatches a plan so silly it might just work - he’ll climb sky-high and eat the sun itself! But what happens when a giraffe swallows the brightest thing in the whole universe? Can Bear’s bowl of bread dough save the day, or has Giraffe cooked up the biggest mess ever? This decodable reader practises the ’ea’ sound in words like ‘beat,’ ‘dream,’ ‘peach,’ and ’treat.’

Long ago on the southern African plains, Zebra was plain white and absolutely proud of it. But when a cruel dry season swallows every pool, only one waterhole remains, and a fierce Baboon guards it with fire and snapping teeth. How can a plain white horse outwit such a bully? And what happens on the afternoon Zebra finally makes his stand? This Bookbot level practises three or more syllables, with words like ‘absolutely’, ‘afternoon’, ‘finally’, ‘desperate’, and ‘reflection’.

What happens when one mischievous cat gets stuck up a tree - and refuses to come down? One small rescue turns into the wildest day ever, with a broken ladder, a crying baby, a sneaky monkey in the kitchen, and a hungry dog chasing a pot of curry down the street. Could one furry troublemaker really cause all this trouble? A decodable reader practising VC/CV syllables in words such as ‘borrow,’ ‘problem,’ ‘pepper,’ and ‘villain.’

Zom the zombie is tired of his neighbours who only want to shuffle, groan, and moan about brains. Isn’t there someone more fun out there? When a gentle buzzing leads him to a busy beehive full of potential new pals, Zom is thrilled - but will the bees want to be friends with a clumsy zombie? And what happens when his big idea for saying hello goes very, very wrong? This decodable reader practises le/al/el/il words such as ‘gentle,’ ’little,’ ‘cattle,’ ‘bundle,’ and ‘stumbles.’

Deep in an old, forgotten mine, brave Fig Pig marches in with his little lamp beaming and a pickaxe swung high. But what happens when he spots a chest full of gold, a sleeping beast the size of a wheelbarrow, and a narrow rail stretched across bubbling lava? Will he reach the great black coal he dreams of, or will something at the entrance send him running? This decodable reader practises the ’ea’ sound in words like ‘beam,’ ‘dream,’ ‘reach,’ and ‘scream.’

Rooster has spotted a mouse in his farmyard, and he is certain this will be the greatest catch in farm history! But what happens when the mouse zips away faster than Rooster can run? And who is that snarling in the yard with teeth bared? Feathers fly, hens squawk, and suddenly Rooster is the one being chased! This decodable reader practises es plurals in words like ‘catches,’ ‘dashes,’ ‘rushes,’ and ‘watches.’

Have you ever daydreamed so hard you forgot where you were? Boy can’t stop! One minute he’s bouncing on the moon, the next he’s a woodpecker tapping a tree, a goat on a sunny hillside, or a mole munching earthworms underground. But what could possibly be strong enough to pull him out of his wildest daydream yet? Something warm and delicious is drifting through the doorway… This decodable reader practises compound words such as ‘backpack,’ ‘daydream,’ ‘goldfish,’ and ‘sunshine.’

Spot is the world’s greatest finder of things - lost socks, buried bones, you name it! So when he loses his girl Jane at the zoo, he knows he can track her down. But why does Jane suddenly have a long swishy tail? And fuzzy fingers? And gold stripes? Can Spot sniff out his real girl before the day is done? This decodable reader practises the ai/ay phonogram with words like ‘day,’ ‘stay,’ ’trail,’ ‘wait,’ and ‘way.’

Prince Din just wants big leaves for his leaf ball - but the forest is full of dangerous things, and the guards refuse to go near it! When a huge striped tiger leaps out with a mighty growl, Prince Din runs deeper and deeper into the trees. Is the tiger really chasing him? Or could this fierce creature have a surprising secret? This decodable reader practises the oa phonogram in words like ‘coax,’ ‘croak,’ ‘groan,’ ‘road,’ and ‘roam.’

The Clever Tortoise thinks he can beat Cheetah, the fastest animal on the whole plain, in a three kilometre race. But how could a slow, plodding tortoise ever hope to outrun a streak of gold? Cheetah laughs, the whole veld laughs, and only Tortoise stays calm and quiet. What clever plan is hiding inside that domed shell, and will it be enough? This Bookbot ES level practises two syllable words with ’es’ plurals, using lesson words like ‘bunches’, ‘bushes’, ‘ditches’, ‘brushes’, and ‘watches’.