New Jersey 2nd grade reading list

The 260 books most commonly assigned to New Jersey 2nd grade students in US schools — each with its reading level and a cited source.

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Books260Lexile350L–990LSourceNJ Student Learning Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned nationally: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Elementary (K–5) titles appearing in the most states are Wonder (29 states), Because of Winn-Dixie (26 states), and Shiloh (25 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Start here — most-cited for New Jersey 2nd grade

These are the 20 titles named in New Jersey’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. Balloons over Broadway

    Melissa Sweet

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 2 national references, taught from grade 1 to 4.

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  2. Are You Ready to Play Outside?

    Mo Willems

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 2.

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  3. Benny and Penny in the Big No-No!

    Geoffrey Hayes

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 2.

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  4. Bink and Gollie: Two for One

    Kate DiCamillo

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 2.

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  5. Charlie & Mouse Even Better

    Laurel Snyder

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 2.

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  6. Don't Throw It to Mo!

    David A. Adler

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 2.

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  7. Fox Has a Problem

    Corey R. Tabor

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers humor, problem-solving and friendship.

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  8. Fox the Tiger

    Corey R. Tabor

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 2.

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  9. Juana and Lucas

    Juana Medina

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 3.

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  10. See the Cat: Three Stories About a Dog

    David LaRochelle

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 2.

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  11. There Is a Bird On Your Head! (An Elephant and Piggie Book)

    Mo Willems

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document and 1 national reference, taught from grade K to 2.

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  12. A Journey Under the Sea

    Craig Foster

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers ocean, nature and science.

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  13. A Lot to Like!

    Derek Anderson

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers humor and friendship.

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  14. Blue

    Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade K to 4.

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  15. Dog Man

    Dav Pilkey

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers humor, friendship and good vs evil. At 390L it sits just under the 420–820L band for this grade.

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  16. Hidden Hope: How a Toy and a Hero Saved Lives During the Holocaust

    Elisa Boxer

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers history, courage and Holocaust.

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  17. The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza

    Mac Barnett

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers space, humor and adventure.

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  18. The One and Only Ruby

    Katherine Applegate

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers animals, family and memory.

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  19. Witchlings

    Claribel A. Ortega

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers magic, friendship and belonging.

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  20. Yoshi, Sea Turtle Genius

    Lynne Cox

    Cited in 1 New Jersey curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 5. Covers animals, ocean and true story.

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260 books cited for New Jersey 2nd grade

Assignments tied directly to New Jersey’s NJ Student Learning Standards or national curricula with a New Jersey-specific citation.

Show all 260 titles

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

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Other New Jersey grades

1st grade · 3rd grade · Kindergarten · 4th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

1st grade · 3rd grade · Kindergarten · 4th grade

Same 2nd grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

Browse 2nd grade reading by theme

About the New Jersey 2nd grade reading list

In New Jersey schools, 2nd grade students are most often assigned books drawn from NJ Student Learning Standardsalongside the national curricula that apply nationwide — Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English, and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. ReadingList currently tracks 260 titles for 2nd grade in New Jersey, each tied to a New Jersey-specific curriculum citation. Across the list, Lexile measures span 350L–990L.

2nd grade sits in the K-2 grade band, where students are emerging and early readers. At this stage the emphasis is on building phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and a love of being read to. Assigned reading skews toward picture books, decodable texts, and short illustrated chapter books, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around BR (Beginning Reader) to roughly 500L. Measured against that 420–820L range, of the 15 titles here with a Lexile score 10 are grade-level, 3 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 2 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 2nd grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

New Jersey’s English Language Arts requirements are set by NJ Student Learning Standards (nj.gov). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework, so the 2nd grade list below blends New Jersey-specific assignments with the widely-taught national canon. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 2nd grade unit can pair a New Jersey-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

How many books are assigned to 2nd grade students in New Jersey?
260 books appear on ReadingList for 2nd grade students in New Jersey, sourced from NJ Student Learning Standards and national curricula (Common Core, AP, IB) with applicable grade citations.
What's the Lexile range for 2nd grade reading in New Jersey?
Lexile measures across the 2nd grade New Jersey reading list range from 350L to 990L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Entries reference NJ Student Learning Standards (published at www.nj.gov) plus national curricula that apply to New Jersey schools: Common Core State Standards Appendix B, AP English Literature and Language, IB Diploma Programme, and Cambridge Assessment International. Every assignment row on each book's detail page links its primary source.

Reading guides for parents

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State-specific entries sourced from www.nj.gov. National references cited on each book’s detail page.