Building Your Child's Library on a Budget

“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

One important job as a parent, as if you didn’t have enough, is building a library for your child. 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 child 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.

Library

As a parent, your local library is your friend. A library is a great resource that provides books at no cost to your family, provided you have a library card and remember to return the books on time. For preschoolers, libraries often offer free programs such as storytime and are a great way to expose your child to a world of books. Preschoolers will see it as a treat to make a trip to their local library and select books not available to them in their own collection. This is a wonderful way to try out books before purchasing them. You’ll find certain books your child is drawn to that will be worth investing in and you’ll see what your child’s interests are. Libraries also teach children the importance of taking care of books, since the books are not their own. Most libraries offer a free to a good home rack or bin. Often people donate books to their local libraries and if it’s an older book, or a duplicate, the library will place it on their free rack. Look out for book sales at your local library because it’s also a great place to find discounted books.

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.

Thrift stores are a great resource to search for books.

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!

Gifts
Tell loved ones that instead of overloading your children with toys for Christmas or birthdays, that they’re in need of books. Books make a wonderful gift, especially if the book is personalized by the gift-giver.

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.

Community Programs
I recently highlighted 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.

Book Stores often have a discount rack where you can find children’s titles appropriate for your child’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.

Used Book Stores are a wonderful place to find used books at a discount price.

Book Swaps
Look in your community for book swap opportunities. You can simply find another parent and trade books your child 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 child’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 child 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 child to return their books to the box when finished and every few days, play librarian and return the books to your shelves. While building your child’s library, remember that what your child will truly remember is the time you curl up with them to read a good book.

Lori Calabrese is the award winning children’s author of The Bug That Plagued the Entire Third Grade (2010).