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year 2 recommended reads 2024 50 best books

Year 2: 50 Recommended Reads

Best Books for Y2 (Children Aged 6-7)

NEWLY updated – April 2024!

Our team has hand-picked 50 recommended books for Year 2 (children aged six and seven). Find the best books to top up your Y2 reading collections with our selection of storytime picturebooks, chapter books, funny stories, illustrated poetry collections, non-fiction texts and more. Keep an eye out for the odd mad-cap babysitter with rainbow hair, aliens in jam factories and texting-obsessed goats along the way…

We understand that finding the perfect book for children can be challenging, so we have carefully curated a list of recommended reads especially suited for Year 2 children. Our selection of books includes themes such as adventure, friendship, animals, mystery, and lots of laugh-out-loud favourites too.

The experts at BooksForTopics have hand-picked each book based on its age-appropriateness, quality content, engaging illustrations and ability to spark children’s imagination and creativity. This booklist includes popular Year 2 stories such as The Proudest Blue, Flat Stanley and Traction Man, as well as some lesser-known storytime delights that we recommend for Y2, like The Eyebrows of Doom, Einstein the Penguin and Jory John’s hilarious gadget-obsessed spud, The Couch Potato.

So, if you are looking for top recommended books for your Year 2 children, our specially selected reading list has got you covered with books that have all been carefully matched to the age, developmental stage and interest level of children in Year 2.

As well as the Y2 booklist below to browse, we’ve also got a printable poster and downloadable checklist for you, and schools can purchase full sets of the books via Peters.

 

year 2 recommended reads printable poster 2024

year 2 recommended reads checklist 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Browse the Y2 booklist below or scroll down to find more purchasing options and printable resources.

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The Most Important Animal of All

Picturebook

The Most Important Animal of All is a beautiful picture book, illustrated by award-winning Hannah Bailey, where a teacher challenges her class to decide which is the most important animal of all. Seven children champion a different animal for the top spot.

* Is it BEES as master pollinators, or BATS who are night-time predators as well as pollinators? * Is it ELEPHANTS who shape their landscapes and spread seeds, or BEAVERS who create watery habitats? * Is it TIGERS or SHARKS who keep populations in balance so there is food for all? * Is it tiny KRILL, food for so many whales and sea creatures?

Learn all about these keystone species, plus see photographs of them up close and in their habitats. At the back there’s information about other important animals, such as wolves, hummingbirds and coral.

This is a positive and gentle primer for young children from 5 years old about the more worrying issues of habitat loss, endangered species and climate change.

Marv and the Mega Robot

Chapter book

Marvin is an ordinary boy who loves spending time with Grandpa, reading comics, and making science experiments with his best friend Joe. But everything changes when he discovers a mysterious superhero suit hidden in the attic . . . to his amazement, Marvin learns that he is next in a long line of superheroes. Now the time has come to meet his destiny!

When the Science Fair is thrown into chaos by super-villain Mastermind and her giant robot, Marvin is the only one who can stop them. Will Marvin be brave enough to step into his power-and into his superhero suit-to become the great and marvellous superhero Marv?

The first book in a powerful series of one boy’s journey to unlock the superhero within.

the enchanted wood

The Enchanted Wood

Chapter book

The first magical story in the Faraway Tree series by one of the world’s most popular children’s authors, Enid Blyton.

Joe, Beth and Frannie find the Enchanted Wood on the doorstep of their new home, and when they discover the Faraway Tree they fall into all sorts of adventures!

Join them and their friends Moonface, Saucepan Man and Silky the fairy as they discover which new land is at the top of the Faraway Tree. Will it be the Land of Spells, the Land of Treats, or the Land of Do-As-You-Please? Discover the magic!

First published in 1939, this edition contains the original text. Inside illustrations are by Jan McCafferty, and the cover by Mark Beech (2014).

My Very Important World

Non-fiction

This children’s encyclopedia of discovery will inspire little learners to wonder about the world around them.

Our world is an amazing place. It’s full of rivers, mountains, forests, and too many other amazing places to count – but that’s not all. There’s also families, friends, animals, music, technology, language, games, and all other things that make life wonderful. My Very Important World is a celebration of our world and what it’s like to live in it.

On one page children will read about their body and brain, on another they’ll learn about sporting events from around the globe, and on others, they can marvel at wonders of the Earth including The Great Wall of China, awe-inspiring Giant’s Causeway, and the beautiful Rainbow Mountains of Peru.

My Very Important World makes a beautiful gift book with a padded jacket and colourful illustrations and images.

Discover where the coldest place on Earth is, how many languages there are, why we sometimes feel scared, and much, much more.

There’s a big wide world out there – so turn the pages to explore it.

Dear Earth

Picturebook

When Tessa writes a love letter to the Earth, it’s the beginning of a glorious adventure. She blows bubbles with whales, soars with birds and joins in with the noisy rainforest hullabaloo!
Tessa wants everyone to know how special our planet is. She believes that there is a chance to save the Earth if enough of us share the message…

Into the Forest

Picturebook

A shortcut through the forest to Grandma’s house produces some eerie moments – and some oddly familiar characters – in a strikingly illustrated tale about facing fears.

One night a boy is woken by a terrible sound. A storm is breaking, lightning flashing across the sky. In the morning Dad is gone and Mum doesn’t seem to know when he’ll be back. The next day Mum asks her son to take a cake to his sick grandma. “Don’t go into the forest,” she warns. “Go the long way round.” But, for the first time, the boy chooses to take the path into the forest, where he meets a variety of fairy tale characters.

All Through the Night

Picturebook

A beautifully illustrated picture book exploring the jobs that keep a city running all through the night, and make it ready for the new day.

The sky is getting dark. In a big city, a little girl is eating her dinner, brushing her teeth and getting ready for bed.

Meanwhile, her mother is putting on her coat and getting ready to go to work. But where will she go, and who will she see along the way?

As the night goes on, follow nurses, cleaners, delivery workers, doctors, police officers, journalists and many more. Meet the people doing the important jobs that help keep the city running all through the night, ready for the next day to come.

Every Nosy Crow paperback picture book comes with a free ‘Stories Aloud’ audio recording – just scan the QR code and listen along!

A Bear’s Guide to Beekeeping

Picturebook

Are you a bear considering keeping your very own bees? Can’t get enough of delicious honey? Then this is the book for you! With invaluable tips such as how to make a tiny crown for your queen bee, you can become a master beekeeper in no time! Learn how to care for your new buzzy friends in easy-to-follow steps – but don’t forget to absolutely never hug the bees. A spoof beekeeping manual for bears from debut author Pip Cornell and rising star Alex G Griffiths.

Beegu

Picturebook

Beegu is not supposed to be on Earth. She is lost. She is a friendly little creature, but the Earth People don’t seem very welcoming at all. However, so far she has only met the BIG ones. The little ones are a different matter…

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Stone Girl Bone Girl

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