Must-read Books for 2nd-grade Kids

Reading is a big deal for kids in the second grade. By this time, many have mastered the basics of phonics and sounding out words. They’re moving toward fluency. By providing your second graders an assortment of wonderful books, such as the four listed below, you can encourage their growing literacy skills.

1. For Independent Readers: Owl at Home

While every child is different, most second graders have a Lexile measure that falls somewhere between 420L and 650L. To help your new reader feel successful with books, offer texts that are right at her current level. Arnold Lobel’s Owl at Home has a Lexile measure of 490L. For many second graders, that’s right on target.

(Available on LightSail)

2. To Inspire Projects: The Railway Children

Second-grade kids love bringing stories to life. You can encourage them to dive headfirst into a book and have as much fun with it as they possibly can. For example, The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit may send your readers into a flurry of train-related activity. They might want to watch train videos, paint pictures of trains, and explore a “History of Railroads” timeline.

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3. To Expand Your Family’s Horizons: A Ceiling Made of Eggshells

Your second grader may become more interested in different times and places. You can help satisfy that curiosity with books set in other cultures or bygone eras. Try A Ceiling Made of Eggshells by Gail Carson Levine. This story will introduce your reader to a 15th-century Jewish community in Spain.

(Available on LightSail)

4. To Share Together: Understood Betsy

Even though your second-grade student is becoming an accomplished reader, reading aloud to him is still a great choice. Read-alouds boost a listener’s vocabulary and his appreciation for the cadence of beautiful literature. Together, you and your child can get to know nine-year-old orphan Elizabeth Ann as you share chapter after chapter of Dorothy Canfield’s Understood Betsy.

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LightSail puts these books and more in your second grader’s hands. Turn to LightSail for Lexile-leveled books as well as encyclopedia entries, kid-friendly videos, audio tales, and other must-have digital resources for second grade.