Second & Third Grade Girls

Good Books for Girls Who Like
Junie B. Jones

Ivy and Bean  by Annie Barrows  (7 books in the series)
When seven-year-old Bean plays a mean trick on her sister, she finds unexpected support for her antics from Ivy, the new neighbor, who is less boring than Bean first suspected.

Franny K. Stein, Mad Scientist  by Jim Benton  (6 books in the series)
Franny K. Stein is a mad scientist who prefers all things spooky and creepy, but when she has trouble making friends at her new school she experiments with fitting in--which works until a monster erupts from the trashcan.

Soupy Saturdays with The Pain and The Great One  by Judy Blume  (4 books)
Short stories about the sometimes challenging relationship between a six-year-old (The Pain) and his eight-year-old sister (The Great One).

Utterly Me, Clarice Bean  by Lauren Child  (3 books)
When someone steals the winner's trophy for the school book project, Clarice emulates her favorite book heroine, Ruby Redfort the detective.

Ramona Quimby, Age 8  by Beverly Cleary (8 books)
In this book, Ramona is in third grade.  All the Quimbys have their ups and downs, but none feels them more intensely than Ramona. Her low point is reached the day she throws up in class and Mrs. Whaley instructs the children to hold their noses and file into the hall. But three days later Ramona recovers her verve enough to give a book report in the style of a T.V. commercial, bringing down the house with her final ad-lib line of "I can't believe I read the whole thing!"

Amber Brown Is Not a Crayon  by Paula Danziger  (9 books)
The year she is in the third grade is a sad time for Amber because her best friend Justin is getting ready to move to a distant state.

Annie Pitts, Artichoke  by Diane DeGroat  (4 books)
When Annie and her third grade class put on a play about nutrition, it has more surprises than the teacher expected.

Just Grace  by Charise Mericle Harper  (5 books)
Misnamed by her teacher, seven-year-old Just Grace prides herself on being empathetic, but when she tries to help a neighbor feel better, her good intentions backfire.

Elisa Michaels, Bigger & Better  by Johanna Hurwitz (Riverside Kids)
Six stories follow Elisa, who is now in second grade, as she deals with inept baby-sitters, an airplane ride with her parents, eating chocolate all day long, and her pesky siblings.

Princess Ellie to the Rescue  by Diana Klimpton  (Pony-crazed Princess; 11 books)
Princess Ellie and her best friend Kate suspect a mysterious stranger is responsible for the disappearance of Ellie’s horse, Sundance.

Pippi Longstocking  by Astrid Lindgren  (7 books)
Escapades of a lucky little girl who lives with a horse and a monkey--but without any parents--at the edge of a Swedish village.

Ruby Lu, Brave and True  by Lenore Look  (2 books)
Almost-eight-year-old Ruby Lu spends time with her baby brother, goes to Chinese school, performs magic tricks and learns to drive, and has adventures with both old and new friends.

Gooney Bird Greene  by Lois Lowry  (4 books)
A most unusual new student who loves to be the center of attention entertains her teacher and fellow second graders by telling absolutely true stories about herself, including how she got her name.

Judy Moody  by Megan McDonald  (9 books)
Third grader Judy Moody is in a first day of school bad mood until she gets an assignment to create a collage all about herself and begins creating her masterpiece, the Me collage.

Clementine  by Sara Pennypacker  (4 books)
While sorting through difficulties in her friendship with her neighbor Margaret, eight-year-old Clementine gains several unique hairstyles while also helping her father in his efforts to banish pigeons from the front of their apartment building.

In Aunt Lucy’s Kitchen  by Cynthia Rylant (Cobble Street Cousins; 6 books)
While staying with their aunt for a year, three nine-year-old cousins keep busy baking and selling cookies, putting on a poetry and singing performance, and trying to encourage a romance between their aunt and a customer.

Lizzie Logan Wears Purple Sunglasses  by Eileen Spinelli  (3 books)
When her family moves to a new neighborhood, Heather meets ten-year-old Lizzie Logan, whose brash and bossy ways make Heather wonder if they can ever be friends.

Keena Ford and the Second-grade Mix-up  by Melissa Thomson  (2 books)
Keena doesn’t mean to be a troublemaker, but sometimes things just happen!

Only Emma  by Sally Warner  (5 books)
Third-grader Emma's peaceful life as an only child is disrupted when she has to temporarily share her tidy bedroom with four-year-old Anthony Scarpetto, a bona fide "pain in the patootie."

Sweet and Sour Lily  by Sally Warner  (5 books)
While trying to start new friendships in the first grade, six-year-old Lily gets in trouble with her teacher, but she soon discovers that it is possible to start over again after making a mistake.

Don’t Call Me Beanhead!  by Susan Wojciechowski  (5 books)
Beany worries about everything! When will she stop worrying and just have fun?