When did you get rid of picture books for your kids?

I've had a bit of a clear out recently since my Y1 child started enjoying chapter books and can read fluently, as I needed space... but I only got rid of the ones we didn't enjoy as much. In fact when he was ill last week I read him Rabbit's Nap for comfort. He can easily read it himself but he seemed to need to regress a bit, and that's absolutely fine.

I suspect the absolute favourites will migrate to my bookshelves eventually, for nostalgia 😊 (Not for grandchildren... with a six year old I'm very much hoping that doesn't happen for a good 20+ years!)

I don't think I'll ever get rid of them - at least not the classic ones or sentimental ones. My youngest is only 3 but once she starts junior school aged 7 then I'll have a clear out and donate any of the ones that we have no attachment to.

The picture books are useful when he is learning to read and also when you want to talk about things, discuss the pictures etc.
My DGD is 6 and a fluent reader she can read chapter books by herself but she still loves looking at picture books.

We never got rid of them, the dc just lost interest in them after a while. I only ever bought 'classics', anything else came from the library, so it's a really lovely collection of beautiful books. They'll sit there on the shelf until my grandchildren need them.

One of my sons was 4 when he moved on to illustrated chapter books, one was 6. The 6 year old was the more fluent reader but preferred the picture books, so I don't think there's any hard and fast rule when to move on.

My 6yo in yr 1 is doing great with her reading (on the last phonics books at school and free reading a little). She still likes picture books though! She still loves them being read to her - I think it's a comfort/nostalgia thing. She also often reads them first thing on a morning when she wakes up, especially if she is the first one awake. She doesn't try to free read chapter books alone yet, so she reads picture books at those times. Definitely Julia Donaldson stories etc are a bit young and mostly just used for our 3yo now but theres plenty of other picture books she still likes.

DS1 has just turned 6 so in year one. We're gradually moving the younger picture books (Julia Donaldson etc) into DS2's room, but he still has a lot of others in his room. We mainly read chapter books or facts style books to him now, but sometimes go back to picture books for a break in between. And he also uses them for reading practice when he's bored of the school reading books.

I kept the best. Still on the shelf.

Around the youngst being 8 yo I gave the rest to younger cousins.

My youngest is 14 and reading the Lord of the Rings but he's not yet allowed me to get rid of Julia Donaldson or Dr Seuss books lol. On xmas eve I read our picture book of The Night Before Xmas to three kids aged 14,16 and 18 😆. Never too old for picture books.

Picture books can be aimed at a variety of ages, right from babies/toddlers to 8+. While most will appeal to children in the 3-6 age bracket, some are aimed at 8+. You can get some pretty sophisticated ones.

Imo 5/Year 1 is far too young to get rid completely, but then I'm a huge fan of picture books. Our classroom bookshelves tend to contain picture books only at Reception and Year 1, then a mixture in both Year 2 and 3 and even Year 4 still offer some picture book options as they are still looked at and enjoyed at this age.

It's natural for children to lean towards chapter books once they start enjoying them, as they feel more grown up, but never underestimate the comfort picture books can bring. Chapter books take effort to read to themselves, as they have to scan pretty much every word and they're harder to memorise as they're so much longer. While reading is still a new skill, they can't really be flicked through in the same way that a much loved and memorised picture book can get. Plus the nostalgia attached to picture books can't be underestimated, as the memories they bring back can be so warm and comforting.

Personally I would definitely have a big cull if you have a couple of hundred, but aim to keep at least 20 for now. If you have the room to store, there's no reason to ever get rid of the ultimate favourites as it's so lovely to be able to keep the sentimental ones for potential grandchildren. Involve your son in the process, see which ones bring back the best memories for him (but also don't be afraid to sneak back some of the ones he's happy to ditch if you have a particular attachment to it 😏 ). They're the kind of thing many are quick to get rid of but admit missing when they're gone. I often think one of the main reasons our Year 2-4 children still love flicking through the picture books at school is because many no longer have any at home, which is quite sad really.

I'm afraid I am also of the 'never' persuasion. Luckily, we have enough book cases around the house, that we could just move them to a high shelf to make way for other books. I'm so glad we kept them. Nothing our grandson likes more than reading the very same books that his daddy read when he was a little boy.

I kept them until they were able to read chapter books by themselves (around 7 for mine). My kids school don't tend to send home reading books over school holidays, as to many went missing, so it's handy to keep some that are at their independent reading level, even if they're past having them read to them.

Dd is 10 and still has some on her shelves. She adores reading and is very advancd but her words at Xmas were that I could prise the House on Exeter Street out of her cold dead hands.

Sometimes kids need a lighter read.

I'm pretty evangelical about them tbh, we love ours The free content is good (Yoto daily as well as other children's podcasts and radio) and you can make your own cards with any audio content that you have.

When my children were learning to read they loved going back to their favorite picture books and reading them for themselves. I'd keep them a while longer.

Just looking at that now. She listens to Audible (on Alexa, on the computer that lives in the living room where she generally hangs out, or borrows one of our phones), but an Amazon-free solution to her reading needs looks good.

Go through them and keep the ones that make you smile when you look at the cover - they'll be the ones you read the most of the kids loved the most. Although it's great he's reading chapter books in Reception, don't discount a bit of backtracking when he's a little older as a comfort thing. DS still has a handful of picture books at 9 which I don't think he's read in a long whilst but which are just a comfort to have.

She'd probably love a Yoto player. Not to replace you reading to her, of course; but for when you can't.

Dd loves me to read to her - shorter things (past favourites, so picture books but also things like Mrs Pepperpot and Clever Polly and the Stupid Wolf) at bedtime, more complex things during the day. She'll colour or craft and I'll read her a chapter or three of a Terry Pratchett or something. I sometimes wish she was keener to take herself off and read to herself (she does but it's mainly comic books - she's bilingual and English is the minority language, which may be part of it), but thre's also something very lovely about reading to her.

Keep a few favourites. Some picture books are more advanced than others, too, and still engaging for older children.

I have a younger child so we still have loads of picture books but my oldest likes to read/listen to them too (and also devours chapter books!)