Fantasy Books for 2nd Graders

Dr. Can Do knows every single cobble in his quiet little town of Canville - or so he thinks! But when a stranger named Sam rides in claiming there are hidden caves nearby, Dr. Can Do is sure he’s wrong. What could possibly be lurking beneath those gentle green hills? Could a whole jungle really grow underground? Follow along as a humble guide leads the way into a world no one expected. This decodable reader practises le/al/el/il words such as ’little,’ ‘gravel,’ ‘purple,’ and ’tunnel.’

On a small island of swaying palms, Siti finds a strange golden coconut that hums instead of rattles. When it cracks open in the night, who could be curled up inside? And when her greedy uncle comes chasing, will one brave, kind-handed girl reach the old baobab grove in time? A warm island adventure about courage and kindness. This Bookbot level practises the ‘ou’ sound, with lesson words like ‘round’, ‘found’, ‘proud’, ‘shout’, and ’loud’.

CHINK, CHINK, CHINK - just another boring day of mining coal, until a strange glowing emerald changes everything. One touch, one Creeper blast, and suddenly our miner is standing under unfamiliar stars with monsters closing in. Where did the emerald send them? And what will happen when night falls in the jungle? This decodable reader practises ci/si/ti making /sh/ in words like ‘action,’ ‘caution,’ ‘direction,’ and ‘hesitation.’

Steve’s stomach is growling, his pocket is glowing, and the villagers are acting very strange. What is it about this shiny green gem that makes the butcher shriek and back away? Why does time seem to skip whenever Steve peeks at it? With a cursed emerald burning a hole in his pocket and a whole village to explore, Steve has to find food fast - and figure out what this stone really does. This decodable reader practises the ’ew’ sound in words like ‘knew,’ ‘flew,’ ‘drew,’ and ‘chewed.’

The cursed emerald is still in Alex’s pocket, and now Jake has turned to stone just by looking at it! Can an ancient message scratched into the back of the village iron golem reveal how to destroy the gem for good? And will two brothers be brave enough to carry the curse all the way into the Nether? This decodable reader practises the aw/au phonogram with words like ‘dawn,’ ‘hauls,’ ‘paws,’ ‘jaw,’ and ‘drawn.’

The cursed emerald is still glowing, and this time it flung our hero straight into the desert instead of the Nether! With his fingers growing colder and villagers running scared, can he and Jake find a clever way to destroy the gem before the curse takes over for good? What will happen when anything that touches the emerald turns to stone? This decodable reader practises the ’ew’ sound in words like ‘brew,’ ‘flew,’ ‘knew,’ ’news,’ and ‘phew.’

The cursed emerald is still humming in its cloth wrap - and this time, the plan is to drop it straight into bubbling lava! But what happens when the fire resistance potion tastes like nothing at all? Can Jake and his friend roll a heavy stone statue down a rail, across a glowing moat, and finish the job before the emerald wakes up screaming? This decodable reader practises the ‘oa’ sound in words like ‘float,’ ‘road,’ ‘moat,’ and ‘groan.’

Juma is the unluckiest fisherman on the whole Mombasa shore, waking before dawn only to haul up empty nets. But one morning his paddle drags something strange onto the floor of his little canoe: a small clay jar, sealed tight, trembling, with a tiny voice pleading to be let out. Who is trapped inside, and what will Juma wish for when three wishes are suddenly his? This Bookbot level practises open syllables in words like ‘open’, ‘spirit’, ’tiny’, ‘motor’, and ‘canoe’.

The giant called the izim has terrorised the valley for three seasons, stealing cattle while the bravest men fail. So when eight-year-old Thandi steps forward and says, “Let me try,” everyone laughs. But what if being small and clever beats being big and certain? What secret does Thandi spot near the giant’s lair, and can one brave girl really outwit a creature that no wall could keep out? This Bookbot level practises the ‘ou’ sound with words like ’loud’, ‘proud’, ‘could’, ‘round’, and ‘shout’.

The Thukela River hides a pool so deep no one has ever seen its bottom, and coiled inside it lives a great serpent that has sealed the crossing for six weeks. But Sifiso’s gran is sick on the far bank, and the only way to reach her leads straight through the water. How do you ask a creature older than the hills to let you pass? Can a single white lily do what force never could? This Bookbot compound word story practises words like ‘into’, ‘inside’, ‘sunlight’, ‘airspace’ and ’nothing’.