2021 Graded Reading Lists: Grades 2 & 3

"Eight-year-old J.D. turns a tragic home haircut into a thriving barber business in this hilarious new illustrated chapter book series."--Amazon.com.

Newbery Medal-winning author Patricia MacLachlan has written a magical and funny tale about the joy found in using words, sharing stories, and loving a wondrous dog named Rex.

Ellis loves popcorn. Who doesn't? But one day her school goes on a healthy eating campaign and her dads decide to follow suit, banning all snack foods from their house, INCLUDING POPCORN. Unfair. Ellis has got to get around that edict, so one night she pops a bag of popcorn out back in the garage...and she's met with more than just her favorite salty snack. One kernel refuses to pop, and soon it's sprouted a face, arms, and legs! He introduces himself...

Introducing Starla Jean! She's full of moxie, clever as a fox, and obsessed with catching a chicken she finds at the park. When Starla first sees the scrawny bird wandering around, she just knows they're destined for one another. Her dad says, "If you can catch it, you can keep it," and Starla Jean is not one to back down from a challenge. --from Amazon.

"Third-grader Aven Green has been solving mysteries for a whole month, cracking such cases as The Mystery of the Cranky Mom. But can this perceptive detective solve two cases at the same time? First her teacher's lunch bag disappears. Then Aven's great-grandma's dog goes missing. Fortunately, since Aven was born without arms, all the "arm" cells went to her super-powered brain instead. (That's her theory.)"--

Horace Homer Higgins III despises dirt. And the outdoors. And ducks. But when his person, Eleanor, moves to a farm called the Homestead, the anxious Boston Terrier is forced to adapt. As if that isn't enough to strain his nerves, Ellie adopts a perpetually cheerful potbellied pig named Bunwinkle to be his baby sister. Bunwinkle is delighted to be on the farm despite the stuffy demeanor of her new canine brother. She's sure she'll crack his shell eventually--no...

"After Lisa Marie and her big brother, Vernon, visit a Create-a-Ted store, something unexpected happens. Their teddy bears come to life! And it turns out theirs aren't the only ones ... All kinds of stuffed bears--zombies, ghosts, aliens, and more--are suddenly alive and on the loose, and they're not playing nice. Soon there is an army of evil teddy bears creating mayhem all over town! Can Lisa Marie and Vernon save themselves--and the world?"--Back...

Mindy Kim wants to fit in at her new school, but her favorite lunch leads to scorn, then a thriving business, and finally big trouble.

Millie's excitement over her first ballet class fades when she learns how hard it is, but after class she is encouraged by the Ballet Bunnies that secretly live in the studio.

Eight-year-old Ben takes a fortune cookie literally, and believing he has only one day left to live, tries to do everything he has always wanted to before nightfall.