My 2nd grade daughter (highest reading group but not crazy-ahead-of-grade) just discovered the Mia Mayhem series and flew through books 1 and 2. We have books 3 and 4 arriving from amazon tomorrow.

One and Only Ivan
Mice of the Round Table
Cavall in Camelot
Klawde series
Pie in the sky
Ultimate predator-pedia (National Geographic)
Usborne graphic classics (graphic novels)
Heroes in Training series (mythology)

Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Endling
Bravelands
Podkin One Ear series
Winnie's Great War
Mouse with the Question mark take
Fantastic frame series
Wolf Called Wander

Reluctant reader recommendations if your second grader is a decent reader
Dog Man series
Ricky Ricotta and His Mighty Robot

Easier funny books:
Baby Monkey, Private Eye (hilarious! )
Little Critter series
Curious George series

I know this isn't exactly what you had in mind, but you might try novelty/non fiction books. They might be especially appealing to the reluctant reader.

Choose Your Own Adventure Books
Joke/Riddle books
Trivia books (Guinness Book of World Records, Ripley's Believe It or Not)
Magazines (Highlights, Ranger Rick, National Geographic for Kids, Cobblestone, etc., according to their interests)
Comic books/graphic novels
Poetry - Shel Silverstein is hilarious
Crafts/cookbooks/activity books
Magic School Bus has picture books and chapter books

The One and Only Ivan
The Penderwicks
The Tale of Despereaux
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
The Jumbies
Drawn Together
Under the Egg
The Mysterious Benedict Society

OP here - Thank you! These are great resources.

Frindle by Andrew Clements
Flat Stanley series by Jeff Brown

I'm not sure what reading level you're looking for. There could be a huge gap between appealing to a reluctant second-grade reader and an eager, gifted, third-grade reader. I've tried to present a wide range of books.

Mrs. Piggle-WIggle by Betty MacDonald
Einstein Anderson by Seymour Simon
Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol
Beverly Cleary
Gail Carson Levine (her Princess Tales series is a lighter read than her other books and isn't particularly girly despite the name, her other books are denser and have more depth)
Roald Dahl
Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Liza, Bill & Jed Mysteries by Peggy Parish
Sisters Grimm by Michael Buckley
Secrets of Droon by Tony Abbott (the main series are pretty fast reads, the special editiobs are denser and more intense)
Wayside School series by Louis Sachar
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken
Kate Klise
From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Bruce Coville
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Green Knowe series by Lucy M. Boston (gets pretty intense, may be scary)
Misty of Chincoteague by Marguerite Henry
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Danny Dunn series by Raymond Abrashkin and Jay Williams
Ben and Me by Robert Lawson
Animorphs by K. A. Applegate (gets intense)
Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry (may be intense)
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett


Just-So Stories by Rudyard Kipling - the language is beautiful but dense. I would recommend for a read-aloud, but an older eager reader might enjoy it.

I second reading aloud. My kids were bookworms and were in gifted and talented programs. Reading together was something we enjoyed doing even into high school, when their schedules allowed. You could also do recorded books, but I prefer reading ourselves.

Do you mean for independent reading or for read aloud?

My GT 5th grade voracious reader started with the Warriors series in 3rd and has loved it ever since. It's about cats. By Erin Hunter. She loves all things fantasy from Harry Potter to Percy Jackson and the other myth based series. I read one - Magnus Chase - over the summer and enjoyed it a lot. She likes the Spy School series and enjoyed the Mysterious Benedict Society series. In 4th grade she was forced to branch out a bit more and read some non-fantasy books assigned at school - Esperanza Rising, The Giver.

My second grader who "hates reading" still likes to be read to. We read aloud books that are well beyond her reading level. She liked Fish in a Tree and it gave me a language for talking about classroom and friendship dynamics. We just ordered another book by the same author - Lynda Mullaly Hunt. She liked the Dog Diaries series in first grade, which I also read to her. It was difficult enough to be frustrating for her to try to read herself. We have read aloud books from the Fablehaven series (big sis read them independently starting in 3rd) and the Candy Shop Wars - those mostly stemming from older child's interest in fantasy and recommendations. I really enjoyed the Fablehaven series. I was always eager to fit it into our evening routine.

Any recommendations on books your 2nd or 3rd graders loved? Parents with kids in gifted and talented programs - any books you recommend? I am not seeing much from my local school.
Of my two kids, one loves reading and is always looking at books and the other couldn't care less. I am trying to expose them to different genres to see what clicks.