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    You are here: Home / Books / 2nd Grade Summer Reading List for 6-8 Year Olds

     

    2nd Grade Summer Reading List for 6-8 Year Olds

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    Want to inspire your rising second grader to read this summer? Give them a stack of books from this 2nd grade summer reading list. 7 and 8 year olds (and some 6 year olds, too) may be starting to enjoy longer books and summer is a great time for these new readers to explore a variety of books to find out just what they like!

    Second grade summer reading list

    As I've mentioned on other summer book lists, a group of kids this age will present at different reading levels and stages. But as my friend Jodie over at Growing Book by Book reminds us, stop stressing about book levels. Some of you may have kids who still prefer to be read to, or only want to skim longer books, or are still reading easy readers, and other children may be reading fluently by this age. Meet your kids where they are in their reading journey! Here are some great 2nd grade books to get your kids started this summer.

    Note: this post contains Amazon and Bookshop affiliate links. Purchases made through these links may earn commission for this blog. Bookshop supports independent booksellers. You can see this list, in addition to our other summer reading lists curated at Bookshop.

    2nd Grade Summer Reading: Chapter Books

    Would you like a printable second grade summer reading list? You can grab one at the end of the post!

    Rosie Revere chapter book cover

    ROSIE REVERE AND THE RAUCOUS RIVETERS (series) by Andrea Beaty

    Find it: Bookshop | Amazon

    The popular STEM picture book series about creative and inventive kids, Rosie Rever, Ada Twist and Iggy Peck are reincarnated as chapter books in The Questioneers series. If your kids liked the picture books they will enjoy the new engineering and scientific challenges the three kids face. Plus, who doesn't love a little science in the summer?

    Polly Diamond and the Magic Book book cover

    POLLY DIAMOND AND THE MAGIC BOOK (series) by Alice Kuipers, illustrated by Diana Toledano

    Find it: Amazon | Bookshop

    Polly is a charming heroine and this is a relentlessly (in a good way!) cheerful book. One day, Polly gets a book and she is delighted to find out that whatever she writes comes true. But there is a catch, Polly must get the wording exactly right. Luckily Polly loves words and stories. As you can imagine, things get a little out of hand but all is well in the end!

    Meet Yasmin book cover

    MEET YASMIN (series) by Saadia Faruqi

    Find it: Amazon | Bookshop

    Meet Yasmin is a very early beginning chapter book series about a charming Pakistani-American girl. Each book is divided into four separate stories in which Yasmin uses her creative energy and high imagination to solve problems. Delightful and a good choice for very young readers. There are 12 books so far.

    Jasmine Toguchi book cover

    JASMINE TOGUCHI: MOCHI QUEEN (series) by Debbi Michiko Florence

    Find it: Bookshop | Amazon

    Each book in this fun series incorporates Jasmine’s Japanese-American heritage into the story line. Intrepid Jasmine tackles pounding muchi rice, Japanese Girls’ Day, Japanese drumming, and more.

    Pedro's Big Goal book cover

    PEDRO'S BIG GOAL (series) by Fran Manushkin, illustrated by Tammie Lyon

    Find it: Bookshop | Amazon

    This is a great series for the youngest readers, especially 2nd grades who are reading beginning chapter books. In this one, Pedro plays soccer and decides that his goal is to.. well... make a goal!

    Slug Days series book cover

    SLUG DAYS (series) by Sarah Leach

    Find it: Bookshop | Amazon

    Lauren is on the spectrum and "slug days" is how she refers to her days when things seem slow and slimy. In other words, they are the days when things don't go well and others don't seem to understand why she does certain things. But Lauren has certain routines that help her get through slug days and today is special because she meets a new girl and her day might turn out to be a butterfly day after all.

    2nd Grade Summer Reading: Graphic Novels and Graphic Hybrids

    Tiger v. Nightmare book cover

    TIGER VS NIGHTMARE by Emily Tetri

    Find it: Bookshop | Amazon

    This book is completely adorable! Every night Tiger and the monster who lives under her bed play together and when Tiger falls asleep, Monster scares all the nightmares away. One night there is a nightmare too scary for Monster to take on by itself so Tiger has to face her fears and banish the nightmare herself.

    Fox and Chick The Party book cover

    FOX AND CHICK: THE PARTY AND OTHER STORIES (series) by Sergio Ruzzier

    Find it: Bookshop | Amazon

    This is a fantastic series about two friends who sometimes annoy each other, but ultimately remember the things that make them friends, with a bit of dry humor along the way. I've always loved Ruzzier's illustrations (after all, he wrote one of my all time favorite books EVER, Amandina) and the comic strip format makes it fun to read. A real winner of a book.

    The Bad Guys books box set

    THE BAD GUYS (series) by Aaron Blabey

    Find it: Amazon | Bookshop

    I read the first book in the series out loud and my then-8 year old and I could not stop laughing! He subsequently gobbled up the next two books on his own. Mr. Wolf is on a mission to change his reputation and convinces his fellow reprobates, Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha and Mr. Shark to join him in the Good Guys Club. Their first mission is to free 200 dogs from the Maximum Security City Dog Pound! Absolutely hilarious and extremely silly in the very best way.

    The Big Bad Fox graphic novel book cover

    THE BIG BAD FOX by Benjamin Renner

    Find it: Bookshop | Amazon

    This funny graphic novel kept my son in stitches and so I cannot help but include it. We actually saw the French animation movie before realizing it was based on a book. A hapless fox ends up becoming a mama to some baby chicks that he originally stole in order to raise them up to be his dinner!

    Catstronauts book cover

    CATSTRONATS by Drew Brockington

    Find it: Bookshop | Amazon

    Cuddly cats in outer space? You know that is bound to be funny. In this series opener a team of cats head to the moon to set up a solar plant. I love that Brockington weaves in some science lessons, too!

    More summer books for second graders:

    • Books for 7 year olds
    • Summer reading: diverse early chapter books
    • Summer reading books for emergent readers
    « 3rd Grade Summer Reading List
    First Grade Summer Reading List (Books for Ages 6-7) »
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    Comments

    1. Gulshan Y Banaji says

      April 17, 2023 at 9:02 pm

      very nice, thank you!

      Reply

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