How to Grow Your Child's Home Library on a Budget

 We read a lot in our home. We like to go to the library weekly and load up on books for our daughter. When we were doing tot school lessons (we will start again in August), I would make sure to reserve a few books that were on topic for her themes. 

As I've shared in previous posts, checking out books from the library can lead to fees when an eager toddler turns the pages and accidentally tears one. We've had a few library fines come our way recently so I've been more inclined to purchase used books for her collection.

I wanted to share some ideas to build an at home library for your young child for cheap as well as some storage ideas if you're small space living.

We have a display book shelf in our daughter's room, similar to THIS one from Amazon. My mom and her fiancé built it several months ago and we love it. We have outgrown the storage limit on the bottom shelf so I've been utilizing baskets and rotating the books that we put in them. In our living room we have a small basket where I keep board books.

I keep a large bag of holiday themed books in our pantry where I also store toys to be rotated whenever she is showing disinterest in what we have out.

I also love the look of wicker baskets in corner spaces of a home that house books for children. The wicker look is so cozy and when the books are on the child's level it is much more inviting to them--they will know it's okay to get hands on and take ownership of them. I've come across many baskets at thrift stores over the years--of course they don't all match but I think mismatched baskets are so charming.

Speaking of thrift stores, if you are beginning to build a library at home for your child I suggest starting at your local Goodwill or other thrift store near you. We have found classics as well as modern character books that our daughter is currently liking. Our recent book hunt was a hit and I will post a photo below. I also keep an eye out for floor puzzles (they have larger pieces which help toddlers with motor skills when placing them.) I always go to a corner of the store where I can count each piece to make sure I'm not purchasing an incomplete puzzle. Something I learned long ago is if I'm not in the mood to dig then I better not go to the thrift store that day. For this trip I squatted down and looked through each and every book on the bottom children's bookshelf. It was worth the hunt! Some are fun reads while others fit our tot school themes. 

The day that I went to shop for books at Goodwill they were having a half off sale. So I paid $6.77 total for all that is pictured. Calling ahead and asking when the books will be on sale is a great way to plan and budget. 

Another way to add to your child's book collection is to shop at your local library. Our library has a 'friends of the book store' sale every now and again. It's typically very inexpensive for the books they put out. Our library also has a shopping event every few months where they put shelves of books on the veranda out front and patrons are welcome to shop. Make sure to check if the books for sale are specifically for children when going to these events--they almost always throw children's books in the mix.

I know in Oklahoma where we are from, the greater OKC area will have several libraries host a book sale and there are thousands of titles you can snatch up for your children. You could put some aside for holidays, rotate them out so you always have new titles and also tuck some into car trip bags so they have new books to look at on road trips. 

Just be sure to flip through and check for damage or markings.

An idea I've seen but haven't taken part in myself is to host or attend a book exchange with friends. If you have several books your kids aren't partial to or they're over read in your rotation, have friends bring several of their kids books over and swap them out for new titles. It's free and the books will continue being loved by a different family!

It was completely out of my comfort zone, but I got with an Usborne book rep months ago and 'hosted' a Facebook Usborne party. Although I don't personally sell or do any MLM businesses, Usborne has great learning resources and cute books for kids. We did well with the party and I was able to add 16 books to my daughters collection when all was said and done. 

Another free way to add to your child's library is to check with family members with older children or your parents/grandparents or in laws. My mother in law still has my husbands childhood toys in the toy box my daughter plays in and my mom has toys and the majority of our books from our childhood. She has sent along several books over the past few months but with small space living it's not possible to house them all currently. I hope to take them off her hands in the future and let our kids read the titles we enjoyed once upon a time!

I hope you can use some of these ideas and build your child's book collection at home. 

With heart from our home, 

Jordan