Ready-to -Read Level 2 Mouse & Spoon series by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Janna Mattia*

 An adorable series by a beloved author!

Ginger, Piper, & Tom are mice who run a bakery in a little town on Littleton St. Whenever customers request specific orders, the three siblings oblige. At a moment's notice they accomplish incredible feats- baking for 216 rabbit children, pound cakes for an elephant's birthday party, sticky buns for a porcupine's wedding and tarts for owlets who won't sleep. 

Perfect length and repetition for beginning readers who are building fluency, stamina, and confidence.

*Highly recommend.

Coming on May 5,2026-Picnic for Giraffes!

Earl & Worm Snow Problem and Other Stories by Greg Pizzoli**

 I love this series for beginning readers. These entertaining and relatable stories will appeal to even the most reluctant readers.

This book takes place over one day-Earl's birthday. Worm attempts to create a special day for Earl but, of course, encounters hinderances and frustrations. All ends well, though. 

**Highly, highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Lucky Duck by Greg Pizzoli*

 Susan, the duck, is not having a good day. After each incident, she exclaims how she is unlucky. Then a wolf rings a doorbell and tells her she has won a soup pot. Throughout the day, he continues to drop in with more items that she has "won". The reader will be cringing at the duck's naivety! Just when the reader thinks he has predicted Susan's fate, the day really does transform into her lucky day!

Pair with My Lucky Day by Keiko Kasza (I like My Lucky Day better.)

*Highly recommend.

Perfect for beginning/transitional readers.

-Borrowed from the library.

Earl & Worm series by Greg Pizzoli**

 I love this series! They are perfect for beginning &/or transitional readers (fluency, stamina, building confidence). 

Even though Earl & Worm are great friends, when they first met, Worm did not like Earl's disposition. Grumpy Worm eventually softens to Earl's friendliness. Together they navigate writing poetry, house cleaning, the affect of an unlucky penny, and watching a sunrise.

I am waiting for #3 to be published (Nov. 11, 2025). 

**Highly, highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Three by the Sea by Edward Marshall illustrated by James Marshall*

 Lolly, Spider, and Sam are enjoying a day at the beach. After eating they are too full to resume any activities. To pass the time, Lolly reads aloud to them from her reader. They declare the story too boring and create their own stories.

Fun and humorous! Perfect for reluctant and transitional readers

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Oh Dear, Look What I Got! by Michael Rosen illustrated by Helen Oxenbury*

 I love this author/illustrator team's book, We're Going on a Bear Hunt! Although I enjoyed their newest effort, I like We're Going on a Bear Hunt! better. 

Throughout one day a young boy is sent to pick up specific items at various shops. Each tim,  he returns with a drastically wrong item! The repeated phrases and rhyme will appeal to young listeners (& will also help beginning readers to build fluency). Prediction skills can be utilized if the reader observes the package shape & parts sticking out and also if the reader thinks of rhyming words. The ending is festive, sweet, and fun!

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Ready to Read-Tails from History-A Racoon at the White House by Rachel Dougherty illustrated by Rachel Sanson*

 Ready to Read Level Two

With words and sentence structures perfect for beginning and/or transitional readers, Ms. Dougherty relates how a raccoon named Rebecca lived at the White House with President Coolidge and First Lady Grace. Additonal facts about raccoons and the White House are included (for parents to read aloud to their beginning reader).

*Highly recommend for stimulating historical interest, for fluency, and for building stamina.

-Borrowed from the library.

Bat, Cat & Rat #1-The Cozy Home by Ame Dyckman illustrated by Mark Teague*

 Bat, Cat, & Rat move into a home. As they settled into sharing life together, they enjoy teasing each other and, of course, reading together.

A perfect series for beginning readers.

It looks like book #3, The Beach Day, will be published on April 29, 2025, and #4, A Great Fall, will be published on July 15, 2025.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Vacation by Ame Dyckman illustrated by Mark Teague*

 The 2025 winner for Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for most distinguished beginning reader book

Bat, Cat, & Rat love living together. One day Cat announces that a vacation would be nice. Realizing their vacation savings jar is empty, they pursue various jobs. When the jar is full, however, they cannot agree where to vacation. Rat has an idea!

*Highly recommend for beginning readers.

-Borrowed from the library.

Fox versus Fox by Corey R. Tabor*

A Geisel Honor Book-selected by the American Library Association for a distinguished beginning reader book for 2025. 

Fox thinks he is the one and only fox. Then he meets Fox. Can two foxes exist together as friends?

Sweet.

*Highly recommend. Perfect for beginning readers.

Part of a series.

Towed by Toad by Jashar Awan*

 American Library Association's Geisel Honor Book (distinguished beginning reader book)-2025

Toad is on the go, towing critters all over town. Pop persistently offers him food throughout the day, but Toad can't stop. Then Toad needs help. Who will help him?

The illustrations reminded me of Richard Scarry's books. I loved the internal rhyme in most lines.

*Highly recommend for beginning readers.

-Borrowed from the library.

Orris and Timble The Beginning #1 by Kate DiCamillo illustrated by Carmen Mok*

 Orris, the rat, lives in a hole in an abandoned barn. One night he hears a screech. An owl is caught in a mousetrap nailed to the floor. Should he help an enemy? A sweet book about being noble and about friendship. I love the inclusion of Aesop's Fable.

Simple words, short chapters with full-page illustrations-perfect for transitional readers who need to build stamina  and to gain confidence.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Fox Has a Problem by Corey R. Tabor*

Shared Reading-My First  I Can Read! 

2024 Winner of the Theodor Geisel Award

I love Mr. Tabor's book Mel Fell. Apparently he has written quite a few other books, including at least six books about Fox.

Fox tries to fix his problem but progressively makes it worse. Teamwork solves the problem.

A perfect book for beginning readers-the story consists of sight words with a few harder words that can be determined via pictures or a parent teaching the word before hand or as they read. The more difficult words are repeated numerous times. As a result, by the end of the book, the reader will have learned a couple of challenging words. In this book the difficult words are: problem, idea, new, & very.

Humor makes this story so enjoyable!

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Henry, Like Always by Jenn Bailey illustrated by Mika Song*

Won 2024 Honor Geisel Award! ("The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award is given annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished American book for beginning readers published in English in the United States during the preceding year.")  AND

A Schneider Family Book Award Winner!

Henry, who is on the autism spectrum, must deal with a change in their weekly schedule. Readers will admire his perseverance and also his problem-solving skills. 

Short chapters with plenty of illustrations make this a great book for beginning readers. This book is a sequel to A Friend for Henry.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

The Gooch Machine Poems for Children to Perform by Brod Bagert illustrated by Tim Ellis

 Before the book begins, Mr. Bager encourages children to read his poems aloud with expression. He offers some hints how to read with expression. Very kid-friendly poems printed in big font. Perfect for struggling readers, new readers, transitional readers . . .and those learning to read with expression and becoming more fluent. 

-Borrowed from the library.

See the . . . by David LaRochelle illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka*

 These two books will make beginning/transitional readers laugh and enjoy reading! 

In See the Cat -Three Stories About a Dog- a dog is depicted who objects that the writer is narrating about a cat. The writer and dog negotiate throughout the book. Simple words but an enjoyable plot that will engage readers. An Award-winner

In See the Dog-Three Stories About a Cat-the cat substitutes for the dog as the main character and protests the different actions she must perform.

To build stamina and fluency, a parent or older sibling could read the "book"parts and the reader could read the dog or cat words.

Strategy/skill-building stamina, fluency

*Highly recommend both books.

-Borrowed from the library.

Do You Like My Bike? #1 by Norm Feuti*

 Hello, Hedgehog! series (6 books in series)

Hedgehog has a new bike. He and his friend Harry have a fun time together on their "wheels".

Graphic novel style/comic book style.  The short chapters will appeal to new readers or reluctant readers.

Perfect for building fluency & stamina. Also perfect for paired reading-one person reads Hedgehog's lines and another reads Harry's lines.

*Highly recommend.

-Borrowed from the library.

Charlie & Mouse series by Laurel Snyder illustrated by Emily Hughes*

 Award-winner-Theodor Seuss Geisel Award winner

Charlie and Mouse are energetic, imaginative brothers who will bring smiles to transitional readers. Illustrations are on most pages. Repeated phrases and words will give new readers confidence in reading chapter books.

As of now there are five books in the series. In August 2022 a sixth book will be published, Charlie & Mouse Are Magic. The illustrator used to live in Hawaii. The illustrations depict that Charlie and Mouse live in an area like Hawaii. 

*Highly recommend.

Consider: In book #1, Charlie and Mouse visit their neighbors. One house they visit belongs to Mr. Erik and Mr. Michael. These neighbors are not mentioned in the books #2-5. 

King & Kayla and the Case of the Missing Dog Treats by Dori Hillestad Butler illustrated by Nancy Meyers*

Award-winner- Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor 

Told from perspective of King, a dog, this sweet story for transitional readers involves King's favorite peanut butter treats which go missing. Kayla thinks he snitched them. Can King find the real thief?

*Highly recommend. Five short chapters will build transitional reader's stamina and confidence. So far this series has seven books. In August 2022, the eighth book will be available called, King and Kayla and the Case of the Lost Library Book. 

-Borrowed from the library.

The Rock from the Sky by Jon Klassen

 A turtle and badger each have their favorite spots to sit.  Little do they know a rock is falling from the sky and about to land . . . 

Divided into five parts, the book relates the interactions between a turtle, a badger and a snake.  The entire story is told exclusively by dialogue, which is a perfect for beginning/transitional readers to practice fluency and stamina.  The book could be turned into a mini reader's theater too.

Dry humor    At times sensitive readers could become upset because it appears that harm may befall on the characters. 

-Borrowed from the library.