Kindergarten Book Boxes

Kindergarten teachers often have questions as they try to figure out the logistics of a kindergarten book box. Experience from work in our own classrooms, as well as others, has made kindergarten book box challenges a thing of the past, and we want to share some tips with you.

What books go in a kindergarten book box? Emerging readers have 8–10 books in their book box. Many of the books they choose are picture books or beginning readers, and we find that 8–10 is enough to keep young readers engaged during Daily 5. Books included are a blend of picture books and emergent-level readers.

Who chooses them? At the beginning of the year, we load book boxes with books of nursery rhymes, phonetic readers, emergent books, and familiar picture books so students have books to read when building stamina. As stamina builds and students become more familiar with the three ways to read a book, we introduce I PICK and teach our young readers how to choose a good-fit book. Then we gradually release the process of book choice to our students, and because of the explicit teaching and clear expectations, they are highly successful with this process.

How often do students change books? As often as they need to. Because young readers typically go through books quickly, we find they often need an opportunity to book shop once or twice each week. We provide this time before school or at other designated times during the day, and we even allow them to choose book shopping once each week as their choice for Daily 5.

It is most important to remember that all students, even our youngest readers, need choice, a robust selection of books from which to choose, and time to select books they want to read. It’s an important step in becoming a lifelong reader.