First of all, let me offer you a hearty congratulations for getting your child to this point! Let’s be honest: The early learning-to-read days can be very tedious. It is so refreshing when your child can begin to read independently! Plus, as the reading level gets slightly harder for Level 2 readers, the content and storylines get more interesting, too.
Once your child feels comfortable with Level 1 readers, here is the Level 2 series I would start with:
Frog and Toad are close pals whose friendship really is the backbone of all of these stories. Each book has five chapters, and each chapter can generally be read in one sitting.
Arnold Lobel has written lots of wonderful Level 2 readers, and here are some of of our other favorites:
Each of these has engaging illustrations, gentle (but somewhat entertaining) plot lines, and bite-sized chapters that make them feel doable for young readers.
Another author we love for Level 2 readers is Peggy Parish, who is most well-known for writing the Amelia Bedelia books. This series may be more slightly geared toward girls, but our boys have thought these books were pretty silly too:
Peggy Parish also wrote a few more Level 2 readers that we highly recommend:
If you’ve made it through Arnold Lobel and Peggy Parish, the next series I would try is Lillian Hoban’s Arthur the Chimpanzee series:
Arthur and his little sister, Violet, encounter all kinds of everyday adventures together and often learn a lesson, too. These books are also perfect for either boys or girls.
[One side note about Lillian Hoban: She and her husband also authored the Frances series, which has been well-loved by many. However, neither my kids nor I have ever liked those stories nearly as well as the Arthur the Chimpanzee books.]
Another series that I love for this age is the I Can Read History Level 2 readers. It’s at this point that your child stops “learning to read” and begins “reading to learn,” and we have found that these short historical biographies are really engaging:
Each of these books packs in quite a bit of history; however, the content is also simple enough to be understood by this age range.
One final fun series that my kids have enjoyed is the After the Dinosaurs series:
A few notes about this series: First, because young earth vs. old earth can be pretty strongly disagreed upon by different circles, you should note that these books ascribe more to an old earth theory. In addition, you will most likely have to help your child with some of the difficult dinosaur names like “platybelodon” and “indricotherium” (do you even know how to pronounce that? Ha!). Regardless, the vast majority of the words are very doable.
I have found that when I go to the library or bookstore to search Level 2 readers, I often find character-themed books (PJ Masks, Marvel, etc.) that aren’t quite as “timeless” as some of the stories above. I hope your child(ren) enjoy these books as much as mine have!