Books for Reluctant Second Graders

By the end of first grade, we hope that every child has taken off in reading, and is able to choose books for fun and information that are at his independent level. At times, however, some students are still struggling with the mechanics of print at the end of first grade, and need to read daily during the summer, building fluency and independence. It is vitally important that these children practice reading books that are at their independent level (approximately 95% accuracy). The following is a list of books that should be relatively easy for children not quite ready to tackle the demands of a second grade book.

Barton	Airport
Eastman	Are You My Mother?
Gelman	Cats and Mice
Gelman	Why Can't I Fly?
Guilfoile	Nobody Listens to Andrew
Hill	Spot's Birthday Party
Hill	Spot's First Walk
Hoff	Albert the Albatross
Hutchins	Happy Birthday, Sam
Hutchins	You'll Soon Grow Into Them, Titch
Kraus	The Carrot Seed
Kraus	Leo the Late Bloomer
LeSieg	Ten Apples Up on Top!
Lopshire	Put Me In the Zoo
McLeod	Bear's Bicycle
Minarik	A Kiss for Little Bear
Rockwell	Boats
Rockwell	The Tool Box
Rockwell	Trucks
Seuss	Green Eggs and Ham
Seuss	Hop on Pop
Shaw	Sheep in a Jeep
Thaler	There's a Hippopotamus Under my Bed
Wood	Napping House
Ziefert	Jason's Bus Ride
Ziefert	Mike and Tony: Best Friends

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Book Series for Beginning Second Graders

Hopefully, by second grade your child will already have enjoyed reading some favorite authors or series. Children often find comfort in reading books that are part of a series, and it is likely that if your child enjoyed one book from a series, he will enjoy the others. The following is a list of books which are either part of a series, or one of many written by the same author. If your child enjoys any books on the list, encourage him to ask for other books by the same author at a library or bookstore.

Averill	Fire Cat (series)
Cohen	Lost in the Museum (and others)
Howe	Pinky and Rex (series)
Kessler	Kick, Run and Pass (and others)
Kline	Horrible Harry in Room 2B (series)
Lobel	Frog and Toad (series)
Minarik	Little Bear (series)
Marshall	Fox on Wheels (series)
Marshall	Three By the Sea (series)
Parish	Amelia Bedelia (series)
Rylant	Henry and Mudge (series)
Rylant	Mr. Putter & Tabby (series)
Wiseman	Morris the Moose (series)

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Favorites Contributed by University School Students

Second grade boys at University School contributed the following list of books as their favorites, after reading many books during the summer vacation.

Berenstains	The Bears' Vacation (and others)
Blace & Cook	Monster Looks for a Friend (series)
Byars	The Golly Sisters Go West (series)
Christopher	Jackrabbit Goalie
Coerr	Josefina Story Quilt
Coville	Never Hit a Ghost with a Baseball Bat
Dahl	James and the Giant Peach (and others)
Marshall	Three Up a Tree (and others)
Parrish	Amelia Bedelia (series)
Pilkey	Dogzilla
Rosenbloom	Deputy Dan (series)
Rylant	Henry and Mudge (series)
Van Allsburg	Polar Express
Warner	The Boxcar Children (series)