The Elementary Book List ~ Levels 1 & 2

I was asked a while back to share my book list for elementary students. Most of my books are chosen with boys in mind (hmm, wonder why that is?), so I apologize for the sparseness of 'girl' titles. Rather than include all of my favorite picture books, I've focused mainly on readers and chapter books. I've broken the list of books we've used by levels for ease of use. The following are my book selections for children who are starting to read 'real' books (as opposed to 'the cat sat' books.) (If you are interested in my beginning reading recommendations, read here.) I've starred my favorites. I'll be updating this list every so often and reposting.



Level 1 and 2 Readers

The Early Reader’s Bible (V. Gilbert Beers)

*Little Bear (series) (Else Holmelund Minarik)

Amelia Bedelia (series) (Peggy Parish)

*(Arnold Lobel)

Frog and Toad (series)
Owl at Home
Mouse Soup
Mouse Tales
Uncle Elephant
Grasshopper on the Road

*The Fire Cat (Esther Averill)

*Henry and Mudge (series) (Cynthia Rylant)

*Harry the Dirty Dog (series)

Big Max (series) (Kin Platt)

Good Knight (series) (Shelley Moore Thomas)

The Sword in the Stone (Grace Maccarone)

Ready-to-Read (Level 1): Wonders of America (series)

Mount Rushmore
Niagara Falls
The Statue of Liberty
The Rocky
Mountains
The Mighty Mississippi
And others…

Ready-to-Read (Level 1): (Marion Dane Bauer)

Snow
Rain
Clouds
Wind

Ready-to-Read: Childhood of Famous Americans (series)

Thomas Edison To the Rescue!
Ben Franklin and His First Kite
Sacagawea and the Bravest Deed
Helen Keller and the Big Storm
Paul Revere and the Bell Ringers

Step into Reading

*Abe Lincoln’s Hat
George Washington and the General’s Dog
The Statue of Liberty

All Aboard Reading

Red, White, and Blue: The Story of the American Flag
Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Little Runner of the Longhouse (Betty Baker)

There is a Carrot in My Ear and Other Noodle Tales (Alvin Schwartz)

*Dodsworth in New York (Paris, London) (series) (Tim Egan)