New Mexico 2nd grade reading list

Books with a New Mexico citation for 2nd grade include 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli; As Fast As Words Could Fly and Baby Monkey, Private Eye. This list has 332 total books, 9 of them with a New Mexico-specific citation. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 350L to 990L.

Top New Mexico 2nd grade pick: 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli by David LaRochelle — on 1 New Mexico list

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Total books332Lexile350L–990LSourceNM Common Core✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Elementary (K–5) titles appearing in the most states are Wonder (29 states), Because of Winn-Dixie (26 states), and Shiloh (25 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Our pick to start — most-cited for New Mexico 2nd grade

These are the 9 titles named in New Mexico’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli

    David LaRochelle

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3.

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  2. As Fast As Words Could Fly

    Pamela M. Tuck

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3.

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  3. Baby Monkey, Private Eye

    Brian Selznick

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3. Covers private investigators, humorous stories and monkeys.

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  4. Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse

    Marilyn Singer

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3.

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  5. Mother Bruce

    Ryan T. Higgins

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document. Covers bears, geese and animals.

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  6. Super Manny Stands Up!

    Kelly DiPucchio

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3.

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  7. The Legend of Rock Paper Scissors

    Drew Daywalt

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade 2 to 8. Covers humor, adventure and rock-paper-scissors (game).

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  8. What Really Happened to Humpty?

    Jeanie Franz Ransom

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade K to 3.

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  9. You are (not) Small

    Anna Kang

    Cited in 1 New Mexico curriculum document, taught from grade K to 1.

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9 books cited for New Mexico 2nd grade

Assignments tied directly to New Mexico’s NM Common Core with a New Mexico-specific citation.

323 additional grade-appropriate books for 2nd grade readers

The 332-book total above includes 9 titles with direct New Mexico citation; these 323 additional titles cover 2nd grade in the broader canon. They don't have a New Mexico-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

Show all 323 titles

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Other New Mexico grades

1st grade · 3rd grade · Kindergarten · 4th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

1st grade · 3rd grade · Kindergarten · 4th grade

Same 2nd grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

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About the New Mexico 2nd grade reading list

This list combines books cited in NM Common Core with books from national sources that list titles for 2nd grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Caldecott Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. ReadingList currently tracks 332 titles for 2nd grade in New Mexico, of which 9 carry a direct New Mexico citation and 323 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 2nd grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 350L–990L.

2nd grade sits in the K-2 grade band, where students are emerging and early readers. At this stage the emphasis is on building phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and a love of being read to. Assigned reading skews toward picture books, decodable texts, and short illustrated chapter books, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around BR (Beginning Reader) to roughly 500L. Measured against that 420–820L range, of the 18 titles here with a Lexile score 13 are grade-level, 3 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 2 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 2nd grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

New Mexico’s English Language Arts requirements are set by NM Common Core (webnew.ped.state.nm.us). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 2nd grade list below blends New Mexico-specific assignments with widely taught national titles. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 2nd grade unit can pair a New Mexico-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

What books do 2nd grade students read in New Mexico?
Books with a New Mexico-specific citation for 2nd grade include 100 Mighty Dragons All Named Broccoli; As Fast As Words Could Fly; Baby Monkey, Private Eye; Mirror Mirror: A Book of Reversible Verse and Mother Bruce. Individual schools and districts choose their own titles, so check with your child's teacher for the exact list.
How many books are assigned to 2nd grade students in New Mexico?
This list has 332 books for 2nd grade students in New Mexico. 9 of them have a New Mexico-specific citation; the other 323 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards.
What's the Lexile range for 2nd grade reading in New Mexico?
Lexile measures across the 2nd grade New Mexico reading list range from 350L to 990L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
New Mexico-specific entries reference NM Common Core (published at webnew.ped.state.nm.us). The other books come from national sources that list books for 2nd grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Caldecott Medal, the Golden Kite Award and the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

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State-specific entries sourced from webnew.ped.state.nm.us. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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