2nd grade reading list

Name: 2nd grade reading list
Creator: ReadingList
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

2nd grade students in US schools are commonly assigned 345 books across Common Core Appendix B, AP, IB, Cambridge, and state ELA curricula. Each title links to its grade citations.

Reading difficulty: the typical 2nd grade text-complexity band is 420–820L (Common Core Appendix A). Of the 27 titles here with a Lexile score, 19 are grade-level, 6 are more accessible (often chosen for theme over reading challenge), and 2 are stretch texts. Match a book to your reader’s measured Lexile rather than to the grade alone.

345 books with a 2nd grade citation

Titles whose grade range covers 2nd grade in a state ELA curriculum or a national reference (Common Core Appendix B, AP, IB).

Show all 345 titles

Anno's Counting Book · Mitsumasa Anno
Anno's Medieval World · Mitsumasa Anno
Apples to Oregon · Deborah Hopkinson
Are You Ready to Play Outside? · Mo Willems
Arnie, the Doughnut · Laurie Keller
Ashanti to Zulu · Margaret Musgrove
At Night · Jonathan Bean
Balloons over Broadway · Melissa Sweet
Beanie the Bansheenie · Eoin Colfer
Beautiful Blackbird · Ashley Bryan
Benny and Penny in the Big No-No! · Geoffrey Hayes
Big · Vashti Harrison
Big · Vashti Harrison
Big Mama Makes the World · Phyllis Root
Big Red Lollipop · Rukhsana Khan
Big Snow and Other Stories · Hader, Berta and Elmer
Bink & Gollie · Kate DiCamillo
Bink and Gollie: Two for One · Kate DiCamillo
Black and White · David Macaulay
Blue · Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
Boats for Papa · Jessixa Bagley
Bone · Jeff Smith
Boogie Boogie, Y’all · C.G. Esperanza
Bowwow Powwow · Brenda J. Child
Bright Star · Yuyi Morales
Bubble Trouble · Margaret Mahy
Buffalo Fluffalo · Bess Kalb
Building Our House · Jonathan Bean
Butt or Face? · Kari Lavelle
By the Light of the Halloween Moon · Caroline Stutson
C.L.O.U.D.S. · Pat Cummings
Call Me Roberto!: Roberto Clemente Goes to Bat for Latinos · Nathalie Alonso
Charlie & Mouse Even Better · Laurel Snyder
Chicken Sunday · Patricia Polacco
Chooch Helped · Andrea L. Rogers
Cinderella and Aladdin · Carron Brown
Clever Little Witch · Muon Thi Van
Cold Feet · Cynthia C. DeFelice
Corduroy · Don Freeman
Cotorras Sobre Puerto Rico · Susan L. Roth
Counting by 7s · Holly Goldberg Sloan
Counting to Tar Beach · Faith Ringgold
Crossing Bok Chitto · Tim Tingle
Dadaji's Paintbrush · Rashmi Sirdeshpande
Dear Primo · Duncan Tonatiuh
Diego Rivera · Duncan Tonatiuh
Dinosaurs Before Dark (Magic Tree House #1) · Mary Pope Osborne
Dog Breath · Dav Pilkey
Dog Man · Dav Pilkey
Dog and Bear: Two Friends, Three Stories · Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Don't Think of Tigers · Alex Latimer
Don't Throw It to Mo! · David A. Adler
Down the Rabbit Hole · Peter Abrahams
Doña Flor · Pat Mora
Drummer Hoff · Barbara Emberley
Duffy and the Devil · Harve Zemach
En Mi Familia · Carmen Lomas Garza
Extra Yarn · Mac Barnett
Eyes That Kiss in the Corners · Joanna Ho
Fables · Arnold Lobel
Fairy Wings · Lauren Mills
Farmhouse · Sophie Blackall
Fever 1793 · Laurie Halse Anderson
Finders Keepers · Will
Finding Winnie: The Story of the Real Bear Who Inspired Winnie-the-Pooh · Lindsay Mattick
Flat Stanley · Jeff Brown
Flotsam · David Wiesner
Fly · Brittany J. Thurman
Forever Cousins · Laurel Goodluck
Fox Has a Problem · Corey R. Tabor
Fox at Night · Corey R. Tabor
Fox the Tiger · Corey R. Tabor
Frankenstein Takes the Cake · Adam Rex
Freedom Over Me · Ashley Bryan
Frog and Toad Are Friends · Arnold Lobel
Frog and Toad Together · Arnold Lobel
Fry Bread · Kevin Noble Maillard
Fry Bread · Kevin Noble Maillard
Funny Bones · Duncan Tonatiuh
Funny Bones · Duncan Tonatiuh
Geronimo Stilton: Lost Treasure of the Emerald Eye · Geronimo Stilton
Gibberish · Young Vo
Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter · Kenard Pak
Grandfather's Journey · Allen Say
Grandma's Gift · Eric Velasquez
Green Eggs and Ham · Dr. Seuss
Heart and Soul · Kadir Nelson
Heart and Soul · Kadir Nelson
Hello Lighthouse · Sophie Blackall
Henry Hikes to Fitchburg · D.B. Johnson
Henry and Mudge Ready-to-Read Value Pack #2 · Cynthia Rylant
Here Comes the Garbage Barge · Jonah Winter
Hey, Al · Arthur Yorinks
Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust · Elisa Boxer
Home Place · Crescent Dragonwagon
Hot Dog · Doug Salati
How Dinosaurs Went Extinct: A Safety Guide · Ame Dyckman
How This Book Got Red · Margaret Chiu Greanias
How to Eat a Book · MacLeod
I Am a Tornado · Drew Beckmeyer
I Dream of Trains · Angela Johnson
I Know Here · Laurel Croza
I Know How to Draw an Owl · Hilary Horder Hippely
I Lived Inside a Whale · Xin Li
I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912 · Lauren Tarshis
I Talk Like a River · Jordan Scott
I'm Going to Sing, Black American Spirituals, Volume Two · Ashley Bryan
Ida B. and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World · Katherine Hannigan
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie · Laura Numeroff
In the Time of the Butterflies · Julia Alvarez
Introducing Sandwina: The Strongest Woman in the World! · Vicki Conrad
It's a Sign! · Jarrett Pumphrey
Ivy and Bean · Annie Barrows
Jambo Means Hello · Muriel Feelings
Jazz Day · Roxane Orgill
John Henry · Julius Lester
John's Turn · Mac Barnett
Joseph Had a Little Overcoat · Simms Taback
Juana and Lucas · Juana Medina
Jumanji · Chris Van Allsburg
Just In Case · Yuyi Morales
Just Like Millie · Lauren Castillo
King of Ragtime · Stephen Costanza
Kitten's First Full Moon Board Book · Kevin Henkes
Knight Owl · Christopher Denise
Knight Owl and Early Bird · Christopher Denise
Kumo · Kyo Maclear
Last Night · Hyewon Yum
Last Stop on Market Street · Matt de la Peña
Lawn Boy · Gary Paulsen
Leaf Man Board Book · Lois Ehlert
Lester’s Dreadful Sweaters · K. G. Campbell
Let it Shine · Ashley Bryan
Like · Annie Barrows
Little Red Riding Hood (40th Anniversary Edition) · Trina Schart Hyman
Little You / kiya kâ-apisîsisiyan · Richard Van Camp
Locomotive · Brian Floca
Lon Po Po · Ed Young
Lon Po Po · Ed Young
Lulu's Mysterious Mission · Judith Viorst
Madeline's Rescue · Ludwig Bemelmans
Make Way for Ducklings · Robert McCloskey
Mama Don't Allow 25th Anniversary Edition · Thacher Hurd
Mama, Do You Love Me? & Papa, Do You Love Me? Bundle · Barbara M. Joosse
Maria Had a Little Llama / María Tenía Una Llamita · Angela Dominguez
Mario and the Hole in the Sky · Elizabeth Rusch
Marvelous Cornelius · Phil Bildner
May I Bring a Friend? · Beatrice Schenk De Regniers
Me Gusta · Angela Dominguez
Me and Momma and Big John · Mara Rockliff
Mercy Watson to the Rescue · Kate DiCamillo
Midnight and Moon · Kelly Cooper
Millie Fleur's Poison Garden · Christy Mandin
Milloo's Mind · Reem Faruqi
Mirette on the High Wire · Emily Arnold McCully
Mr Gumpy's Outing · John Burningham
Mr Tiger Goes Wild · Peter Brown
Mr. S · Monica Arnaldo
Mrs. Crump's Cat · Linda Smith
My Explosive Diary · Emily Gale
My Father's Dragon · Ruth Stiles Gannett
My Friend Rabbit · Eric Rohmann
Navigating Night · Julie Leung
Nelson Mandela · Kadir Nelson
Night in the City · Julie Downing
Nine Days to Christmas · Marie Hall Ets
No Cats in the Library · Lauren Emmons
No More Dead Dogs · Gordon Korman
Noah's Ark · Peter Spier
Not Afraid of Dogs · Susanna Pitzer
Not All Sheep Are Boring! · Bobby Moynihan
Nova's Ark · Kirk, David
Off to School, Baby Duck! · Amy Hest
Officer Buckle and Gloria · Peggy Rathmann
Oh No, the Aunts Are Here · Adam Rex
Old Elm Speaks · Kristine O'Connell George
On the Ball · Brian Pinkney
Once a Mouse... · Marcia Brown
One Fine Day · Nonny Hogrogian
Open This Little Book · Jesse Klausmeier
Otis and Will Discover the Deep · Barb Rosenstock
Our Planet! There's No Place Like Earth · Stacy McAnulty
Outside Over There · Maurice Sendak
Over and Under the Rainforest · Kate Messner
Owl Moon · Jane Yolen
Ox-cart Man · Donald Hall
Pancho Rabbit and the Coyote · Duncan Tonatiuh
Picture Purrfect (Bodega Cats #1) · Hilda Eunice Burgos
Pocketful of Posies · Salley Mavor
Radiant Child · Javaka Steptoe
Radiant Child · Javaka Steptoe
Ramona the Pest · Beverly Cleary
Rap a Tap Tap · Leo Dillon
Real Friends · Shannon Hale
Red-eyed Tree Frog · Joy Cowley
River Friendly, River Wild · Jane Kurtz
Say What? · Margaret Peterson Haddix
Scat · Carl Hiaasen
Schomburg: The Man Who Built a Library · Carole Boston Weatherford
See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog · David LaRochelle
Separate Is Never Equal · Duncan Tonatiuh
Seven Blind Mice · Ed Young
Sharing Susan · Eve Bunting
Shy Charles · Rosemary Wells
Sitting Bull · S.D. Nelson
Snow (Book & CD Set) · Uri Shulevitz
Snowflake Bentley · Jacqueline Briggs Martin
So You Want to be President · Judith George
Some of Us · Rajani Larocca
Something, Someday · Amanda Gorman
Sonadores (Dreamers) · Yuyi Morales
Song and Dance Man · Karen Ackerman
Song of the Swallows · Leo Politi
Sophie's Squash · Pat Zietlow Miller
Star in the Storm · Joan Hiatt Harlow
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble · William Steig
Tales for Very Picky Eaters · Josh Schneider
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing · Judy Blume
Tangerine · Edward Bloor
Thank a Farmer · Maria Gianferrari
That's Not My Name! · Anoosha Syed
The 13-Story Treehouse · Andy Griffiths
The Adventures of Beekle · Dan Santat
The Adventures of Captain Underpants · Dav Pilkey
The Adventures of Paddy Pork · John S. Goodall
The Apothecary · Maile Meloy
The Bear and the Moon · Matthew Burgess
The Bees of Notre-Dame · Meghan Browne
The Bell Rang · James E. Ransome
The Biggest Bear · Lynd Ward
The Black Cauldron · Lloyd Alexander
The Boxcar Children · Gertrude Chandler Warner
The Cat in the Hat · Dr. Seuss
The Christmas Boot · Lisa Wheeler
The Christmas Coat · Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve
The Dirty Cowboy · Amy Timberlake
The Dream Catcher · Marcelo Verdad
The Egg Tree · Katherine Milhous
The Farmer and the Clown · Marla Frazee
The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza · Mac Barnett
The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship · Arthur Ransome
The Forbidden Library · Django Wexler
The Full Moon at the Napping House · Audrey Wood
The Garden of Abdul Gasazi · Chris Van Allsburg
The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses · Paul Goble
The Giving Tree · Shel Silverstein
The Glorious Flight · Alice Provensen
The Great Stink · Colleen Paeff
The Guardian Test (Legends of Lotus Island #1) · Christina Soontornvat
The Hello, Goodbye Window · Norton Juster
The House in the Night · Susan Marie Swanson
The Legend of Mackinac Island · Kathy-jo Wargin
The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors · Drew Daywalt
The Lion & the Mouse · Jerry Pinkney
The Lion & the Mouse · Jerry Pinkney
The Little House · Virginia Lee Burton
The Little Island · Margaret Wise Brown
The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza) · Philemon Sturges
The Longest Night · Marion Dane Bauer
The Man Who Walked Between the Towers · Mordicai Gerstein
The Middle Passage · Tom Feelings
The Mouse and the Motorcycle · Beverly Cleary
The Mysterious Collection of Dr. David Harleyson · Jean Cassels
The One and Only Ruby · Katherine Applegate
The Patchwork Bike · Maxine Beneba Clarke
The People's Painter · Cynthia Levinson
The Polar Express · Chris Van Allsburg
The Princess and the Warrior · Duncan Tonatiuh
The Rain Came Down · David Shannon
The Remember Balloons · Jessie Oliveros
The Rooster Crows · Maud Petersham
The Shadow of Beauty · S. Talmond Brown
The Shoe Tree of Chagrin · J. Patrick Lewis
The Snowman: The Book of the Classic Film · Raymond Briggs
The Snowy Day · Ezra Jack Keats
The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks · Katherine Paterson
The Three Pigs · David Wiesner
The Undefeated · Kwame Alexander
The Very Hungry Caterpillar · Eric Carle
The Yellow Bus · Loren Long
There Is a Bird On Your Head! (An Elephant and Piggie Book) · Mo Willems
There Might Be Lobsters · Carolyn Crimi
They Say Blue · Jillian Tamaki
Thirty Minutes Over Oregon · Marc Tyler Nobleman
This Is Not My Hat · Jon Klassen
Tikki Tikki Tembo · Arlene Mosel
Time of Wonder · Robert McCloskey
Time of the Month! · Valerie Scho Carey
Time to Make Art · Jeff Mack
Togo · Robert J. Blake
Tomfoolery! · Michelle Markel
Traction Man Is Here! · Mini Grey
Tuesday · David Wiesner
Two Dogs · Ian Falconer
Uptown · Bryan Collier
Ursula Upside Down · Corey R. Tabor
Victory. Stand! · Tommie Smith
Viva Frida · Yuyi Morales
Watch Out for the Lion! · Brooke Hartman
Watercress · Andrea Wang
We Are Water Protectors · Carole Lindstrom
We Are the Ship · Kadir Nelson
We Go Slow · Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie
When Alexander Graced the Table · Alexander Smalls
When You Can Swim · Jack Wong
When Zachary Beaver Came to Town · Kimberly Willis Holt
When the Wolves Returned · Dorothy Hinshaw Patent
Where the Wild Things Are · Maurice Sendak
White Snow, Bright Snow · Alvin Tresselt
Wild Blue: Taming a Big-Kid Bike · Dashka Slater
William Still and His Freedom Stories · Don Tate
Willie and the All-Stars · Floyd Cooper
Witchlings · Claribel A. Ortega
Wolf in the Snow · Matthew Cordell
Wombat Said Come In · Carmen Agra Deedy
Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius · Lynne Cox
You're So Amazing! · James Catchpole
Yuna's Cardboard Castles · Marie Tang
Zelda and Ivy, the Runaways · Laura McGee Kvasnosky
Zen and the Art of Faking It · Jordan Sonnenblick
¡Vamos! Let's Go Eat · Raúl the Third III

Reading the whole 2nd grade reading list? Kids who struggle with the print versions often finish the assigned books by listening.

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Frequently asked questions

What books do 2nd grade students read in US schools?

345 books are commonly assigned to 2nd grade students across US schools — sourced from Common Core exemplars, AP, IB, Cambridge, and 50 state curricula. Each title on this page links to its full curriculum citations.

How many books are on the 2nd grade reading list?

This page lists 345 2nd grade titles, of which 345 have a verified state or national curriculum citation at the 2nd grade level.

Are these 2nd grade books in Common Core?

Many 2nd grade books on this list appear in the Common Core State Standards Appendix B exemplar texts. Each book card links to its full citation history including which states + curricula reference it. Look for the "Common Core" tag on individual book pages.

How do I pick a 2nd grade book for my student?

Filter by curriculum using the pivots above (Common Core, AP, IB, Cambridge, state-specific). Each book page shows its grade range, themes, and which curricula list it. For homeschool or differentiation, books with overlapping grade ranges (±2 grades) work for 2nd grade students.

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