Grow Your Child’s Library with Less than $60 a Year

Written By: Ashley

 

It’s no secret that reading to your child is vitally important in the early years. We know that it is huge for enhancing vocabulary, word recognition, introducing new topics and ideas, teaching emotions, introducing rhyme, discussing feelings, and the list goes on!

 

So how do families grow an affordable library when some books can be up to $10 or $20 each? In this article you’ll learn how to grow your child’s library with at least 12-24 books per year! That’s 60-120 books by the time they are five. Think about all the content, vocabulary, ideas, and words they will have been introduced to before heading into kindergarten!

 

 

In this article I’m going to teach you my best money saving tricks for growing an at home library with no more than just $5 a month.

 

Imagination Library By Dolly Parton

 

This is an excerpt from the imagination library website, “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library is a book gifting program that mails free books to children from birth to age five in participating communities within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Republic of Ireland.” You can find out more about this great organization here.

I have enrolled both of my boys in this free program and it is simply amazing! The first book they send is the same for all children and after that the books are based on your child’s development. When your child is ready the company will include talking points and different discussion topics to have with your child while reading the book. They will help you engage with your child in new ways and teach you how to discuss with your child about the different lessons learned within the topics given.

 

This program allows our home to receive at least 24 books per year since I have 2 children. Even if we did nothing else by the time my youngest goes to Kindergarten we will have 72 books in our house and it would be even more if we had started them at younger ages on the program!

 

Neighborhood Libraries

 

Neighborhood libraries are popping up more and more in different neighborhoods. In fact there was one right down the road from us at our first apartment. Take a book, leave a book is the idea behind this concept. You simply trade your books out for the books in the library. If you have one of these neat libraries in your neighborhood, I’d love to hear about it!

 

You Local Library

 

The library is a great option for finding books for your kids. It exposes children to new authors and illustrators. It can get difficult with toddlers though because (at least for mine) when they find a favorite book its like a special treasure to them! At most libraries you can check out the same book twice in a row which does seem to help with my little ones.

 

However, most libraries have a book sale each year! At our local library they have a book sale every few months. The library has to clear their shelves to make room for new books coming in. They will sell books for a fraction of the price! Most of the time will even find them for garage sale prices ($.25-just a couple dollars). If your budget for books for the month is $5 you could really do well at a sale like this, just give your local library a call today to find out when their next sale is!

 

Garage Sales

 

Look for garage sales in your neighborhood or the neighborhood down the street. My mom had a big moving sale when she sold her house and sold books for just a couple dollars or less! Of course she is now regretting that decision but you never know what you are going to find at a garage sale.

 

Half-Priced Books

 

Half-Priced books is a book store that started in Dallas, Texas. They are donated used books and sell them for a reasonable price. They sell their books both online and in stores. You will find children’s books here for just a couple dollars! While looking through their website I found books from Sandra Boynton, Dr. Suess, DK (which writes some of our favorite baby books!), James Dean (Pete the Cat), and more! Most of these books cost just about $3-$4 per book. If you would like to look for yourself, check them out here.

 

 

T.J. Max

 

If I don’t need to give you another reason to hit up your local T.J. Max store, then we are quite similar. Would you believe my mom gave me an entire box of children’s and baby books at my baby shower full of nothing but books from the sale and clearance section of T.J. Max?! You have to find it at the right time but we have gotten a lot of our books from there for $1-$3 in their sale department.

 

They also have a lot of holiday books and if you wait long enough after the holiday they will mark them down to get them out of their store. My son still isn’t letting me put away his “It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown” book yet and it’s July. That just goes to show you that even if a book is deemed a “holiday book” it doesn’t mean it won’t become a favorite!

 

Kohl’s

 

Kohl’s has a children’s program that features children’s books and stuffed animals. The books and stuffed animals are $5 each full price. However if they have stock left when the new series comes out they mark the old series down half price. If it stays in the store even longer you will find them for as low as a $1.05 for a nice hardback book!

 

They even have board books for babies! I always check them out when I’m in their store. I have found their clearance books on a rack near the bathrooms in the back of the store, in the home clearance department, and sometimes they will still be in the front of the store with the other $5 books.

 

If they have a book that you think will be your child’s favorite $5 isn’t a bad price. The books they are currently featuring are from “The Golden Books Collection” and some of the books have up to 3 stories in them. This is a great price because you are getting 3 stories for $5. The money from these books is also donated to charity and put back into the community. You can check them out and learn more information about the program here.

 

American Girl

 

I know you hear the two words “American Girl” and think that there is no way am I going to find anything under $5 at American Girl, but hear me out! As I’m typing this article right now they have 2 books on their site for $3 each and they have plenty of other books for $5.99. They also have a promotion right now that if you buy 2 books you get 1 free with the code “Books20”. That would make 3 books less than $12!

 

I know it might be your budget for 2 or 3 months instead of 1 but if you have a child that is into American Girl it might be worth looking into. You can find more information on their products and books by going to their website linked here.

 

Clearance Holiday Books

 

I know I mentioned you can find these at T.J. Max, but you can also find them at the big box stores as well. If you wait until the holiday is over you can find these books for just a couple dollars each.

 

Buying these books after the holidays gives you a lot of options. You can start reading that night and talk about your memories of the holiday you just celebrated, you can hold it back for your bookshelf when the holiday comes around again, or gift it to them on that holiday next year.

 

If you are looking for more ways to save on Christmas check out my “Christmas in July” article where I discuss how I budget and save all year for Christmas. There are also great tips and tricks for finding affordable items that are perfect for a gift closet.

 

Birthdays & Christmas

 

I’m not shy about letting friends and family know what my kids use if they ask about a gift for them. This most definitely includes books! Just this last Christmas alone we were gifted 4 books from my husbands side of the family at Christmas! Some of them were books I had never heard of and quickly became favorites!

 

Baby Showers

 

It’s now becoming quite common to ask for a book at a baby shower instead of a card. Most cards are around $1-$6 (or more) and guess what?! You can get a book for the same price! Just ask the guests to write their congratulations and best wishes for the new baby in a book instead! The baby will have it for years to come!

 

We did this at my baby shower and my son started with a bookshelf full of books ready for him the day we brought him home from the hospital! He loves seeing the handwritten messages and letters from friends and family to this day!

 

Dollar Tree

 

If you have never checked the Dollar Tree’s book section you are in for a treat! I have found books from National Geographic, Disney, Sesame Street, and Learn to Read books! They also have a great selection of nonfiction readers on a variety of topics. I would encourage your child to be exposed to some nonfiction books before heading into kindergarten.

 

Chic-fil-A

 

Here’s a little secret you might not know, when you order at Chic-fil-A ask for a 3 and under book for your child’s toy in their kids meal. They will get a board book. It is an easy way to add another book to your at home library. They are small books that are perfect for the diaper bag and my kids love to carry them around!

 

Amazon

 

Now as a teacher I have to tell you that I think that kids having a physical book in their lap is so important! It helps them see the book, pages, words, and learn how to treat a book. They also learn how to open and close the book, how to turn the pages, and more! Plus lets be real, having the weight of your child on you while you read them a good book is one of the best feelings in the world!

 

Now with that being said our world is becoming increasingly more digital and for that Amazon has you covered! With an Amazon Prime Membership you can download free digital children’s books! Just go to Amazon, search children’s books and set your filter from low-high price. You will find dozens of free downloadable books for your kids!

 

 

So there you have it! These are the ways that I have grown our at home library to include 100’s of books without spending a fourtune! You can do it too! Let me know all the ways you save money on books for your kids.

 

Love, Ashley E