One way to easily encourage a love for reading for your young students is to read to them everyday. In my classroom, I read a chapter book to my 2nd grade students right after recess. It is a good transition to help them calm down from recess. This time is always mine and my students’ favorite time in our classroom schedule and it all comes down to really quality chapter books that 2nd graders love. So today I thought I would share the best chapter books for 2nd grade.

 

Best Chapter Books For 2nd Grade

 

Mercy Watson Series by Kate DiCamillo

 

This is a really cute series about a pig named Mercy who somehow gets her family in trouble, but ends up also saving the day. This is the first chapter book I read to my 2nd graders. It has pictures and short chapters so it helps to build students’ stamina for listening to chapter books.

Plus, students think they are really funny! I read the first 3 books of the series to my students and then I let students know that they can find the rest of the series at our school library.

These books are written at a good reading level for most 2nd graders. I love to see how just reading the first couple of books of the series helps to motivate students to read and find a love for reading. Find the whole series to have in your classroom from Amazon here.

 

I Survived Series by Lauren Tarshis

 

These books are historical fiction. The author writes about a character going through some sort of natural disaster or attack. They are suspenseful, informative, and have a happy ending since the main character always survives.

I have found that they are a great way to teach historical events like the attacks on September 11, 2001 and the attack on Pearl Harbor. They open up conversion and the books have more facts and a timeline of events at the end of the book. My students love these books. I’m pretty sure I could just read only this series the whole school year and students would be perfectly happy. Find the series to read in your classroom here.

 

Sarah, Plain, and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

 

This book tells a story of a young family who lost their mother when the kids were young. It takes place in probably the late 1800s so the father puts an ad in the newspaper for a wife. A woman named Sarah writes back saying she wants to meet the family. As she meets them, the children are afraid she will miss her home and return back to Maine.

I love to read this book to my students because it shows how people back then lived. It also teaches about love and loss. There are 5 books in the series and I usually read the 2nd and 3rd one to my students as well. If I have parent helpers in my class I might gift them the 4th one for helping and have the kids sign the inside cover. Find this series to read in your classroom here.

 

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

 

Out of all the best chapter books for 2nd grade, this is one of my students’ favorites. It has short, fast moving chapters. It has some great themes on how to treat others and how to treat animals.

 The story is written in 1st person from the perspective of a silverback ape. He lives at a mall where he performs at 3 circus shows a day. He had a hard background of how he ended up there. While he is at the mall, they bring in a baby elephant that Ivan wants to help live a better life than living in a cage and performing 3 shows a day. Find this book to read to your class here.

 

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

 

The Wild Robot is probably my favorite book to read to my 2nd graders. It’s set in a futuristic time where robots help humans work and perform tasks. As a cargo ship full of Rozzum unit robots crashes, one robot, Roz, makes it to a wild island. Her computer programming helps her adapt to the island, she mothers an orphan gosling, and becomes friends with the animals on the island.

This book teaches about friendship and kindness. There are a lot of cliffhangers at the end of chapters that make students want me to read more and more to them. I also read the sequel, The Wild Robot Escapes. The kids love them both. Find both of these books to read to your class here.

With this book, I like to do some fun extension activities. I have my students do a directed drawing of the main character, Roz. Then they list Roz’s character traits. I also have them do a writing project about how if they had a robot what it would do and what it would look like.

Learn more about other low prep extension activities you can do with any book with this resource here: Reading Comprehension Strategies Worksheets

You can even compare the first book from the second book. Learn more ideas on how to do that in this blog post here: 3 Comparing and Contrasting Lesson Plan Ideas that Will Engage 2nd Grade Students

 

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

 

This book tells the story of a China rabbit. He feels he has the perfect, proper, and fancy life with the little girl that owns him. Sadly, the little girl loses him on a ship and he falls in the ocean. The rabbit comes up from the ocean and goes from owner to owner were unfortunate things happen to him time and time again.

 Everyone he loves is taken away from him and along the way he learns very important lessons about love, empathy, and compassion. This is one of my very favorite, best chapter books for 2nd grade students. I enjoy reading it to my students every year! Find this book here. 

 

Matilda by Roald Dahl

 

Roald Dahl is a classic children’s author whose books always have a wacky twist. Students love this book because Matilda is able to conquer hardships with help of her magical abilities. There are lots of funny parts that the kids absolutely love! After reading it, I have students make posters about the characters and plot. It is a great extension activity!

Find this book to read to your students here.

 

Top Rated Chapter Books for 2nd Graders

 

Let’s talk about some of the awards these books have received over the years. The I Survived series are a New York Times Best Selling Series and USA Today Best Selling Series. Sarah, Plain, and Tall has won the 1986 Golden Kite Award, the 1986 Scott O’Dell Award for Historical Fiction, and the 1986 John Newbery Medal. The One and Only Ivan won the 2013 John Newbery Medal. The Wild Robot won the 2022 Massachusetts Children’s Book Award and is a New York Times Best Seller. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane won the 2007 Notable Children’s Book Award. And for all the wards Matilda has won check out this website here. Needless to say, these books are great, and I’m not the only one who thinks that!

 

I hope you enjoy reading these best chapter books for 2nd graders in your classroom as much as me and my students. Find all of these books I’ve talked about today here.

 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.