Children's Books for Free or Cheap
How to Surround Your Children With Books Without Breaking the Bank
Surrounding children with books is one of the best ways to start them off on a lifetime of loving learning. But books are expensive! So what's a parent to do?
Children's books, bought new from the bookstore, are surprisingly expensive for such little tomes. But kids don't care if their books look brand-spanking new. Once they read them a few times, they hardly look that way anymore anyhow! So bypass the bookstore and try some of these inexpensive or free ways to fill your children's lives with literature without emptying your wallet:
- Freecycle -- Freecycle is a great, free resource for getting (and giving) lots of nifty things for free, but especially children's books. Parents are constantly clearing out kids' bookshelves on freecycle, since beat up books aren't exactly worth much on the open market. And when you are done with them, if they're still readable, you can pass them on to someone else who needs them. Check out freecycle.org to find a group near you.
- Yard Sales and Rummage Sales -- Yard Sales can be a great source for inexpensive books. Generally people are trying to make a few bucks, but frankly, they don't want the books back in their houses, so don't be afraid to haggle. If you take a pile of books up to an owner and offer a few bucks for the bunch, they may just jump on it at the thought of not carrying all that weight back inside. Also, cruising yard sales at the end of their time frame can often have you walking away with whole boxes for very little or sometimes for free. Even better than yard sales can be rummage sales (especially school-based sales) or citywide sales where leftovers are often trashed or donated anyway, or sellers would have to pack them back in cars not just take them back in the front door.
- Libraries -- Yes, you can certainly check out books for free. But watch those due dates and supervise their use, as small fees for late fines or charges for book damage (if you have a child who is a page ripper or wrinkler!) can add up to significant amounts in a hurry if you check out lots of books. But most libraries these days also have a sales area where they sell used books that have been donated to their "friends" or "booster" group. You can often find some wonderful literature here, especially at libraries with regular storytimes with lots of revolving families coming in and out.
- Book Swapping -- This is a great tool for picking up kids books, especially if you are want to find specific titles for your kids. On sites like paperbackswap.com, bookmooch.com, and swaptree.com, you can request books in exchange for sending out books to others. If you have a lot of books sitting around, want to rotate your kids' libraries as they grow, or obtain free or really inexpensive books from some of the sources mentioned above (but not necessarily kids' books), you can trade them for the ones you want simply for the cost of postage. You generally send books using Media Mail (or First Class for small, light books), so it ends up costing between about $1.50 to $3.00 a book, which is still a bargain when it's getting you exactly the books you want. You can even set up wish lists that will alert you when the books you want are posted.
Getting books for your children doesn't have to leave you broke! Using some of the strategies above, you can get your kids started loving learning and literature and still put food on the table at the same time. Happy book hunting!
The copyright of the article Children's Books for Free or Cheap in Children’s Books is owned by Nicki Heskin. Permission to republish Children's Books for Free or Cheap in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Fill Your Kids' Shelves With Books!
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