November 13, 2013

Building a Baby Library on a Budget

I love to read and I have for as long as I can remember.  I can remember longing to be able to read and was so excited when I finally learned.  I want to pass this passion on to Munchkin.  Many Waters Reading a Book To help with that, The Man and I have done our best to build her library and read with her.  I think it’s working as she currently loves to pull her books off the shelf and sit down and look at them.  Then she’ll bring them to us to read to her.  Books can be expensive, especially when you know they are going to take a beating in the hands of a toddler.  Here are some ways I built Munchkin’s library without spending a fortune:

1.  Register for books

As we was making our baby registry, we made sure to add books to it.  We put several of the classics on it, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon, and several Dr. Suess books.  Target and Babies R Us both have decent book selections as does Amazon.  This let people know that we wanted books and helped us not to get duplicates.

2. Book Baby Shower

My cousin, who threw my shower, knows of my love for books.  For the baby shower, she asked my guests to bring a favorite children’s book instead of a card.  It was a great way to get Munchkin’s library started.  Many of my friend included a small note in the front, making the book even more special.  It was nice to get a range of books, from fabric ones to Shel Silverstein. 

3.  Discount Stores

I’ve found some great books for less at stores like TJ Maxx, Marshall’s and Ross.  They don’t always have a huge selection but if you hit it right you can find some good books.  Another place to check out is Kohl’s.  The Kohl’s Cares books are $5 and they are hardcover.  They change a few times a year and in the past there have been some great options.  Sometimes you can even get a plush of the main character in the books.

4. Goodwill

I stumbled onto this one.  People often give books to Goodwill.  I’ve found some in excellent and like new condition for 79 cents a piece.  I know some people will be freaked out cause they can’t clean it, but I did wipe down the covers and the inside pages (if they could handle it.)  For 79 cents a piece, this is a great way to add books to your library!

5. Yard Sales

I’ve gotten some great finds at yard sales, like hard cover Nancy Drew books (the ones I read as a kid!), Ramona and several other series for when she’s a little older.  I’ve also found board books and pop up books for her to read now.  At a church yard sale I picked up six Clifford books for a buck.  They are showing a little wear but if I bought them new they’d be looking like the ones I bought in no time.  I saved her the trouble of breaking them in!  They have all their pages and no rips or coloring in them. I think I got a great deal.  At a different yard sale I found a Nursery Rhyme book for 50 cents; I saw the same book (pictured below) in Toys R Us for eight dollars.  I’ll take the cheaper one, thank you very much!  Many Waters Cheap Book

The only thing with this point is that you need to be patient.  You might not find books right away.  You have to be willing to keep looking.  Your perseverance will eventually pay off.

6. From Friends

I’m blessed to have a group of friends at church who love to pass clothes, toys and books on when they no longer need them (it also helps that most of my friends have kids older than Munchkin!)  I’ve been able to add several books to Munchkin’s library this way.  Most of them are well loved (one or two have been missing the binding) but since they were free I’m not complaining. 

Many Waters Building A Baby Library on a Budget 2

Do you have any suggestions for building a library for a baby on a budget?

 

Linking up with:

 

43 comments:

  1. I think it's awesome you got her into books and reading as such a young age. Good job! :)

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  2. I also use Paperback Swap to get books!

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  3. I had a book shower too. Levi is a little book worm also. Have you tried your local library? Levi is still too busy for the toddler story time, but I love to borrow the board books from our local one and it helps to change out and add in a few new stories every few months.

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  4. Reading is very important. My youngest son loves book. We also get books from half price books, walmart, target, ask authors to do reviews on your blog (great way to get free books and share them with others).

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  5. This is a terrific post! I pinned it to my "reading" and "parenting" boards on Pinterest!

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  6. I found great books for kids at yard sales and library sales. My elementary school also used to do a used book sales too!

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  7. You are such a genius! My son does the same exact thing with books. I will definitely be considering all of these other options apart from just going out and spending hard-earned money on them! Thanks so much for the support on my new blog hop Countdown in Style. Don't forget to come back Friday to see if you've been featured. xoxo

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  8. Great tips, we also love to read and enjoy getting books from the library and also checking out e-books for free for my five year old.

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  9. Another tip: Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - they send you free books as your child grows. I know there's a specific registration period and it's only available in certain area but it's an awesome program.

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  10. I've never heard of this but it sounds great! Sadly it's not in our area:( Thanks for the tip!

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  11. I haven't gotten e-books yet...that's another great idea! Thanks for the tip:)

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  12. Those are great too! I have gotten a few at a library sale as well:) I love used books!

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  13. If you happened to know an Usborne Books & More consultant ;) , you could host a show and earn free books :)


    I love, love, love the idea of a book baby shower - I wish I'd thought of that when we were expecting E! Thanks for all of the ideas!!

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  14. I tried signing up for that when we lived in Pensacola, but we never got anything.

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  15. Cora's bookshelf includes some of the books I had as a kid! And yes, they are kinda falling apart (and taped back together). I've had some good finds at consignment sales. We got a Disney princess board book set for a good price, and she has been a fan of those for over a year. I also ask for books for her for holidays and birthdays because they are so much better than annoying battery-operated plastic toys. Take up less space, too.

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  16. Really? That's disappointing! The library I used to work for partnered with this program and people were getting books every month.

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  17. Love this list! I've seen the trend of books instead of cards and I think it's awesome. You'll probably keep the books way longer than you'll keep the card. I'm not one to purchase books anymore. We go to the library regularly, but if my children find a book they really like and want to read over and over again, I'll pick that one up. Never thought about getting them from Goodwill, which is funny because I pick all sorts of things from Goodwill!

    Thanks for sharing and linking up with Countdown in Style! Don't forget to come back on Friday to see if you were featured!

    ~~April~~

    100lbCountdown.com

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  18. Hi I wish I had read the tip abou the baby shower 11 years ago. Great idea. I did sign up for programs to get free books though. :)

    Mary-andering
    Creatively


    Mary-andering
    Among the Pages

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  19. I've discovered some amazing books which were given to me by family or friends with older children. Often these hand me down books contain wonderful children's classics that no longer are sold or widely available.

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  20. That's great! I love a lot of the older books too:)

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  21. YAY for free books! Thanks so much for visiting and commenting:)

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  22. It would help if I knew a consultant in my area:) Maybe you guys need to move out here! I met one and told her I wanted to have a party but she never got back in touch with me. I'll try again soon.

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  23. My mom has books from my childhood:) They're currently in a storage unit but they'll be at here house once she has one. I can't wait to pull them out again!

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  24. Thanks for visiting and commenting:)

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  25. I too have a serious addiction to books and used to have them stashed all over the house before I had kids. Seriously hoarding them in every nook and cranny. Now my house is filled with books like 5 Little Monkeys and Love You Forever. It's a pretty good trade off I think. I'm desperately hoping that Nicholas inherits my love of books and I think we're off to a pretty good start but these are some great ideas! Thanks for linking this up to The World Is My Classroom :)

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  26. I love that you're bringing the reading to your child! We love reading too. I get so amazed when people talk about putting their books in a basket for their child. Our collection would not fit in a basket. They have their very own good sized bookshelf! Most of them have been hand me downs from my parents and his parents, and others for birthdays, holidays, etc. One tradition I love and hold onto, is each year on our kids birthday we take them to the bookstore and they get to pick out one book.

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  27. Reading is so worth the effort, and the benefits are exponential and last a lifetime. Thank you for linking to Super Sunday Sync.

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  28. We have a ton of books too--and I get most of them at garage sales and library sales, thrift stores. Great idea of giving a book instead of a card! Thanks
    for linking up with the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Party. I have
    pinned your post to the Bloggers Brags Pinterest Board!

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  29. To read to your kids is so important. My daughter who is 3 and myself read every day - such a special time together.
    Thank-you for sharing and linking your wonderful post to "The Most Fabulous Link-up Jol". I am following you on a variety of different social media.
    Keren (From the blog: Fabulous-farmliving)

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  30. Awesome idea on the baby shower books instead of cards! That's such a great memory to keep and way to add in! AND: I just love her little face in that first picture :D

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  31. Love the book baby shower idea - cards are such a waste and a pain, in my opinion. My mom always gives the same 3 books to friends - the favorite of mine and each of my siblings growing up ;) I think garage sales are great... but don't knock the library, too. Now that our kids are older, we love having the library to supplement our collection so our 4 year old has new stuff to read every few weeks!

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  32. I LOVE this!!! That book baby shower is a FANTASTIC idea!!! I will need to keep that one in the back of my mind for sometime down the road!

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  33. Baby book showers are a super idea. My friend did it and ended up with about 50 books! You can also check the library because sometimes they have to get rid of books and end up selling them for 50 cents, that's how I got a bunch of mine.

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  34. I love finding books at Goodwill and Yard Sales! I was lucky because several of my friends started me out with lots of great books at my baby shower, totally unprompted, but I love the idea of a book instead of a card!

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  35. Finding great deals on good books is the best! It sounds like you have awesome friends:)

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  36. That Munchkin is just a stinker and is way too cute for her own good!

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  37. That's a great idea of your mom's! Just curious, what are the three titles? We've started going to the library too. I stress a little that she's going to ruin the books somehow though:/

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  38. "Are you my mother" was my brother's favorite. "I'll teach my dog 100 words" was mine. And "Go dog go" was my sister's :)

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  39. It was awesome! I love that some people wrote in them too. I'll be keeping those books:)

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  40. I've gotten some books that way too!

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  41. That can be a challenge! I'm so thankful for the library:)

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