Adventure Books for 2nd Graders
Ouch! Don't Touch That Cactus!
When Dr Can Do’s golden carrots run out, he dreams up a wild plan: grab a giant cactus from the desert and turn it into bone meal forever! But have you ever tried to hug a plant covered in needles? Ouch! Can one brave inventor and a wobbly donkey really make it home in one piece? This decodable reader practises 2-syllable open words such as ‘donut,’ ‘paper,’ ‘open,’ and ‘giant.’
Don't Step in the Lava!
What happens when the best miner in the village takes her friends on a field trip? Tom just wants coal for his oven, and Max dreams of portals to another dimension - but Jill has a bubbling, glowing surprise waiting deep underground. Can they chip away at the hardest block in the world without taking one wrong step? Whatever you do, don’t step in the lava! This decodable reader practises ci/si/ti making /sh/ in words such as ‘mission,’ ‘vacation,’ ‘ancient,’ and ‘patient.’
Hot or not?
Steve has caught a big fat cod, and he is sure he can cook it over a roaring fire. But is raw fish unsafe until it is properly cooked? And when his first try ends with very hot fingers, will he repeat the same mistake the next day, or find a wild new way to heat his lunch? Join Steve for a sizzling, smoky adventure! This decodable reader practises words with prefixes, including ‘preheat,’ ‘react,’ ‘rebuild,’ ‘unsafe,’ and ‘dismay.’
Loop That Troll!
Nib is happily spinning red wool when her brothers head off to the hills, leaving the door unlocked as always. But what creeps out of the woods with a rumbling belly and a hungry grin? When a shaggy troll snatches Nib up and carries her off to his cave, can one clever girl and a ball of red wool really outsmart a beast? This decodable reader practises the ‘oo’ sound in words like ‘wool,’ ’look,’ ‘boom,’ ‘hoot,’ and ‘food.’
Wait! Don't Go!
Today is Sen’s birthday, and the giant boy has crawled up from his underground cave with one enormous wish: to find a friend. But when three village children spot him patting a shiny little bike, everything goes CRUNCH! Can a boy with banana-sized fingers and a thunder-loud voice ever show the kids he only wants to play? Will anyone be brave enough to come back? This decodable reader practises suffixes in words such as ‘boldly,’ ‘gently,’ ‘friendly,’ ‘sadly,’ and ‘slowly.’
We Made It Rain!
Walt sings to the sky every day, begging the clouds for rain on the dry, grey plain. But what happens when a giant, grinning dinosaur thumps down the trail and wants to join in? Can two loud voices and one silly song really call the clouds down to play? This decodable reader practises the ai/ay phonogram in words like ‘rain,’ ‘day,’ ‘plain,’ ’trail,’ and ‘sway.’
Cod
Deep in the cold sea lives the fastest, sneakiest cod on the coast - and every fisherman has given up trying to catch it. Every one, that is, except Steve. But Steve has no rod, no net, and no boat. How on earth will he catch a fish with his bare hands? And when the tide washes something unexpected onto the shore, could Steve finally have a chance? This decodable reader practises vowel team syllables in words such as ‘diet,’ ‘quiet,’ ’naive,’ ‘reacts,’ and ’triumph.’
Dig!
Alex grabs her shovel and heads for the hillside, certain something special is hiding deep underground. But what will she find as she digs a tunnel down, down, down? A shiny jewel? A tasty morsel? And while she’s busy swinging her pickaxe below, could a nimble thief be sneaking around up on the grass? This decodable reader practises le/al/el/il words such as ‘shovel,’ ‘bundle,’ ‘scramble,’ and ‘sparkle.’
Don't Go Deeper!
Little Fish is tired of the same sandy floor, the same boring rocks, the same shallow sea every single day. What wonders might be hiding in the deeper water below? When he sneaks off while his mother’s back is turned, he finds glittering coral, curious crabs - and something far, far scarier resting on the ocean floor. Can Little Fish find his way back to safety? This decodable reader practises suffixes in words like ‘kindly,’ ‘boldly,’ ‘deeper,’ ‘faster,’ and ‘bravely.’
Don't Stop, Tim!
Tim is the world’s worst bird at not stopping. Show him a butterfly, a shiny bug, or a pretty cloud, and off he drifts into another daydream - while his flock zooms away without him! Now night is falling, Bird Catchers are creeping through the wildflowers, and Tim is all alone. Can one very distractible little bird keep his eyes on the sky until sunrise? This decodable reader practises compound words such as ‘daydream,’ ‘firefly,’ ‘sunshine,’ ‘without,’ and ‘daybreak.’