Wholesome reading material for high level reading 2nd grader - Page 2

[staceychev]

What about The City of Ember books? I've read them recently, and there's nothing in them that wouldn't be appropriate for a younger kid. The protagonists are a little older (14, I think) but they're pretty tame. 

Also, just to throw this out there: Scholastic.com has a book finder tool where you can put in a book and find similar books and skew the reading level. So you could actually (I think) put in Magic Treehouse and pull the reading level slider up a bit.

[catnip]

I'd suggest the Circle of Magic books by Tamora Pierce. Her Tortall books are a little more maturely-themed, though your comfort level may vary with those, I read the first of them aloud to my then 4 year old, the Circle books are good for younger kids.

[jesrox]

I loved the Little Women series as a child- rereading them as an adult they are still great. I second the rats of NIMH and the Little House on the Prarie books- they are wonderful and so immersive. I loved the chronicles of narnia- great message and a strong female role model in Lucy. Charlotte's web was also a favorite at that age. I remember also loving Harriet the Spy but I'm unsure of the intended age of that one.

[Daffodil]

Another old and very wholesome one my 8 year old loved when I read it to her recently: The Wind Boy by Ethel Cook Eliot.  She also loved The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder (one of my favorite authors when I was a kid.)  It should be suitable for most 2nd graders, but it does feature a child murderer.  (Though that part of the plot isn't nearly as scary as it sounds.)

ETA: George's Secret Key to the Universe is another good one.

[Doodlebugsmom]

Anything by Roald Dahl...Matilda, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Twits, etc.