The “Romp 100, the 100 best books used to teach literacy to Karin Miller and Tonja Baker’s kindergarteners this year, have several key elements.
First off, they feature relatable characters. Five- and six-year-olds connect deeply with stories about animals, friendship and first experiences, like starting school or managing big feelings. The books help the kindergartens build their vocabulary, describe things and tell stories.
They also have engaging rhythms, alliteration and repetition phrases. "Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see?" is incredibly catchy and helps kids predict what comes next. The books help the young students hear sounds in words and learn letters.
They have uncluttered, colorful and large illustrations, perfectly matching the storyline so young readers can follow along visually.
They are also highly interactive; they invite children to chime in. They use laugh-out-loud humor and onomatopoeia, words that phonetically imitate the sounds they describe, like thud, hiss, moo and buzz. They direct questions at the reader, or use visual elements, like an interactive pop-up or lift-the-flap, to keep children highly engaged.
Finally, the story line in a best book for kindergarteners is designed to build social-emotional skills like empathy and bravery.
For “reading” the Romp 100, the kindergarteners got to choose a stuffie, a stuffed animal based off a character from one of the books. They were delivered by Kathy Mentjes from the Le Center Library on Wednesday, May 27.
The Romp 100 program is funded by a state grant and sponsored by the Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System. It can be followed outside of school. All the books on the list are stocked in all nine of the library system’s locations. Any child who “reads” the 100 books, whether done in a daycare or with parents or grandparents, for example, can get a stuffie from one of the libraries.
For more on the Romp 100, visit a blog about the program on the Waseca-Le Sueur Regional Library System website.
Above: Karin Miller reads to her kindergarten class.
Choosing a stuffie was serious business.
Karin Miller’s kindergarteners with their stuffies
Tonja Baker’s kindergartners with their stuffies