When I was expecting my first, I was very focused on keeping things minimal. We lived in a small one bedroom apartment, and clutter was a constant source of frustration.
As the pregnancy progressed, my lovable husband was on a journey to gather all the best children’s books on planet Earth, and the boxes of books kept growing. My husband and I were clearly not always on the same page about clutter.
I will take the time now to say, I wholeheartedly support building a library and encouraging children to read. What is slightly less pleasing are the “gopher mounds” of books all over the apartment. We have since upsized to a bigger apartment.
If you would like to create your own trip hazards while encouraging your childrens’ joy of reading, here is some advice I wish I had known earlier.
Many libraries have a donated or “retired” book store. Often named “Friends of [some library],” it is essentially a small- to medium-sized book store that sells a rotating collection of gently used or new books for a quarter to a few dollars (less than a cup of coffee!).
Books and reading are incredibly important for our childrens’ development. Don’t pay for new books! Reuse them instead!
- “Friends of” libraries, and some public libraries themselves, usually have a big book sale at least once a year. Generally, great prices.
- “Buy Nothing” or mom’s groups on Facebook - as kids age out of books, many actively look to offload and clean out their shelves. This is a great time to find loved, popular selections.
- Ebay - you can score books
- Amazon - Amazon has deals all-year-round. Some are “buy two, get one free,” while other ebooks can often be free. Amazon Bargain Books
Our local library is amazing, but its friends of library book store is not very good compared to neighboring towns. So, check nearby libraries to see, if they have better prices or selections. At the end of the day, what I truly love is the money we spend locally goes back to fund the community library.
Hope these tips save you $$ and help surround your little with more books!
Make time to read the books with your wonderful children!
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