Japanese Graded Readers: Level 2: 1 (Japanese Edition)

This is about as good as graded readers get. By retelling fairy tales and classic stories, the authors tried very hard to overcome the fatal flaw of graded readers: being boring. Despite their herculean efforts, this collection of graded readers is still pretty boring. Other than entertainment, it has a lot to offer.

Here's what this collection of graded readers can do for you:

• Lock in the basics of N5 level grammar.
• Fill in gaps in your vocabulary.
• Bridge the gap between graded readers and manga. (You should be ready to read からかい上手の元高木さん after finishing this.)
• Get you used to reading vertically.

Here's what this collection of graded readers is lacking:

• Any of the natural spoken Japanese you'll come across regularly in manga. Even common contractions like shortening "ている" to "てる" and "ては" to "ちゃ" are eschewed.
• Non-formal Japanese. Just about everything uses です and ます.