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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think there's no such thing as too many books for a child?

108 replies

jumpjockey · 15/10/2009 15:31

DD is 10.5 months and has about 40 books - mostly board books, lift the flap, touch and feel, crinkly cloth books etc. She loves turning the pages (book right way up or not... ) and looking at the pictures. Most of them are from charity shops as there's one we pass every day that has a 5p shelf. MIL recently commented that she thought this was far too many and wasn't she too young to appreciate more than one or two?

Given that I'm a librarian this is particularly , but surely babies can enjoy books and have great fun sitting on someone's lap looking at the pictures? How can there be such a thing as too many, given that we're not wasting swathes of money on them, they're easy to tidy up, and she's learning all sorts of things when we 'read' them together?

OP posts:
hazeyjane · 15/10/2009 16:03

Hahahahahah
Your name is both horrible and hilarious Teryywoganscock.

I think having lots of books is lovely, but sometimes i have a book cull, because I realise that we seem to have tons of hardly read, not great ones.

I get a lot of books from charity shop, but really love getting a brand new shiny book.

leolantern · 15/10/2009 16:03

yes there is a difference between having lots of books for the dcs yourself to enjoy and then there is just hoarding. I just mentioned abouve that I have a big order of books but it also mean that I cull the book whihc they are too young for and pass them on so they can be enjoyed by someone else. other than some book I am very attached to I donot hold onto books for too long and regularly give them away/ sell them.

kreecherlivesupstairs · 15/10/2009 16:04

Over her short life my dd (8.5) must have had around 800 books, she adores reading now although it was a slog in the beginning. I too am envious of the 5p shelf. Think 20 quid a pop in Switzerland. I do tend to give them to a friend of hers younger sister, my dd often comments 'oh G has the same books as me, exactly the same'. She is such a twerp though she never thinks to look when we come home to check that hers are still threre.
So, yes your MIL is BU.

Oblomov · 15/10/2009 16:17

Of cpurse you can have too many books. Not saying op does. Although 40 for an under 1 yr old is alot.
Most people I know have a total excess of toys books etc etc for their children. My sil and my friend have both a lounge over-flowing and a conservatory packed with games, toys, puzzles, books.
It is grotesque.
So, to answer Op, of course you can have too many.

danabu · 15/10/2009 16:27

You're a librarian - why don't you borrow them from the library? It costs nothing then. And you can have first dibs on the new ones that come in

Bookshelves are a dust trap as far as I'm concerned!

Morloth · 15/10/2009 16:30

The problem with libraries danabu is that they want the books back. It's mine, all mine now!

Oblomov do your friends think there is an excess or do you think there is an excess? If the latter, then I don't see what the problem is.

danabu · 15/10/2009 16:30

though I think we paid for our new library with all our overdue fines!!

crokky · 15/10/2009 16:33

there is such a thing as too many books.

If your 10 month old is to have 40 books, I think they ought to be somewhere where she can see them - 40 books in a front facing bookcase would be fine IMO.

Books that are gathering dust/not used are far better off going back to the charity shop. Also, I think you should make sure than when your DD outgrows them, they go back to the charity shop (unless you are having any more DCs who would use them). I don't like clutter much, but if the books are stored where you can see them and they are all used, that's OK!

WindyShepherdHenderson · 15/10/2009 16:34

It's impossible to have too many books, although I'm a little surprised at the choice of books for the OP's DD. At this age, surely she should be reading the complete works of Byron

WindyShepherdHenderson · 15/10/2009 16:36

Forgot to add, I did read the age correctly

Morloth · 15/10/2009 16:40

hehe I love clutter, feel all twitchy if things are too tidy.

marenmj · 15/10/2009 16:45

Morloth, I also read 5-6 books concurrently!

DH is shocked at how I can manage to pick up exactly where I left off, even if it has been months! He freaks out a bit when I do the same thing in conversation...

Doodleydoo · 15/10/2009 16:46

OP your DC is v lucky imo. I didn't go and buy a whole load because my dear sister gave me a huge pile that she wanted my dc to appreciate. Some had to be culled as they were so loved they were missing pages, but my 2yo loves to go and read a book on her own and often asked what she would like to do i.e beebies, toys, books it is often books.

Her cousin doesn't do books even though has many and is far harded to entertain (poor SIL) because the DN expects everything to be done with not alone (and we all know alone time is special!). IME because of the books, my DC plays well on her own and can role play and will often be found singing nursery rhymes with her books, even if all wrong!

No way is it possible to have too many unless all crappy - we have 3/4 copies of the favourite book (handbag/bedroom/living area) and worth every penny!

V jealous of you being a librarian (ideal job!)and having 5p shelf - my dh barely reads a thing and has now realised how imp it is not to let this happen to dd.

giveloveachance · 15/10/2009 16:47

I grew up in a household full of books, so no surprise that DD's library is overflowing too.... she loves the variety and so do I. Its part of our bedtime routine to go along the bookshelves picking out the books to read in bed.

you can never have too many books!

I get most of mine from charity shops - most are less than a pound - current favorite is Dr Seuss was 89p and she knows chunks of it by heart, it makes her laugh - only had it a couple weeks - great value for money!!!!!

Pyrocanthus · 15/10/2009 16:52

I've genuinely wondered whether I haven't overdone it slightly, when my DDs gaze at their bookcases and say they can't find anything to read. And we can see our local library from our house. I wonder if I should have made them a bit hungrier, so they wouldn't be so fussy.

I agree with the posts about hoarding - if you've finished with your books, they can go about their work in someone else's home, and bring in a bit of money for charity while they're about it.

OrmIrian · 15/10/2009 16:53

I don't know.

You can have too many books if there isn't the room for them and/or they aren't getting read.

DS#1 has too many books. He is not a great reader, prefers non-fiction or, currently, my Terry Prachett library. So his vast collection of books in a heap on his shelf are 'too many'. DD is an avid reader and has quite a few but TBH when her small room becomes too crowded she gets rid of them to fit in more. I am beginning to hate our books atm. We have shelves and shelves of them many of which I know I will never look at again. They gather dust, they get in the way, they reproach me with their neglected status. DH won't ever throw any away. He seems to think that lightning will strike him if he does

Buy 'em and pass then on is my new mantra. Unless they are true keepers and IMO not that many are. Or use the library. That's what it's for.

I know what you mean OP BTW but generally I think we show too much reverence to the Great Good Book TBH. It's a middle class obsession. It is perfectly possible to have too many books. Child or adult. They are just possessions same as any other.

Morloth · 15/10/2009 16:54

What if you are never finished with them though? I read all of mine multiple times and DS has books from when DH & I were children.

OrmIrian · 15/10/2009 16:57

Yes so do we. Loads of them. DD loves some of my childrens' books. And some of them are precious and won't go. But not all of them. I think we get too hung up on the possession of books, any books - as if the more have the better we are.

OrmIrian · 15/10/2009 16:58

This is a new departure for me I must admit. But they have begun to oppress me recently. And there comes a time when there is no more room!

Morloth · 15/10/2009 16:58

Ah OK, I love all of mine so that is OK then.

And as DH points out, at least it isn't cats...

Oblomov · 15/10/2009 17:01

Morloth, its called being selective.
A thing that many parents seem unable to do. I know friends with lofts full of clothes and toys. Why not just keep a few of the special things.
I kept a few little baby items, just for me. Not tons. I kept maybe 5 books from ds1 for ds2.
They are special and give me great pleasure and I look forward to reading the ones meant for older children to ds2 later.

Why keep every book, every item of clothing, every ....

And yes it is ME, that thinks that some peoples amount of toys etc that they have for their children is obscene. I do not think I am alone in this !!

TheDevilEatsBabies · 15/10/2009 17:04

you are all wrong!
you cannot have too many books!
it's indisputable, no matter what your "argument" is!!

as a child, most of our books came from the jumble sale and went back to the next one in order for us to have more (with exceptions of course, we were allowed to keep some)
i think it's traumatized me for life.
having to say goodbye to friends that you'll never see again (because you can never find them anywhere)

the trauma is probably why i have my own little bookshop : 8,000 books for any child to indulge.
[ahh]

anyone in any doubt should read Eleanor Farjeon's The Little Book Room.

i constantly plan my rooms around where my books can go and where shelves can fit (never above radiators either or too close to windows ie windowsills)

Original poster
jumpjockey · 15/10/2009 17:12

Blimey - got a bit heated there for a bit! Of course she doesn't 'read' any at the moment, but she does have some favourites that she loves to play with and can quite happily flip through the pages for 10 minutes at a time while I get on with MNing making the tea.

I imagine a lot will go back to the shop when she outgrows them, my poor dad is clearing out home at last and has hundreds of me and my brother's to get rid of. Pyrocanthus - I also used to feel I had nothing to read just because I'd read everything too many times (totally antisocial bookwork ) so I know what they mean. Get them down the library again!

Should have specified that I work in higher ed so my library stock isn't really suitable for her just yet ;)

OP posts:
thedollshouse · 15/10/2009 17:17

I think ds has too many, we haven't managed to read all of them which would suggest that there are too many.

I have always loved books so although I would say that in theory you can't have too many I think with young children you need to ensure that there are not too many on display as the choice can be overwelming. I used to put a few in a basket by ds's bed so he could choose from a selection rather than the hundreds that he owns.

Pyrocanthus · 15/10/2009 17:20

Not until they've read what they've got!

I don't really mean it, but they both have a few that I think they'd enjoy if they gave them a chance. DD1 has just proved it by picking up Goodnight Mr Tom for the nth time and finding she likes it after all.

And DD2 seems to have completely different tastes, which is a bit of a pain...

I can see the headline now: Hard-Hearted Ex-Librarian Refuses To Let Daughters Choose New Books.