Stage 2 Reading List

When it comes to wild animals, everyone knows that there are certain things you just don’t do. It’s clearly a bad idea to tease a tiger, pull a python’s tail, or bother a black widow spider. But do you know how dangerous it can be to pet a platypus, collect a cone shell, or touch a tang fish? Some creatures have developed unusual ways of protecting themselves or catching prey, which can make them unexpectedly hazardous to your health. In this dynamic and fascinating picture book by Steve Jenkins, you’ll find out what you should never do if you encounter one of these surprisingly dangerous animals.

Have you ever looked up and wondered what’s going on high up in the skies above your eyes?
Take a journey up into the air, through the atmosphere, way out into space, and back down to Earth in this richly illustrated concertina book that opens out to an impressive 8 feet long, perfect for inquisitive young minds.

An evil wizard has enchanted the magical beasts of Avantia – only a true hero can free the beasts and stop them from destroying the land. Is Tom the hero Avantia has been waiting for?

“‘Ooh, money, money, money,’ sang Fudge. ‘I love money, money, money!'” Pete’s little brother, Fudge, has a new obsession. He’s mad about money and he wants loads of it. In fact, he’s going to print a hundred million trillion ‘Fudge Bucks’ and buy the whole world. Or maybe he’ll just settle for buying the capital city of America and call it Fudgington. He’s driving Pete nuts. Will Fudge ever stop being the most embarrassing brother on the planet?

Nick and Tesla are bright 11-year-old siblings with a knack for science, electronics, and getting into trouble. When their parents mysteriously vanish, they’re sent to live with their Uncle Newt, a brilliant inventor who engineers top-secret gadgets for a classified government agency. It’s not long before Nick and Tesla are embarking on adventures of their own, engineering all kinds of outrageous MacGyverish contraptions to save their skin: 9-volt burglar alarms, electromagnets, mobile tracking devices, and more.

When Stanley Lambchop wakes up one morning, his brother, Arthur, is yelling.
A bulletin board fell on Stanley during the night, and now he is only half an inch thick!
Amazing things begin happening to him. Stanley gets rolled up, mailed, and flown like a kite. He even gets to help catch two dangerous art thieves. He may be flat, but he’s a hero!

Mr Willy Wonka is the most extraordinary chocolate maker in the world.
And do you know who Charlie is? Charlie Bucket is the hero. The other children in this book are nasty little beasts, called: Augustus Gloop – a great big greedy nincompoop; Veruca Salt – a spoiled brat; Violet Beauregarde – a repulsive little gum-chewer; Mike Teavee – a boy who only watches television.
Clutching their Golden Tickets, they arrive at Wonka’s chocolate factory. But what mysterious secrets will they discover?
Our tour is about to begin. Please don’t wander off. Mr Wonka wouldn’t like to lose any of you at this stage of the proceedings…

Matilda Wormwood’s father thinks she’s a little scab. Matilda’s mother spends all afternoon playing bingo. And Matilda’s headmistress Miss Trunchbull? Well, she’s the worst of all. She is a big bully, who thinks all her pupils are rotten and locks them in the dreaded Chokey.
As for Matilda, she’s an extraordinary little girl with a magical mind – and now she’s had enough. So all these grown-ups had better watch out, because Matilda is going to teach them a lesson they’ll never forget.

When disaster separates Gwen from her family, she must fend for herself, all alone in the wilderness.
Luckily, she’s not alone for long… When a wolf puppy, a Labrador, a Chihuahua, and a greyhound want to make friends, Gwen discovers talents she didn’t know she possessed.
It will take all her new skills and strength just to survive. Does Gwen have what it takes to be leader of the pack?

At almost ten years of age, Eric is now the responsible owner of his dog Ugly. But when Ugly is involved in a series of mishaps including the theft of a roast chook and a bedroom decorated with duck poo, it is clear Eric needs to do something to keep his dog out of trouble. Luckily, Eric knows exactly how to solve the problem … Ugly needs a job.

I scribbled angrily in my notebook, ripped the page out and held it in from of his face.
‘You killed my mother,’ it said, ‘and I’ve got the sausages to prove it.’
It starts off as a normal week for Rowena. A car full of stewed apples. A police cell. A desperate struggle to keep Dad off national TV.
Then her world turns upside down. And suddenly Ro is battling French policemen, high explosives and very unusual sausages to discover painful and joyous secrets that change her life forever.

The Lord family live in the worst house on the best street. It might have been different if Suzi Lord’s rock n roll parents, Strum and Miss Katy, hadn’t stumbled on their way to stardom but after one hit single in Finland, it’s been lentils for dinner ever since.
Despite all that, Suzi’s older sister Janis is desperate to get the money to go on the school trip to France, so she takes matters into her own hands by renting out the spare room on ZedBedZ. But Suzi discovers that the spare room already has an occupant – the ghost of the band’s dead drummer whose rhythmic skills might still be required.
Life on Melody Street never seems that harmonious, however. There’s the broken leg that shatters Suzi’s soccer dreams, a friend who needs a new band, a long-lost grandfather, the music mad Chinese student next door and some shady real estate deals going down.
With the driving beat of a rock anthem, the heart of a country ballad, and the contemporary feel of the latest hip-hop hit, Lords of Melody is about people overcoming their differences in order to cooperate, be creative, to make music together.

Toffle Towers hotel has been run by a Toffle for over one hundred years – and it’s about to be inherited by the next generation.
Chegwin Toffle is only ten years old. But he isn’t going to let that stop him from turning this run-down hotel into a success. Chegwin is determined to transform Toffle Towers from a boring hotel for grown-ups into an incredibly exciting destination for children (and their families).
But running a hotel isn’t easy. Chegwin has a lot to learn, and his tendency to drift off into daydreams isn’t helping.
Chegwin has plenty of ideas. But can he turn his madcap daydreams into reality?

He’s the first teacher to cook us breakfast.
Is his spark-maker beetle really that dangerous?
I heard he drank yak’s milk in Mongolia.
He’s the only person who isn’t afraid of Canteen Carol.
My mum says he used to be in the circus.

What would you do if you woke up in a strange place? If your whole life changed in the blink of an eye and you had no idea what was going on?
Twins Kensy and Max Grey’s lives are turned upside down when they are whisked off to London, and discover their parents are missing. As the situation unfolds, so many things don’t add up: their strange new school, the bizarre grannies on their street, the coded messages they keep finding and the feeling that, all around them, adults are keeping secrets . . .
Things can never go back to the way they were, but the twins are determined to uncover the truth!

Part modern fairy tale, part science fiction myth, The Iron Man describes the unexpected arrival in England of a mysterious giant “metal man” who wreaks havoc on the countryside by attacking the neighbouring farms and eating all their machinery. A young boy called Hogarth befriends him and Hogarth and the extraordinary being end up defending and saving the earth when it is attacked by a fearsome “space-bat-angel-dragon” from outer space.

‘My name is August. I won’t describe what I look like. Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably worse.’
Auggie wants to be an ordinary ten-year-old. He does ordinary things – eating ice cream, playing on his Xbox. He feels ordinary – inside. But ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. Ordinary kids aren’t stared at wherever they go.
Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life. Now, for the first time, he’s being sent to a real school – and he’s dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted – but can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, underneath it all?
Wonder is a funny, frank, astonishingly moving debut to read in one sitting, pass on to others, and remember long after the final page.

Harry Potter can’t wait for his holidays with the dire Dursleys to end. But a small, self-punishing house-elf warns Harry of mortal danger awaiting him at Hogwarts.
Returning to the castle nevertheless, Harry hears a rumour about a Chamber of Secrets, holding unknown horrors for wizards of Muggle parentage.
Now someone is casting spells that turn people to stone, and a terrible warning is found painted on the wall. The chief suspect – always in the wrong place – is Harry. But something much more terrifying has yet to be unleashed…

Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. His hopes for a quiet school term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed, though, when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison.
It’s assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it his imagination that is making him feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney’s ghoulish predictions seriously?

Cora is eleven-years-old and missing one eye. She lives with an elderly lady named Dot in a room hidden behind a wall. In a crowded, industrial city, where everyone looks out for themselves, Cora and Dot hunt and sell rare and exotic things – apple seeds, silver forks, shoe polish. Until one day, Cora finds a few words scribbled on a piece of paper. She takes it home and says the words aloud. Then two plump, hairy fairies named Tick and Tock crash land in her path to warn her that she is in terrible danger. Cora has unknowingly summoned a sinister creature known as a Jinx. Jinxes eat magical beings and once they have a scent, they never forget it. But Cora isn’t a magical being . . . is she? Quickly, Cora is thrown headfirst into a world filled with magic, necromancers, shape-shifters, enchantresses, fairies, nightwalkers, witches and giants.

Once upon a time, in a dark city far away, there lived a boy called Walter, who had nothing but his name to call his own …
The handwritten book, with its strangely vivid illustrations, has been hidden in the old house for a long, long time. Tonight, four kids and their teacher will find it. Tonight, at last, the haunting story of Walter and the mysterious, tragic girl called Sparrow will be read – right to the very end …

Luke could have been a superhero, except he needed to wee… Super-exciting, laugh-out-loud funny, and with enough heart to fill an entire galaxy.
Luke is a comic-mad eleven-year-old who shares a treehouse with his geeky older brother, Zach. Luke’s only mistake is to need a wee right at the wrong moment. While he’s gone, an alien gives his undeserving, never-read-a-comic-in-his-life brother superpowers, then tells him to save the universe.
Luke is massively annoyed about this, but when Zach is kidnapped by his arch-nemesis, Luke and his friends only have five days to find him and save the world…

There’s a new kid in town and he wants Mitch’s wicketkeeping spot. The gloves are on! Get ready for a mighty Clash of the Keepers! Mitchell Starc and Marshall Spark have got loads in common. They both like keeping. They both like opening the batting. Even their names sound the same!

The Lorax is a hilarious and timeless story with the trademark humour and silly rhymes of Dr. Seuss, that packs a punch with its ecological message without feeling heavy-handed or worthy. The Lorax is the original eco warrior as he tries to save the Truffula trees from the greedy once-ler’s axe, and the Dr Seuss blend of zany pictures and unique rhyme, rhythm and repetition mean that all ages will learn from and love this wonderful book.

Shipwrecked and cast adrift, Lemuel Gulliver wakes to find himself on Lilliput, an island inhabited by little people, whose height makes their quarrels over fashion and fame seem ridiculous. His subsequent encounters – with the crude giants of Brobdingnag, the philosophical Houyhnhnms and brutish Yahoos – give Gulliver new, bitter insights into human behaviour, Swift’s savage satire views mankind in a distorted hall of mirrors as a diminished, magnified and finally bestial species, presenting us with an uncompromising reflection of ourselves.

A story about finding friendship when you’re lonely – and hope when all you feel is fear. Twelve-year-old Matthew is trapped in his bedroom by crippling OCD, spending most of his time staring out of his window as the inhabitants of Chestnut Close go about their business. Until the day he is the last person to see his next door neighbour’s toddler, Teddy, before he goes missing. Matthew must turn detective and unravel the mystery of Teddy’s disappearance – with the help of a brilliant cast of supporting characters.

Halley, Koby and Mimi have been sent a nanny to look after them while their parents are away. The only problem? Their nanny is a monster! Grah is enormous, hairy, dusty and doesn’t talk. As the three siblings search for answers, they discover that other neighbourhood kids have also been left with similar creatures. So where did they all come from? With no parents around and the fate of their new nanny at stake, the Hellman kids must depend on each other as they solve the mystery of the monsters – and maybe even help them get back to their home.

David Warner wasn’t always the Australian cricket legend he is today. He was once a kid, too, just like you.
Follow the adventures of Little Davey Warner, his friends, and his dog, Max, who are OBSESSED with cricket. They love it so much they want to play it all day long, but there’s always something – or someone – getting in their way.

Wilbur didn’t want food, he wanted love. He wanted a friend – someone who would play with him.
One spring morning a little girl called Fern rescues a runt and names him Wilbur. But then Wilbur is sent to live on a farm where he meets Charlotte, a beautiful large grey spider. They become best friends and, when Wilbur is faced with a dreadful fate, Charlotte must find a very clever way to save him.

School is back and after EDDY POPCORN’S Guide to Parent Training was accidentally uploaded to the school blog, Eddy’s punishment isn’t detention, but PUBLIC SPEAKING! Teachers are the WORST! Forced to face extreme HUMILIATION, Eddy decides to write his guide to avoiding classroom cruelty: Eddy Popcorns Guide to Teacher Taming.

Welcome to future Earth. Our oceans have become polluted to such an extent that all marine life is now just a memory. Rising from the murky depths stirs new mechanical life, created by humans and now evolving outside any control.
These new species have grown to threaten humanity as we know it. Welcome to the world of Aquatica.
Filled with inventive and awe-inspiring images and details, this book is sure to spark readers’ imaginations! Kids will marvel at the steampunk-inspired renderings of mechanical aquatic creatures!

Collecting Colour was inspired by author and illustrator Kylie Dunstan s time spent as an Arts Officer at a community centre in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory. One of her duties was to take the local women out on bush trips to collect pandanus and colour for weaving and dyeing the mats and baskets sold in the Arts Centre.

I’m Australian! How about you?
Many people from many places have come across the seas to make Australia their home. How Australian is that? From countries near and far, many have made their home in Australia, sharing it with the original inhabitants, and living in peace beneath the Southern Star. Mem Fox celebrates Australia’s incredible multicultural heritage in this beautiful book illustrated by Ronojoy Ghosh.

A picture book with fundamental philosophical questions, posed in a way only Jostein Gaarder is capable of. The illustrator has made an independent visual narrative that underscores the existential aspect of Jostein Gaarder’s philosophical questions. Questions Asked shows confidence in a child’s capacity to think deeply and read between the lines. The book follows a little boy traveling alone in an open landscape. Soon we realize he is on a journey of thoughts and dreams, asking questions about loss, myth, language, magic, and what it means to be a human being.

How does 1 + 1 = 288? A family of rabbits soon supplies the answer in this extraordinary story. Hop along over to Fibonacci’s Field and follow Lonely and Chalk Rabbit throughout a year as they try to cope with their rapidly expanding brood while handling a different seasonal challenge each month, from the cold of February to the wet of April and the heat of July. This interactive picture book—formatted like a calendar, including holes for hanging—slyly introduces the mathematical concept of exponential multiplication and is packed with gorgeous details and novelty elements, including a baby rabbit record book, a carrot recipe book, and a surprise pop-up ending.

One little dot marks the beginning of Vashti’s journey of surprise and self-discovery in Peter H. Reynolds’ multiple award-winning modern classic. In this inspiring, award-winning story of self-expression and creativity from Peter H. Reynolds, illustrator of Ish and the Judy Moody series, Vashti thinks she can’t draw. But her teacher is sure that she can. She knows that there’s creative spirit in everyone, and encourages Vashti to sign the angry dot she makes in frustration on a piece of paper. This act makes Vashti look at herself a little differently, and helps her discover that where there’s a dot there’s a way… With wit, charm and free-spirited illustrations, Peter H. Reynolds encourages even the stubbornly uncreative among us to make a mark – and follow where it takes us.

Selig collects words, ones that stir his heart (Mama!) and ones that make him laugh (giggle). But what to do with so many luscious words? After helping a poet find the perfect words for his poem (lozenge, lemon, and licorice), he figures it out: His purpose is to spread the word to others. And so he begins to sprinkle, disburse, and broadcast them to people in need.

You thought you knew the story of the “The Three Little Pigs”… You thought wrong. In this hysterical and clever fracture fairy tale picture book that twists point of view and perspective, young readers will finally hear the other side of the story of “The Three Little Pigs.”

Wonderfully quirky, this book breathes new life into staid children’s stories. In these irreverent variations on well-known themes, the ugly duckling grows up to be an ugly duck, and the princess who kisses the frog wins only a mouthful of amphibian slime.

For more than thirty years, this Dr. Seuss classic has carried us through life’s ups and downs – from fun times and triumphs, to lurches and slumps! Take an entertaining look at the adventures life has in store for all of us in this very special paperback edition of the beloved classic. The perfect gift for every moment in life, from graduations, weddings and birthdays, to those when you just need a little lift.

A boy finds a lost ‘thing’ on the beach where he’s scavenging for his bottle top collection. The thing is a large, freakish creature but no one except him really notices it. A quirky tale about finding your place in the world.

Late on Christmas Eve a boy boards a mysterious train that waits for him: the Polar Express, bound for the North Pole. When he arrives there, Santa offers him any gift he desires. The boy modestly asks for one bell from the reindeer’s harness. It turns out to be a very special gift, for only believers in Santa can hear it ring.

Maggie holds tight to her mother as they await the long anticipated apology to show a willingness to reconcile the past for future generations. In the excitement of the crowd Maggie loses touch of her mother’s hand as is lost.

A bright, science-minded boy goes to the beach equipped to collect and examine flotsam—anything floating that has been washed ashore. Bottles, lost toys, small objects of every description are among his usual finds. But there’s no way he could have prepared for one particular discovery: a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera, with its own secrets to share… and to keep.

Fox is a picture book in a class of its own. A compelling drama about friendship, loyalty, risk and betrayal, it’s a story as rich for adults as for children. Dog and Magpie are friends, but when Fox comes into the bush, everything changes.

Merging expressive cartoon network-esque illustrations with beautiful black and white photographs of Brooklyn, this funny story tells how Trixie and Knuffel Bunny’s trip to the laundromat with Dad goes terribly wrong when Trixie realizes some bunny’s been left behind…! Her attempts to alert Dad all the way home are unsuccessful, until Mum points out that Knuffel Bunny is missing and the family hotfoot it back to the laundromat. Fortunately, KB is safe, if a little wet…

Selby’s secret is that he is the only talking dog in Australia and, perhaps, the world. Practising his pronouns in front of the mirror, he has wonderful dreams of cosy fireside chats with is owners, the Trifles. But, almost too late, Selby realises that his remarkable gift could change him forever from family pooch to family servant. He must keep it a secret at all costs and that isn’t always easy.

The novels feature the adventures of a group of young children – Julian, Dick, Anne, Georgina (George) and her dog Timmy. The vast majority of the stories take place in the children’s school holidays. Each time they meet they get caught up in an adventure, often involving criminals or lost treasure. Sometimes the scene is set close to George’s family home at Kirrin Cottage, such as the picturesque Kirrin Island, owned by George and her family in Kirrin Bay. George’s own home and various other houses the children visit or stay in are hundreds of years old and often contain secret passages or smugglers’ tunnels.

Join A.J. and the Ella Mentry School gang as they face one crazy teacher who can’t add or subtract, another who collects garbage, and a principal who hangs upside down from the flagpole! Could second grade be any weirder

A war has been raging between the dragon tribes of Pyrrhia for years. According to a prophecy, five dragonets will end the bloodshed and choose a new queen. But not every dragonet wants a destiny. And when Clay, Tsunami, Glory, Starflight, and Sunny discover the truth about their unusual, secret upbringing, they might choose freedom over fate and find a way to save their world in their own way.