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Children's books

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Original poster

What are your rules re buying books for dc in between bdays and Xmas?

75 replies

MilaMae · 15/01/2009 20:52

I always get the dc loads of books on bdays and Xmas but dd and I have seen loads recently we both like the look of.

Her bday is in Dec so can't wait that long. Don't want to spoil the dc by constantly buying new books but then when money allows I think nothing of buying books for me.

OP posts:
janeite · 15/01/2009 21:10

Oh we also buy one if it is a "must have" eg: part of a series, that we might not be able to get from the library for some time. Eg: whenever a HP book came out, or a Lemony Snicket, or whatever, it was bought immediately.

DwayneDibbley · 15/01/2009 21:12

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FairyMum · 15/01/2009 21:13

No restrictions on books, but do like going to the library too.

DwayneDibbley · 15/01/2009 21:13

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JustKeepSwimming · 15/01/2009 21:16

charity shops definitely.

and series too - i'm such a 'collector' and like to have the full set of anything!
And ds1 loves looking at the pictures at the back and agreeing that we have that one, that one, that one, etc. and that we need to get that one next

my own rules are:
part of a set i've already started
cheap (charity shops fine)
discounted (in normal shop) and interesting
when going on holiday if i've nothing else to read.

mckenzie · 15/01/2009 21:26

"whenever I have any money i buy books. if there is any left over I buy food."

A famous quote I think although I can't remember who it belongs to.

Dottoressa · 15/01/2009 21:29

Books aren't spoiling. I am a compulsive book-buyer, and I never leave a charity shop without a children's book (today it was Gobbolino the Witch's Cat for 75p). My life has been made even more bookish by discovering Red House and the Book People - I just got the entire Amelia Jane series for £4.99, and Princess Poppy (6 books) for £5.99. They make good presents, too.

We also go to the library at least once a week. We spend at least an hour reading there, and both DCs have full tickets!

CharleeinChains · 15/01/2009 21:36

My boys get books whenever really, if i am in town and see a nice book at a reasonable price i will buy it for them as i would a toy.

We have a 'The Works' shop in our local town and i often get lovely books really cheap there as well as craft stuff.

DP has been wanting a book about the human body for ages as he is really interested in his condition and why he has to see the dr so often and i picked up a really nice, child friendly one in The Works for £3 today, he was chuffed!

I am always buying books for myself mostly cookbooks and novels so i couldn't not get them for the kids!

piscesmoon · 15/01/2009 21:40

You can never have too many books! It isn't spoiling. I get them new, at car boot sales and ebay. We are also regulars at the library. All my DCs had tickets from when babies.

Ingles2 · 15/01/2009 21:42

no restrictions on books here either.
In the past I've bought tons and the book shelves are groaning.
ATM I'm trying to visit the library more frequently, buy from Book People and swap with friends. eg. DS1 got My Story, Roman warrior for Xmas his 2 bf's got the same series but different titles so we're swapping.
Both ds's are avid readers and love nothing more than sitting in Waterstones for an hour which makes me v.v.v. happy.

LadyG · 15/01/2009 21:45

Same here. Am compulsive childrens bookbuyer. And will also buy art/craft stuff without a murmur.
But in my defence I really don't ever buy toys. (They get them from grandparents/uncles/aunts other children on birthday anyway).

Portofino · 15/01/2009 21:47

I buy books all the time - for me as well as dd. Harder for me as we're abroad, but dd has books in french and english. Money was tight when I was growing up and books were a luxury item. I could never get enough of them, reread all mine over and over and read all sorts of unsuitable stuff that I filched from parents. DD can have all the books i can afford in my opinion. Toys are for Xmas and birthdays.

llareggub · 15/01/2009 21:50

I buy books all the time for DS, who is 2. He has shelves full of books but I often buy books that he'll read in a few years time.

When I was a child I had books passed onto me all the time by family friends. I really enjoy picking up a book from a bookshelf and having an unexpected surprise when it turns out to be a great book. Somehow used to get more pleasure from those than the ones I chose myself. So, I'd like that for DS.

Unfortunately, out of the 100s of books on his shelves, he keeps choosing "A Squash and a Squeeze" which I reckon I could read with my eyes shut.

Skywalker09 · 15/01/2009 21:51

Another book loving/buying family here. I don't buy books for myself anymore, just use the library regularly. I hate to be without a book to read and have even been known to read DH's collection of golf books if desperate enough.

In relation to the OP I buy new books for the children all the time and see it as an investment in them (that is my excuse and I am sticking to it!) I also trawl charity shops for books too - I get a bit obsessed about collecting a series of books.

francagoestohollywood · 15/01/2009 22:02

I'm a compulsive buyer of books. I often hide them and give them to the dc on special occasions.

SixSpot · 15/01/2009 22:07

I'm afraid we just buy them continually regardless of birthdays and Christmas - I do try and get them secondhand sometimes and we also use the library, but I can afford to get them books and I never EVER had enough to read myself as a child. (Had to resort to old Reader's Digests and Woman's Own a lot of the time.)

Habbibu · 15/01/2009 22:08

agree here - you can't spoil with books.

MrsGrouchoMarxMerryHenry · 15/01/2009 22:08

Rules? Huh? For buying books? What an odd question! I buy books off Amazon and also use the library lots. Does that answer your qu?

littlelamb · 15/01/2009 22:11

We have no restrictions on books, hence the groaning shelves. Dd knows that I am far more likely to buy her books than toys! Ours are mainly from charity shops so we can pick up some good bargains- got Each Peach Pear Plum yesterday I am useless with the library because I always forget to return the books There is no charge for late books on dd's card but I have a feeling I am on the library blacklist... Having said that, anyone in or near Exeter should check out Bookcycle, down near Nippers and the house that moved- lots and lots of books for whatever price you want to pay. Can be a mission to search through, but worth a visit, and they get all of our books when we have finished with them too.

squeaver · 15/01/2009 22:15

No rules.

Dd gets a book from the school library every week. We're probably in a bookshop every couple of weeks and she nearly always gets one then.

Her birthday is December too so there's just no way she could wait that long.

GodzillasNewYearsBumcheek · 15/01/2009 22:17

DD3 has birthday in December too. At the moment she is too young to be too fussed by the next one in any series, but she up to now gets lots bought during the year, which i keep a tally of so i know what i've spent. She gets a few during the summer holidays (that's when her sisters' birthdays are), and i keep the rest until December to divide between the occaisions!

having said that i bought 3 new (ex-library) books for her today at 20p each, and in the summer she will get more from bootsales.

Pannacotta · 15/01/2009 22:18

No restrictions here, though I do try and buy used books or borrow from the library, more to shake things up than anything else. IME it's easy for kids to get bored with books if they see them all the time.

GodzillasNewYearsBumcheek · 15/01/2009 22:29

If they are young enough you can always rotate them though (i have a shelf downstairs and also a space inside a cupboard). For some bizarre reason i am looking forward to passing them on when DD3 gets too old for them. It may be because of the steadily increasing lack of space...

Pannacotta · 15/01/2009 22:32

GOdzilla was thinking more of our 4 year old who has a ton of books but seems very easily bored with them...
Far easier to please DS2 who is 20 months and loves his Maisy books, every single bedtime!!

GodzillasNewYearsBumcheek · 15/01/2009 22:40

Fairy nuff. I also still use the library anyway! It's not easy supporting the love of books of yourself and your 2 year old when the rest of the family could easily live happily without books for the rest of their life [tuts noisily at not-dyslexic-because-it's-apparently-not-real DH and older DDs]