By Lori Calabrese
One important job as a parent, as if you didn’t have enough, is building a library for your son. One of the biggest factors to raising a reader is the quality and amount of books you make available for your young reader. However, parents already have many expenses and the average price for a hardcover children’s book is $19.99. So how do you build a library for your son that will encourage his love of reading and provide him with a bunch of titles he’ll remember forever?
In a time when everyone’s taking a look at ways to be frugal, you can also find some budget-friendly ways to provide books for your young readers.
2. Hardcover vs. Paperback:
Hardcovers are usually appropriate for young children, since they’ll hold up better to the wear and tear, but the truth is, paperbacks cost less. You can create a much less expensive library with paperbacks and often find the same quality titles available in hardback.
3. Thrift stores:
Thrift stores are a great resource to search for books.
4. Dollar Stores and Dollar Bins:
If you peruse the dollar bins at stores such as Target, you’ll often find board books for babies and toddlers for only $1. Sometimes they even mark items down in the dollar bins to 50% off, so you can get books for $.50!
5. Gifts:
6. Garage and Yard Sales:
Many parents whose children have outgrown their books will often try to declutter their house by selling them at garage and yard sales. Since most children like to mouth books and have wet hands while turning pages, turn to a safe non-toxic cleaner and give the books a good swipe.
7. Community Programs:
There are wonderful community programs that you can enroll in such as Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Available in select communities, this wonderful program provides free books for children until they turn 5. See if any of these programs are available in your area.
8.Book Stores:
Book Stores often have a discount rack where you can find children’s titles appropriate for your son’s library. Most of these book stores also offer reward programs (make sure it’s at no cost to you) and sign up for e-mail alerts because they’ll also send coupons.
9. Used Book Stores:
Used Book Stores are a wonderful place to find used books at a discount price.
10. Book Swaps:
Look in your community for book swap opportunities. You can simply find another parent and trade books your son might not be interested in for others. You can also check at your grocery store, as some stores offer a book swap table where you can donate your used books and take another.
Building your son’s library is an investment that will pay off by instilling a love of reading in your child, and these are just a few ways you don’t have to break the bank to do it. As your son grows older, keep books on low shelves or in baskets where he can see them and get them himself. Also teach a respect for books early on and show children where their books belong, so they’re not covering your living room floor. For example, one great idea is to decorate a large cardboard box with color copies of your child’s favorite books’ covers. You can cover the copies with craft glue, so they won’t rip. Then teach your son to return his books to the box when finished and every few days, play librarian and return the books to your shelves. While building your son’s library, remember that what your child will truly remember is the time you curl up with him to read a good book.
“A home without books is like a room without windows …
A library is not a luxury but one of the necessities of life.”
~Henry Ward Beecher
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About the Author: Lori Calabrese is the award-winning children’s author of The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade. To learn more about Lori and her books, and to subscribe to the Book Bugz Newsletter, please visit www.loricalabrese.com
