BOOKS FOR GRADES 1 AND 2
Allard, Harry. MISS NELSON IS MISSING. Houghton, 1977. * The kids in Room 207 take advantage of their teacher's good nature until she disappears and they are faced with a vile substitute.
Arnosky, Jim. WATCHING FOXES. Lothrop, 1985. Four fox pups play while their mother is hunting.
Bang, Molly. WILEY AND THE HAIRY MAN. Macmillan, 1976. With his mother's help, Wiley outwits the hairy creature that lives in the swamp near his home by the Tombigbee River.
Bemelmans, Ludwig. MADELINE. Viking, 1960. * In an old house in Paris all covered with vines, one little girl wakes up in the middle of the night with appendicitis.
Branley, Franklyn. THE BIG DIPPER. HarperCollins, 1991. A girl who loves the night sky gives information about the Big and Little Dippers and the North Star.
Brown, Jeff. FLAT STANLEY. Harper, 1960. When a bulletin board falls on Stanley Lambchop he becomes flat enough to mail.
Byars, Betsy. THE GOLLY SISTERS GO WEST. Harper, 1985. * May-May and Rose, the singing, dancing Golly sisters, travel west by covered wagon, entertaining people on the way.
Campbell, Rod. DEAR ZOO. Four Winds, 1983. Each animal arriving from the zoo as a possible pet fails to suit its prospective owner, until a puppy arrives.
Cole, Joanna. READY, SET, READ! Doubleday, 1990. A collection of stories, poems, and non-fiction for beginning readers, by such authors as Dr. Seuss, Else Minarik, and Arnold Lobel.
Cristaldi, Kathryn. BASEBALL BALLERINA. Random, 1992. A baseball-loving girl worries that her ballet class will ruin her reputation with the members of the baseball team.
Demuth, Patricia. THOSE AMAZING ANTS. Macmillan, 1994. Describes ants in simple words and pictures. Eastman, P. D. ARE YOU MY MOTHER? Beginner Books, 1960. A baby bird falls from the nest and tries to find his mother.
Ehrlich, Amy. LEO, ZACK AND EMMIE. Dial, 1981. * The new girl in Zack and Leo's class affects the boys' friendship.
Ernst, Lisa Campbell. GINGER JUMPS. Bradbury, 1990. Ginger the dog loves performing in the circus, but she is unable to summon the courage for a new trick until she finds the little girl companion about whom she has been dreaming.
Galdone, Paul. THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF. Houghton, 1973. Three clever billy goats outwit a big ugly troll that lives under the bridge they must cross on their way up the mountain.
Gibbons, Gail. THE MILK MAKERS. Macmillan, 1985. Explains how cows produce milk and how it is processed before being delivered to stores.
Henkes, Kevin. LILLY'S PURPLE PLASTIC PURSE. Greenwillow, 1996. Lilly loves everything about school, especially her teacher, but when he asks her to wait a while before showing her new purse, she does something for which she is very sorry later.
Hill, Eric. WHERE'S SPOT? Putnam, 1980. * A mother dog finds eight other animals hiding around the house before finding her lost puppy. Flaps conceal the animals.
Hoban, Julia. BUZBY. Harper, 1992. Buzby the cat takes a job in a hotel as a busboy and creates havoc before he ends up in a special job.
Hoban, Lillian. ARTHUR'S PRIZE READER. Harper, 1978. * Arthur the chimp gets help from his little sister when he enters a Super Chimp Comic contest, and she learns to read hard words.
Hoff, Sid. DANNY AND THE DINOSAUR. Harper, 1958. * A dinosaur takes the day off from the museum to play with Danny.
Howe, James. PINKY AND REX. Atheneum, 1990. * Pinky and Rex find their visit to the museum and its gift shop complicated by Pinky's little sister, Amanda.
Hurd, Edith Thacher. JOHNNY LION'S BAD DAY. Harper, 1970. Johnny had a bad cold and the medicine he took, as well as the dreams he had, were terrible.
Isaacs, Anne. SWAMP ANGEL. Dutton, 1994. Along with other amazing feats, Angelica Longrider, also know as Swamp Angel, wrestles a huge bear, known as Thundering Tarnation, to save the winter supplies of the settlers in Tennessee.
Kline, Suzy. MARY MARONY HIDES OUT. Putnam, 1993. A second grader is so embarrassed about her stuttering that she almost misses a chance to have lunch with her favorite author, who has come to speak at school.
Lindgren, Barbro. SAM'S COOKIE. Morrow, 1982. * Sam and Doggie have a disagreement about Sam's cookie.
Lobel, Arnold. FROG AND TOAD ARE FRIENDS. Harper, 1970. * In five easy chapters celebrating friendship, Frog and Toad look for spring, find a lost button, and wait for a letter.
Marshall, James. FOX ON THE JOB. Dial, 1988. * Fox tries to earn money for a bicycle in several different jobs. Marshall, James. GEORGE AND MARTHA. Houghton, 1972. * Relates several episodes in the friendship of two hippopotamuses.
Miles, Betty. HEY! I'M READING! Knopf, 1995. This how-to-read book for beginners includes 20 easy-to-read short selections for the new reader.
Minarik, Else. LITTLE BEAR. Harper, 1957. * Little Bear's four adventures include taking a trip to the moon and having a birthday party.
Numeroff, Laura Joffe. IF YOU GIVE A MOUSE A COOKIE. Harper, 1985. * Relating the cycle of requests a mouse is likely to make after you give him a cookie takes the reader through a young child's day.
Parish, Peggy. AMELIA BEDELIA. Harper, 1963. * Silly maid Amelia Bedelia follows instructions literally, such as "dusting" the furniture with powder and "dressing" the chicken in clothes.
Pilkey, Dav. A FRIEND FOR DRAGON. Orchard, 1991. * A lonely little blue dragon is tricked into believing an apple can talk and wants to be his friend.
Porte, Barbara Ann. HARRY'S DOG. Greenwillow, 1984. * Harry wants very much to keep Girl, his new dog, even though his father is allergic to dogs.
Potter, Beatrix. THE TALE OF PETER RABBIT. Warne, 1903. In this classic thriller, a visit to Mr. McGregor's garden shows Peter the wisdom of his mother's warning.
Rathmann, Peggy. OFFICER BUCKLE AND GLORIA. Putnam, 1995. The children at Napville Elementary School always ignore Officer Buckle's safety tips, until a police dog named Gloria accompanies him when he gives his safety speeches.
Robins, Joan. ADDIE MEETS MAX. Harper, 1985. * Addie doesn't think she'll like her new neighbor Max, especially after she collides with him on her bicycle.
Roop, Peter & Connie. KEEP THE LIGHTS BURNING, ABBIE. Carolrhoda, 1985. Courageous Abbie keeps the lights burning in the lighthouse when her father is delayed by a fierce storm for four weeks in 1856.
Rylant, Cynthia. HENRY AND MUDGE. Bradbury, 1987. * Henry, feeling lonely on a street without any other children, finds companionship and love in a big dog named Mudge.
Rylant, Cynthia. MR. PUTTER AND TABBY POUR THE TEA. Harcourt, 1994. * Mr. Putter, a lonely man, finds a friend in Tabby, an elderly cat he gets from the pound.
Schwartz, Alvin. IN A DARK, DARK ROOM, AND OTHER SCARY STORIES. Harper, 1984. Seven scary stories to tell at night.
Seuss, Dr. CAT IN THE HAT. Random, 1957. * A nonsense story about an unusual cat and his tricks, which he displays for the children one rainy day.
Sharmat, Marjorie. NATE THE GREAT. Coward, 1972. * Nate the great, a junior detective, is in search of a painting of a dog by Annie, the girl down the street.
Steig, William. DR. DE SOTO. Farrar, 1982. Dr. De Soto, a mouse dentist, copes with the toothaches of various animals except those with a taste for mice, until the day a fox comes to him in great pain.
Van Leeuwen, Jean. TALES OF OLIVER PIG. Dial, 1979. * Gentle stories of a loving pig family celebrate everyday events, like baking cookies on a cold, wet day.
Wallace-Brodeur, Ruth. STORIES FROM THE BIG CHAIR. McElderry, 1989. Molly tells her parents seven stories about herself and her younger sister, recounting one story for each day of the week.
Yolen, Jane. COMMANDER TOAD AND THE PLANET OF THE GRAPES. Coward, 1982. * Commander Toad takes his tired and bored crew to a planet where purple grapes engulf them in this parody of Star Trek.
Zion, Gene. HARRY AND THE LADY NEXT DOOR. Harper, 1960. * Harry, the white dog with black spots, takes on a mission to stop the opera singer next door from singing her painfully high notes.
These are just a few of the many fine books that first and second graders enjoy. Ask your local librarian for further suggestions.
First edition compiled by: Mary Graf, June Osowski, Dorothy Taranowski and, Grace W. Greene for the Vermont Department of Libraries, Montpelier, VT 05609.
This edition updated in 1998 by Grace Greene, Children's Services Consultant for the Vermont Department of Libraries and Leda Schubert, School Library Media Consultant for the Vermont Department of Education.
*indicates a book which is part of a series.
Grace W. Greene Children's Services Consultant Vermont Dept. of Libraries 109 State St. Montpelier, VT 05609 802-828-3261 ggreene@dol.state.vt.us 1999