How Many Books Does Your <1 Year Old Have?

I have about 15 board books for my 5 month old. You don't really have to worry about them being bored since they love repitition...it's basically variety so you don't go crazy saying the words to Hop on Pop for the 1,000th time.

My MIL went crazy and we probably have a good 20 that the kids can do what ever they want with. We still have around 50 or so in the closet that they are not ready for. They are regular paper or pop up pages. They have torn out the pop ups on one book so the rest are put away for now.

Hi- Borrow, trade, thrift stores, Ebay etc. I say you can never have too many books! At 7 & 11 both my girls are huge readers and they grew up surrounded by books. Have fun!
I just have to add, don't deny your child the fun and experience of the library because you're worried about germs or them ruining the book. The library experience is awesome and you can borrow books that you keep just to read aloud to her. I bet your local library also has a story time she would love.

I also did not buy used books or get library books for my son when he was little. I'm a consignment sale junkie but just now at 2 started buying books at them, and we still dont do the library.

Get on the borders rewards program. No cost to join, and they send coupons constantly. I browse the store if I am in the area, and they have a huge discount sections. I rarely or maybe even never buy a book full priced. I check bargain bins at walmart and the dollar section at target. At nine months we had a lot of not-so-quality bargain books and quite a few real books that we still read. Those dollar store books were great at first though. Keep you eyes open for books, you will see them in the weirdest places. I got $3 big nice books at Joann's Fabrics once, and they have ended up being 2 of our favorites.

Oh, also, Kohls has books and stuffed animals all the time that are $5 per book or animal and it benefits their Kohls Cares for Kids charity, so you get a hardbound quality book for $5 and the profits go to childrens literacy. I have tons of those books, and they do good books- Dr Suess and Eric Carle.

At nine months you really only need a few, maybe a half a dozen bargain books. Or a few bargain books that he can gum and hold, and a few really good quality bedtime stories. But books are one of those things that I keep an eye out for because my son loves them as much as me and we have dozens and dozens of them now.

You don't need to have a ton...a half dozen or so should be just fine. The important part is the interaction with you and the child while "reading". When I get bored I sometimes switch it up and we look threw the pages and instead of reading the story I just point to all the things on the pages and say what they are...colors, shapes, animals and the noises they make, etc. Essentially this way makes every 1 book, 2 books!

Don't worry about it...

I have a 13 month old, but we haven't bought new books in months. She probably has a good 20+ books. Fortunately for us, most were gifts because you are right they are expensive. She has always had access to all her books and . I think she is starting to understand more and it increased her interested instead of getting bored. I like to pick books that have a lot of great pictures and colors so that you can tell your own stories using the books and work on colors, shapes, etc. as well. I know the Borders and Barnes and Noble always have great bargain prices on books, you just have to be in a position to look, so it maybe a good idea, if possible, to go to the bookstores alone so you can take some time to make sure you are getting the best book for your baby at a good price. For what it's worth, my daughter loves Good Night Gorilla (we have spanish version) and Barnyard Dance. I read them to her at least 4-5 times a day each. Brown Bear, Brown Bear is another favorite in our house.

Hi S.S.,

I have a tip for you for when your child is a bit older and no longer chewing on the books. We are a big book family, but as you said, books are expensive. I buy most of my kid's books (and mine too) at thrift stores. You would be amazed how many new copies of books are donated. One of the stores I frequent sells paperback for 25 cents and hardcover for 50 cents.
It is hard to go back to Barnes and Noble after those prices.

Of course, since your toddler is still chewing on them, I do not recommend the thrift store books yet. I always only buy those in good shape and wipe them down with wipes before passing them on to my kids.

Another option is the internet. I have bought books from overstock.com and they seem to be less expensive than the bookstore sites. Like the other mom said at your son's age they love the same stories over and over. If he seems no longer interested in reading time that might be your cue to add on a title or two.

Happy Reading.

C.

Hi there,
I would say less than 20 would be more than enough for a 1 year old. We have tons of them and most just sit around collecting dust. Like many of the other ladies have mentioned - having mainly picture board books is a great idea. However, the books that have worked well for us are the Sandra Boynton books. They are fun to read and for some reason both of my children at that age loved them. (and still love them)
:o) M.

Not a lot. I know when my two kids were under a year they were never very interested in books. I never borrowed and still never borrow from the library because of mouthing when they were little and because I don't want themm to get lost now.

I did buy more books then toys though, because people seem to give more toys/clothes than books. Do you have a half price books? That is a great place to get them for a lot cheaper. Or Craigslist. I got 20 something Clifford books from a woman for $7....you can't beat that.

When you do get books, I found the picture ones with real pictures worked best for mine.....first animals, first foods, stuff like that.

At that age, my girl didn't get easily bored, she does now that she's four and I'm at the library once a week! But I used to have four books and I was more than happy to receive more from friends and family as a gift because I was the one getting bored reciting the same thing over each night. Wouldn't worry about how many, really.

Look for second-hand books on Craigslist or your local consignment/thrift store. I got a big box full of books for $10 on Craigslist. We also found some good books at our local thrift store, for a fraction of the full price.

If there are some good books that I definitely want to buy but have a hard time finding second-hand, I watch out for the 25-30-40% off coupons that Borders sends out and use them.

Borders also has a bargain section where I buy board books with really good prices.

To keep your baby interested, you can separate the books into two groups and rotate them weekly/biweekly. This also works with toys.

I would say you need two types of books. The first being board books, or the type the child is allowed to hold and are stored on a book shelf with his/her toys. I recommend about 10. Yes they are expensive, but they go along way. Not only are they good for baby, but they're also good for when they start reading. Especially those that have complete sentences. You can buy them at consignment stores or used book stores. Buy the ones that have a plastic coating on them and wipe them down before giving them to baby.

The second would be a collection of story books. These are books that are stored out of babies reach and ones that you cuddle up and read to him/her. I recommend about 10 of these. Or you can make regular trips to the library.

By 18 months my daughter had over 100 books. And yes, we read every single one of them, most of them over 100 times. We would often read 20 books a day.

Books and reading with a parent are a priceless gift for any age child. The more the better.

If you choose not to buy new books because of the price, consider old books that you can clean with a non-toxic cleaner. I suspect many books for your age child will be board books and cleanable. Also, consider asking family and friends for books or e-certificates to Amazon (or wherever) in lieu of other gifts.

You are a great parent to incorporate books for your child.

At one year of age, I would recommend "board" books. Goodnight Gorilla, Goodnight Mooon, The Hungry Caterpillar, Freight Train, etc.
My DD is three. Although I do not promote her tearing up books, I buy used ones. The thrift store is a good place. I bought around 8 books my last trip. Most are somewhat tattered, but are in good enough condition to read. I paid $1.35 for the bunch. My heart is not AS destroyed if she tears a page or two!!!
Another thing I did was not to intrduce coloring books until she was at an age to understand NOT to color in regular books. She always just got paper and tablets to draw on. Once she was old enough, she got coloring books with the understanding that you color in those, not regular books. She has never colored in a book!!!! Perhaps my theory worked!?!
Good Luck in your book search!!!!

Margaret :)

P.S. To answer your "how many" question, at one, I would think starting off with just a handful would suffice.

Funnily enough toddlers will read the same book happily over and over and over and over...so you don't NEED a lot, just some favorites...but they can be had very cheaply on craigslist or at goodwill shops if you are patient. Some of our very favorite ones have been picked up at garage sales etc. i know you might be a little wary of board books chewed on by someone else but take note for later, she won't always chew on them. Sometimes I bring my 3 older kids to a local goodwill store for a treat and tell them they have a $2 budget each that they can pool or spend but it's "use it or lose it." My 8 year old son got two Encyclopedia Brown books for 69 cents apiece and couldn't be happier. He has stopped bothering me about getting a Wii (at least for a little while.)

Books are expensive, I agree! Little, little ones (luckily) love repetition so read him what you have. What's important at that age is that he hears language, voice tone, inflection, etc. I would say if you have 10 books, you're good. Always ask for books when someone asks you for gift ideas! You can even have a "book party" for his first birthday!