How long will my DCs still want to read picture books?

[mrsgboring]

DS who is 3 has lots of really nice picture books now which have plenty of words on each page and lots of meat in the story, it seems to me. He's just starting to read longer books too, so how long will the little thin picture books last?

Reason I ask is because I prefer to store paperback picture books on bookcases where the covers face the front (as there's next to no spine to identify the book on a normal shelf). I want to buy yet another bookcase that holds books this way, and wondering how long it's going to be needed?

[Clary]

If you mean things like The Gruffalo or Kipper story books etc then we still read these.

My youngest is 5.5.

I fear we are coming to the end of them tho (but then again DS2 requested The Very Hungry Caterpillar the other night!).

[mrsgboring]

Thanks for that, Clary. Yes, that's broadly the type of book I mean. Some of the longer Dr Seuss, Blue Nose Island and the wordier versions of fairy stories might last even longer do you think? [dunno emoticon]

[offerdilemma]

I still read picture books (like the gruffalo etc) to Yr 1 - they are 5 and 6. And they regularly choose them for their reading books. They still enjoy those as much as more grown up books. In fact, even in Yr2 (6 and 7) a lot of them still chose to read picture books.

[mrsgboring]

Excellent, thank you. New bookcase (and lots more books!) here we come.

[Fennel]

My 7yo admitted this week that she still liked picture books, and she's been a very competent reader of chapter books for a long time. I think my 8yo (also a competent reader of chapter books) likes them too. Some of the wittier ones can last a long time I think. I might cull the tedious ones when my 4yo learns to read properly but I think we'll be keeping the good ones for a few years yet.

[mrsgboring]

Thanks for that, Fennel. I think it's lovely they still read a variety of things. After all, I really enjoy reading picture books to DS and I know I'm going to miss the artwork when we move on to chapter books completely.

[Lindenlass]

We have literally hundreds of books in our house - picture books and chapter books. We have four girls aged between 4m and nearly 6y. The oldest reads the picture books to herself now she can read, and to her sisters, and she still enjoys snuggling up to have them read to her at bedtime (and other times).

FWIW I reckon those bookcases are a bit of a waste of money as you can't get very many books on them. It's a con that children need to see the front of the book to be able to choose them, unless my children are geniuses, which they're not .

You'd be better off getting a cheaper, more space-efficient bookcase and spending the excess money on lots and lots and lots of books to fill it with IMO . Oh, and my DD1 learnt to read on her own (she's home educated) so it's clearly an approach that works

[Takver]

We go for a half way house of having books on normal shelves (well improvised shelves built in between two cupboards as we're short of space) but then dd has a book box which lives by her bed with a selection of books in it for easy access. The problem I find with picture books on normal cases is not so much choosing them but that they can be very heavy and hard to get in and out without piles of them falling out. I would like to get rid of some of dd's picture books even though its sad as all her bookshelves are full and we don't have room for any more!

[pollywobbledoodle]

dd who's 5 likes to read her old, familiar picture books to herself...

[pollywobbledoodle]

mind you we have more books than we know what to do with in this house.....
i have just accepted that there will be bookcases in every room and piles under settees etc...."luckily" a load of my childhood books were destroyed in a flood otherwise they'd need space too......
those forward facing bookcases look lovely but i wouldn't bother with one....maybe if i had loads of money and loads of wallspace (dreams of that...)

[2pt4kids]

My DS is 3.5 and I'm just expanding his collection of these types of books now!
Up till now he's still been really into board books with less writing on each page and flap books.
I imagine they'll last a fair while yet!

What book case are you getting? It sounds like a really good idea!

[Othersideofthechannel]

I am 36 and I have not grown out of picture books. They were my main motivation for having children

[mrsgboring]

We have a couple of odd spaces where only a forward facing bookcase will actually fit, because they aren't as deep. You can wedge them into smaller spaces because the books lift upwards, otherwise you have to leave a book's clearance in front of them. Downstairs we have the sling bookcases from GLTC which are okay but I far prefer the Tidy Books we have upstairs (Tidybooks only come in one size, sadly). I agree these types of bookcase are expensive, (well Tidybooks are, the sling cases are relatively cheap) but you can put them behind a door or down the side of a sofa. Am planning to keep one to use as a magazine and newspaper rack once the picture books are retired.

Also we do have problems with piles of heavy books weighing on each other, and falling out. Eventually, thin books leaning against one another will bend unless you box them at intervals (am a librarian with a passionate hatred of books doing this)

Sorry, bookcase nerdery.