Grade 2 Reading List: Books with Summaries and Free Quizzes
In second grade, children read longer stories by themselves. Funny chapter books and classic fairy tales keep them turning the pages. In the UK this is Year 3, and in Australia Year 2. Every school and teacher picks its own books, so check the list with your child’s class. For some of the books, you will find our free printable book quiz with an answer key.
Books for grade 2
Fantastic Mr Fox – Roald Dahl
Three mean farmers, Boggis, Bunce and Bean, try everything to catch Mr. Fox. He outsmarts them by digging tunnels to their storehouses and shares a feast with the other animals.
👉 Check your understanding: Fantastic Mr Fox Book Quiz – Grade 2
The Ugly Duckling – Hans Christian Andersen
A duckling who looks different is teased by everyone in the farmyard. After a long, hard winter, he finds out he is a beautiful swan. A story about not judging others by how they look.
👉 Check your understanding: The Ugly Duckling Book Quiz – Grade 2
Flat Stanley – Jeff Brown
A bulletin board falls on Stanley Lambchop and flattens him, which turns out to be useful: he can slide under doors and even be mailed in an envelope.
The Gruffalo – Julia Donaldson
A clever mouse walks through the deep dark wood and scares off a fox, an owl and a snake by inventing a monster, until he meets a real Gruffalo. A rhyming favorite in the UK and Australia.
Dinosaurs Before Dark – Mary Pope Osborne
The first Magic Tree House book: Jack and Annie find a tree house full of books that takes them back to the time of the dinosaurs.
Free book quizzes for grade 2
Each quiz has multiple-choice questions, true or false sentences, events to put in order, a word search with words from the book and open questions. Every print draws different questions, so a child can take the quiz again, or each child in a class can get a different version. The Show answers switch shows the answer key.
Want one quiz a day? The learning path Book Quizzes – Grade 2 puts them in order. Quizzes for every grade are on the Book quizzes – grades 1–8 page.
How to read these books with your child
- Read a chapter a day and take turns: one page for the child, one for you.
- After each chapter, ask what happened and what your child thinks of the characters.
- Do the quiz after finishing the book, and talk about the open questions together.
