Children's Books for 2nd Graders

Jack leaps into the sea with a shout of joy - until the fish start vanishing! Who is the huge shape lurking in the deep? When a gang of honking, hissing lotls zooms up from the dark, Jack, Zom and Skel bolt for shore. They need someone brave, someone who never flinches. Could Mer be the answer? This decodable reader practises the oi/oy sound in words such as ‘joy,’ ‘join,’ ‘choice,’ ‘foil,’ and ‘ploy.’

Wiwit woke up with a big, squeezing tummy ache - and worse, a heavy monkey clinging to her back! Everywhere she goes, he goes too, weighing her down like a sack of rice. With the village dance only days away, how will Wiwit ever spin and jump with a monkey on her shoulders? Can she find the courage to face the thing that scares her most? This decodable reader practises the oa phonogram in words such as ‘groan,’ ’load,’ ‘road,’ and ‘float.’

Deep in the Ashanti forest, a clever little tortoise named Akyekyere is not fast and not strong, but his mind is sharp as a chisel. So when a hungry leopard blocks his path one morning, what could a slow creature in a hard shell possibly do? Can a shell really beat a sword? Read on to find out how Akyekyere thinks his way home. This Bookbot level practises two-syllable words split between consonants, like ’tortoise’, ‘forest’, ‘morning’, ‘burrow’ and ‘yellow’.

The maize is dead, the goats grow thin, and the river has shrunk to the width of a child’s arm. When the rains fail and the whole village falls into ‘chaos’, who will find the answer everyone has walked past for years? A ten year old girl named Lwazi listens to the wise old Nozipho and begins to wonder about a forgotten well and the water that might still lie at the bottom. Can a village ‘create’ hope from what it already has? This Bookbot level practises two syllable words split between two vowels, as in ‘quiet’, ’trio’, and ’triumph’.

Ned has built the most beautiful beehive in the neighbourhood, and the honey is truly the best thing he has ever tasted! But what happens when Ned eats spoonful after spoonful, day after day? Can his wise magic book convince him to slow down before his tummy turns awful - or will it take a very strange dream to teach him a lesson? This decodable reader practises suffixes in words like ‘proudly,’ ‘spoonful,’ ‘hopeful,’ and ‘swiftly.’

The Great Village Parade is only three days away, and Pep the painter has ENORMOUS plans. But when his paint buckets tip over, the swirling colours give him a wild idea - why stop at one little float when he could paint the WHOLE village? Will the animals love his rainbow makeover, or chase him up the hill with brushes waving? This decodable reader practises 2-syllable open words such as ’lemon,’ ‘only,’ ‘over,’ and ’even.’

Big Sis is the coolest person in the whole world - she climbs the tallest trees, fixes crashed toy planes, and isn’t scared of anything, not even the barking pooch in the yard. But when her little brother peeks over the kitchen stool and spots real, wet tears on her cheeks, he can’t believe his eyes. What could POSSIBLY make Big Sis cry? This decodable reader practises the ‘oo’ sound in words like ‘cool,’ ‘stood,’ ‘shook,’ and ‘spoon.’

Dhegdheer the ogress has one giant ear that hears everything for miles, so when a girl named Asad wakes one afternoon to find her mother gone, how can she possibly sneak past a monster who catches every footstep? Asad follows the great footprints toward a cave full of frightened prisoners, but the danger is only beginning. Can a rattling seed pod and a clever plan outwit an ear that never sleeps? This Bookbot level practises reading longer words of three or more syllables, like ‘afternoon’, ‘dangerous’, ‘prisoners’, ‘suddenly’, and ‘immediately’.

Dibs the little dragon has the most wonderful golden bell in the world - it jingles on his tail wherever he goes. But what happens when his precious bell bounces straight into the Dragon School? And when a cheeky purple dragon snatches it away, how will a tiny dragon who can’t even fly get it back? A brave, funny adventure full of smoke, sparks, and courage. This decodable reader practises the oo phonogram in words like ‘cool,’ ‘zoom,’ ‘stood,’ ’look,’ and ‘whoosh.’

What if dinos did not die out millions of years ago? Imagine spotting a raptor by the slide, a sauropod strolling onto the football field, or a triceratops raiding your fridge! Would they ride scooters, shop at sales, or sneak into your bedroom at night? Life on Earth would never be the same - but could we really share a planet with them? This decodable reader practises 2-syllable open words such as ‘dino,’ ‘crazy,’ ’even,’ and ‘only.’