Nietzsche and Calculus are just about their level. Have fun!
I was just about to post almost the exact thing. I have a 2nd grade boy - obsessed with sports, loves non-fiction much more than fiction (although, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series is the exception), and has really enjoyed the graphic novels we’ve gotten from the library. One that was especially well-received was The Secret Science Alliance. He also loves comic books - Snoopy is a particular favorite, because besides sports, he’s also obsessed with dogs. Another subject he likes is natural disasters. Tornadoes, hurricanes, avalanches, and volcanoes (great book on Krakatoa) fascinate him.
2nd graders are like people, only smaller and insane by human standards.
I don’t like to generalize, but I must say that they’re universally disturbingly short. Also, many of them are loud.
I would ask Jonathan what he likes early on since, as Johnny L. A. put it, second graders are like people, that is every one of them is different.
I have two kids, one in grade 1, one in grade 3 (in American-ese, that’s “one’s a first grader, one’s a third grader”. Thus ends my translation for the maple syrup-impaired. For the rest of the post, you’re on your own). My grade 3er loved to read since kindergarten, so that applies to grade 2 too, she reads anything she can get her hands on, and she loves to read to her younger brother. Getting on to him, and probably more germane to Jonathan (as you can probably guess, he wouldn’t like stuff girls like), my son has been obsessed with cars since the age of 4 months (I still don’t know why, cars baffle me) and likes books about cars or superheroes.
But that’s my son, not Jonathan. Once you start with generic stuff meant to appeal to any grade 2 boy (can’t go wrong with them, they’re universal), ask him what he likes.
My son is a second grade. He is above grade level in reading, but if the subject isn’t something he likes, he is uninterested in reading it and it can be torture for both of us. So, I have to talk to him, listen to him, and when I find out what he is currently into, I tear up the library kids room until I find all I can about it. Currently he is into Titanic and weather phenomenon. I asked him about Beyblade and he could only say he had heard the word but didn’t know anything about it. Go figger.
For a blind meeting, though, safe bets for second graders are poems by Shel Silverstein (short, illustrated, funny) as well as Walter the Farting Dog (for obvious reasons.) Joke books, especially gross-out jokes, are also popular around here.
Or “How do you spell icup?” That’s the knee-slapper one of my girls brought home Friday (I have 2 girls in 2nd grade).
Generally I find their classmates pretty friendly and easier to relate to than they were in K or 1st. One of my girls loves to read and is into chapter books. She’s seriously into animals. The other isn’t as far along reading-wise but knows more than she thinks she does and can do fine when she doesn’t get the vapors at homework time or is otherwise inspired (hey, all of a sudden she can read). Their classes recently wrote little “real fiction” stories with dialog, different settings, illustrations, and so on.
They’ve been using computers for a few years now, so they know quite a bit about the internet, using Google, and some of the lingo. Between my wife and I they have access to ipods, ipod touch, droid phone, blackberry, so they can find their way around those devices, too. Of course the impetus for this learning is to get to the games and the Justin Bieber songs.
He should like “knock-knock” jokes, too . For example,
Knock-knock.
Who’s there ?
Tarzan.
Tarzan who?
Tarzan stripes forever.
That was my son’s reaction, too - he’s vaguely heard about them, but didn’t really know what they were.
The posse of boys at the bus stop were literally rolling on the ground laughing at that one a few weeks ago.
They are happy, excitable, and still take an amazing amount of joy from the very simplest things in life. Their innocent statements are amazingly wise & quotable. Possibly the best 2 hours I’ve spent this entire weekend was taking one of them sledding.
Thank Og for second graders…and for giving me another chance to see life through their eyes.
All the responses here make me feel less nervous. 2nd graders are people… who knew!?
I’ll take any other words of advice you have and check back in next week after my first meeting.
Weak! 
Knock-knock.
Who’s there?
Kung.
Kung who?
Kung FU! (Accompanied with Elvis karate chop).
That one NEVER fails. Even at funerals.
UPDATE
I met Jonathan today and neither one of us needs therapy after the visit.
In this program, I meet with him once a week during his lunch period and we talk, read books, etc. The goal is to give under-performing kids some one-on-one attention with an adult that isn’t one of the authority figures they already spend all day with.
He was shy, but seemed friendly. He wasn’t very talkative on his own, but was happy to answer my questions. I read one book to him, a picture book called Knuffle Bunny that he already knew pretty well and liked. Then we pulled out a “find the hidden object in the picture” book. He became very lively as we raced each other to find the objects. Next week, we’re going to do a few more pages from that book.
Also: Elementary school cafeterias smell TERRIBLE.
This is very cool of you to do. Can you set a goal for him to be able to read you his favorite book by the end of the year?
I wish my daughter had one of you! She is behind in reading (a little, she has done a drastic amount of catching up in the last year). We work with her at home but it isn’t the same when your parents do it as when someone else does it.
Good on you!
I’ve been trying to figure out what kind of goal to set. Next meeting, I’m going to encourage Jonathan to read to me a little bit and see where his skills lie. He summarized the plot of his favorite book for me in great detail, so I think he has a decent attention span and comprehension level.
perfectparanoia, when I was a kid, it was always fun to get attention from “new” adults. It was way more interesting than hearing from the same old teachers and parents.