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

[kiraric]

By picture books, I mean the big ones that are mostly pictures and with a sentence or two on each page, not chapter books which have a few

My 5 year old for the last 3 months or so, more or less since he turned 5, basically only wants to have longer chapter books read to him, like Toto the ninja cat or the 13 story treehouse.

I feel like getting rid of our enormous stock of picture books but I am slightly worried that it's too early and he's just going through a phase

Any experiences?

We gave most of the picture books away at that age (to old nursery) but kept a few favourites. Always helpful to have a few for visiting younger children

Never! But then I love picture books too ...

Now I have kids I was sad my parents didn't save mine. And my 6 year old still loves picture books (as the bedtime story with her smaller sister). She reads chapter books herself, but prefers picture books as the communal experience.

Is he a good reader? The main reason why I’d keep picture books is if my child wasn’t a confident reader and they could read the picture books as practice.

DD is 6 and we have just had a clear out of them. I have kept some, but probably because they mean more to me than her, I doubt very much she will look at them again!

I'm now a grandma and I still have some of my kids picture books, and read them to my grandchildren. It was the classics and/or really well written and illustrated ones that I kept though. There are so many poor or boring ones these days, so I'd just have a cull, but keep the good ones, the favourites, and any that you have a sentimental attachment to.

My DDs still liked picture books until they were about 6 or 7 and capable of reading chapter books. They didn’t read them often but as DD1 said “when maths is difficult at school I like books where I don’t have to do any thinking” 😁

My 9yo (very able, great reader - just for context) still enjoys having a (good) picture book read to her now and again at bedtime.

I've always been very selective in what books I buy for the dc, so the ones we have are high-quality and not ones I'd want to give away. I do give a pile now and again to a friend with younger dc on long-term loan.

Really interesting - I have an 8 year old as well, similarly a good reader and he won't even let us read chapter books to him at bedtime anymore, just wants to read by himself now.

He will sometimes read some non fiction books with us at bedtime - like books about animal facts or whatever

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!)

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.

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

Fairly good, I think. He still needs a bit of practice but he can pretty much read a simple chapter book on his own now

I think a big cull but not getting rid of all of them is probably the answer

I do really like picture books myself but we have so many.

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.

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.

He is a young year 1

But yes that makes sense, even if we cut in half, we would still have over a hundred!

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.

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.

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 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.

It's useful to hear these experiences because my older one just hasn't been like that at all.

He is now 8 and as soon as he could read chapter books independently has never again even glanced at a picture book

So it's useful to know that the 5 year old might be different and I think I will keep the favourites/nicest ones for a while longer

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.

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.

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.

I kept the best. Still on the shelf.

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