Special Collections
Grade 2-3 Common Core Text Exemplars
Description: These books exemplify the level of complexity that Common Core State Standards require students to engage with. While the choices serve to help educators select texts of similar complexity, quality, and range, this not a required reading list. #teachers
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From Seed to Plant
by Gail GibbonsExplores the intricate relationship between seeds and the plants which they produce. [This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
The Fire Cat
by Esther AverillA young cat has big paws and wants to do big things with them. But since he lives in a barrel in a yard, the only thing he can find to do is chase smaller cats away. He is befriended by Mrs. Goodkind and eventually ends up at the firehouse, where he learns to help the firemen and other cats, finally doing something big.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts for grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
A Drop of Water
by Walter WickThe most spectacular photographs ever created on the subject of water appear in this unique science book by Walter Wick. The camera stops the action and magnifies it so that all the amazing states of water can be observed - water as ice, rainbow, stream, frost, dew. Readers can examine a drop of water as it falls from a faucet, see a drop of water as it splashes on a hard surface, count the points of an actual snowflake, and contemplate how drops of water form clouds.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Crittercam
by Andrew EinspruchThis book is all about Crittercams and how these scientists use them to study everything the animal does.
The Cricket in Times Square
by George SeldenAfter Chester, a cricket, arrives in the Times Square subway station, he takes up residence in a newsstand. Between escapades in New York City, Chester and four new friends manage to bring success to the almost bankrupt newsstand.
Newbery Medal honors book
Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa
by Erica Silverman and Betsy LewinA Theodor Seuss Geisel Award Honor Book Hold on to your hats! Two new pals have arrived on the scene: Cowgirl Kate and her stubborn, but devoted cowhorse, Cocoa. Together they count the herd, ride the range, and, of course, argue till the cows come home--as only best friends can do.With its spirited text and bright, humorous illustrations by Caldecott Honor recipient Betsy Lewin, this first book in the Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa series is bound to be a hit with young wranglers everywhere. This title has been selected as a Common Core Text Exemplar (Grades 2-3, Stories)
Charlotte's Web
by E. B. WhiteThis beloved book by E. B. White, author of Stuart Little and The Trumpet of the Swan, is a classic of children's literature that is "just about perfect." Some Pig. Humble. Radiant. These are the words in Charlotte's Web, high up in Zuckerman's barn.
Charlotte's spiderweb tells of her feelings for a little pig named Wilbur, who simply wants a friend. They also express the love of a girl named Fern, who saved Wilbur's life when he was born the runt of his litter. E. B. White's Newbery Honor Book is a tender novel of friendship, love, life, and death that will continue to be enjoyed by generations to come.
This book supports the Common Core State Standards Includes image descriptions. Image descriptions present.
Bud, Not Buddy
by Christopher Paul Curtis"It's funny how ideas are, in a lot of ways they're just like seeds. Both of them start real, real small and then... woop, zoop, sloop... before you can say Jack Robinson, they've gone and grown a lot bigger than you ever thought they could."
So figures scrappy 10-year-old philosopher Bud--"not Buddy"--Caldwell, an orphan on the run from abusive foster homes and Hoovervilles in 1930s Michigan. And the idea that's planted itself in his head is that Herman E. Calloway, standup-bass player for the Dusky Devastators of the Depression, is his father. Guided only by a flier for one of Calloway's shows--a small, blue poster that had mysteriously upset his mother shortly before she died--Bud sets off to track down his supposed dad, a man he's never laid eyes on. And, being 10, Bud-not-Buddy gets into all sorts of trouble along the way, barely escaping a monster-infested woodshed, stealing a vampire's car, and even getting tricked into "busting slob with a real live girl."
Christopher Paul Curtis, author of The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963, once again exhibits his skill for capturing the language and feel of an era and creates an authentic, touching, often hilarious voice in little Bud.
Newbery Medal Winner and Winner of the Coretta Scott King Medal
Winner of Pacific Northwest Library Association’s Young Reader’s Choice Junior Award
Boy, Were We Wrong About Dinosaurs!
by Kathleen V. Kudlinski and S. D. SchindlerThe ancient Chinese thought dinosaurs were magical dragons. Some old-time scientists thought that because they were so big, all they could do was float in water. Boy, were they wrong! This lively book about the perennially popular subject of dinosaurs offers fascinating insight into how certain theories were formed, and then how those theories were proved or disproved. It demonstrates that scientific thought is as creative as it is logical and invites budding scientists to come up with their own ideas.
Amos and Boris
by William SteigAmos the mouse and Boris the whale: a devoted pair of friends with nothing at all in common, except good hearts and a willingness to help their fellow mammal. They meet after Amos sets out to sail the sea and finds himself in extreme need of rescue. And there will come a day, long after Boris has gone back to a life at sea and Amos has gone back to life on dry land, when the tiny mouse must find a way to rescue the great whale.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts for grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
Ah, Music!
by AlikiSurveys the history and components of music, concentrating on Western musical traditions.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]
14 Cows for America
by Carmen Agra Deedy and Wilson Kimeli NaiyomahIt is June of 2002, and a very unusual ceremony begins in a far-flung village in western Kenya.
An American diplomat is surrounded by hundreds of Maasai people. A gift is about to be bestowed on the men, women, and children of America, and he is there to accept it. The gift is as unsought and unexpected as it is extraordinary.
A mere nine months have passed since the September 11 attacks, and hearts are raw. Tears flow freely from American and Maasai alike as these legendary warriors offer their gift to a grieving people half a world away.
World of the gift will travel news wires around the globe. Many will be profoundly touched, but for Americans, this selfless gesture will have deeper meaning still.
For a heartsick nation, the gift of fourteen cows emerges from the choking dust and darkness as a soft light of hope ... and friendship.
[This text is listed as an example that meets Common Core Standards in English language arts in grades 2-3 at http://www.corestandards.org.]