How do you organise your children's bookshelves?

[YunoYurbubson]

By author?

By size?

By age group?

By publisher? (I have a friend who actually does this)

We have just taken delivery of a lovely new (to us) bookshelf for the children's room and I can't decide how to do it.

Is it very wrong that I am really looking forward to a lovely morning tomorrow shelving children's books? I shall probably have Rob Brydon on Desert Island Discs on Listen Again.

So go on, how do you shelve yours?

that I never tidy up after my kids. [sargeant major emoticon]

5yo DS's room has one bookcase. Top shelf has picture books and other assorted bedtime stories arranged by size. They HAVE to be by size otherwise little ones just get hidden in between bigger ones. Middle shelf is smaller books and sets, so all the Ladybird ones are here, the Mr Men, Thomas the bl**dy Tank engine, etc. Bottom shelf is really big books, laid flat.

9yo DD's room used to have a plan for books but she's got so flippin' many now that they are stacked on the floor! There is one huge set of shelves that has her non-fiction, arranged by size - big ones at either end and smaller ones in the middle so that the weight is nearest the supports. Every other shelf and available surface has random books on, including the floor, but she knows where they all are.

Trying to organise pre-schoolers bookshelves is like trying to hold back the tide.

I stuff them back in to keep them off the floor, but the dc's trash them straight away. I'm hoping it will be easier when they are at school.

Books go in the big book bucket. That's as tidy as it gets for now.

DH is a size man (ahem) I tend towards non fiction by subject fiction by author result owes much to chaos theory the initial small event will be DS pulling three books out to get the one he wants resulting in everyone shoving everything in any old how and the whole thing looking like a dogs dinner and staying that way until we Have People Round when I redo it (playroom/kitchen all in one)

Ds's books are arranged in short books and longer books - so that his bedtime books don't take too long. Other than that, it's a free for all.

My book cases are only arranged into hardbacks, paperbacks and large format because thats how my shelves are. I like the randomness of it.

DH's bookcases are in author, series, chronological order. He hates mine