June 29, 2020
Yes, I’m still here. I’m still buying children’s books all the time. Seems crazy but I really do love so many of them.Books in my cart:
Fly! By Mark Teague.- This is a cute wordless picture book about a baby bird learning to fly. Wordless books are great for toddlers and preschoolers. They can look at the pictures and make up a story themselves. You can also spend time looking at the pictures and wonder out loud about what you notice in the picture, what is happening and what you think will happen next. It’s a different style of reading that encourages storytelling.
Firefighters’ Handbook by Meghan McCarthy
- We like a lot of her books, so when I see a book by her that we don’t have, I usually add it to my cart. It might be better suited to preschoolers+ and depends if your kids like illustrated nonfiction books.
Amy Wu and the Perfect Bao by Kat Zhang.
- It’s about a girl trying to make perfect steamed buns with her family and is disappointed by her results until she figures out what works for her. But she also discovers that the imperfect buns still taste delicious. My daughter tends to get disappointed when things aren’t perfect or go exactly as she hopes it will. This book helps show that you don’t always make something “perfect” the first time you try, It takes hard work and perseverance to improve. Another important point is that making mistakes isn’t all bad. It’s cute and includes a recipe at the back of the book. We already have this book, so it’s not actually in my cart... but it’s a book I’d recommend.
December 7, 2019
I have been an avid children’s book buyer for the last several years. I’ve accumulated a revolving home library collection of books for my kids. I started off with books from Value Village. We lived down the street from one and I visited daily (picking up books and toys) for my oldest son. When we had our second child, we needed more space and moved from a condo into a townhouse. We have subsequently moved into a house after our third child.
After we no longer lived within walking distance to a Value Village, I got more into the Facebook Mom Swap Groups, then the Group Buy groups. I was buying and selling the kids clothes and toys. It was a bit addictive. I was first introduced to Book Depot through local group buy on Facebook. After, I discovered their sister site Book Outlet, I’ve been shopping there since. I like the changing selection of books and the thrill of the chase in snagging that only copy of some book. It’s like shopping at Winners or Value Village. You go in with an open mind and you never quite know what you’ll find.
Detractors of course have questioned my shopping addiction and need to hoard books. Yes, I know there are public libraries out there, and yes, they have lots of wonderful books. In fact, I go to the library a lot. I use it to check out or skim through books to help decide if I want add them to my wishlist. We do also borrow books for fun or for homework, but it’s a bit stressful trying to keep track of library books vs home books.
Back to the topic at hand. My shopping cart... I already made three orders over the Black Friday sale... and none of the books currently in my cart feel compelling enough for me to buy immediately. Sometimes I change my mind about a book or it sells out. I always check out reviews on Good Reads and Amazon. For picture books or board books, I try to find images and videos of the books also.
Books in my cart:
Cracking the Cube: Going Slow to Go Fast and Other Unexpected Turns in the World of Competitive Rubik’s Cube Solving. By Ian Scheffler.- My 6 year old is currently interested in Rubik’s Cubes. This book is obviously not for her. I think my 10 year old would find it an interesting read though.
Book of Boy. By Catherine Gilbert Murdock.
- I saw this book show up before and the title caught my eye. I get the sense it’s an epic fantasy adventure story with religious overtones. I’m still on the fence about buying it. I’m just not sure I’m in the mood to read it or if my son would be interested in this story.
Silverwing. By Kenneth Oppel.
- This book was recommended by a teacher friend. It’s a fantasy story written from a bat’s perspective. I think we might enjoy this book.
Yoga for Children: Yoga Cards. By Lisa Flynn.
- It might be nice to have a set of yoga poses for the kids to look at and try out. Then again, they probably won’t use it and it’ll be relegated to collecting dust on a shelf or in some bin or pile. Maybe I should just remove this from my cart now.
Who Was Napolean. By Jim Gigliotti.
- We have a bunch of books from the following series: Who Is, What Is, and Where Is. These are great introductory books about people, historical events, and places. We don’t happen to have this book, so if it’s still available the next time I order, I’ll probably get it. Side note: I saw that they’ve introduced a new related series “What is the story of”, but I haven’t seen any of these books on Book Outlet yet. My son has re-read a number of these books.
Bear’s Scare. By Jacob Grant.
- I know we shouldn’t really judge a book by its cover... but it’s a board book and the bear on the cover looks cute. I watched a youtube video of someone reading the book. It’s on my maybe buy list. I had it in my cart previously and had removed it. I just saw the book again on the New Arrivals list recently so it caught my attention again. I’m still just thinking about it.
Bear Out There. By Jacob Grant.
- It’s only in my cart because I have Bear’s Scare in my cart and I like to get books from the same series together if they’re available (unless it’s a long series... then I think on it longer and do more investigating).
None of these books are on my wish list though. I had one order of books arrive yesterday and another order on the way. Both orders included some Christmas gifts. I will hold off buying until either a book in my wish list shows up or I find myself obsessing over a new book or there’s a sale. I find I always have a random assortment of books in my Book Outlet cart. I have had a bunch of book buy regrets too... so I have to filter through my list carefully. My general criteria for buying books is that it must be a book I think my kids will love. It’s subjective and their interests change over time, but I try encourage them and support what they find fascinating through our collection of books and reading, discussions or related activities.
