I love to read. Every day, I read using my beloved Kindle Paperwhite
and I devour books. This love of reading started at an early age and it has helped me in so many ways as I’ve grown older. To me, there is nothing better than curling up with a good book and being transported to a different world.
Our children have both been exposed to books from an early age, and we are trying to instil a love and respect for books in them. Beginning with cloth books as babies, moving on to board books and picture books, Georgie and Lydia have both had plenty of books around them at every stage so far. I get most of them at charity shops and we are lucky enough to have a steady trickle of books sent to us to review, as well.
In fact, some might say we have a few too many books. But I have to ask… is there really such a thing as too many books, especially when we’re talking about kids?
Up in the hall bookcase, we have two shelves of board books and storybooks, including our ever-expanding collection of classic & new Ladybird books. These shelves are usually really full but several books have been liberated and scattered around my bedroom and the hallway – I go around rounding them up every now and again!
The Usborne “That’s not my…
” books have been a great hit with both our girls. The Raa Raa, In the Night Garden, and Peppa Pig books are all really nice – all these are from Ladybird books.
We also have several shelves of our favourite children’s books that James and I have both hung onto from our childhoods, waiting for our children to be old enough to enjoy them.
This lot includes Roald Dahl, a big helping of Enid Blyton, and my beloved L. M. Montgomery & Laura Ingalls Wilder collections. Also, two sets of Harry Potter – thanks to James & I both being reluctant to get rid of our set! Ah well, Georgie and Lydia will be able to read them at the same time.
In their bedroom, a basket of picture books sites by the bed for bedtime story time. Georgie and Lydia get two books every evening when they go to bed, which Georgie chooses from the basket.
There are some real favourites among this collection. Spot’s Bedtime Storybook
, Say Goodnight to the Sleepy Animals!
, Old Macdonald Had a Zoo
and Dogger
are all frequently read & beloved by our three year old bookworm.
Downstairs, a sling bookcase is crammed full with yet more picture books. I try to swap some of these out with those in the basket upstairs so that we have more variety. With our new sofa & armchair, I have rearranged the room slightly and the girls now have a beanbag next to this bookcase so they can snuggle down in a quiet corner to look at books.
The Meg and Mog books were a birthday present for Georgie from my sister and she really enjoys them. The Gruffalo
is there, of course, along with favourites Wriggle and Roar!
, The Tiger Who Came to Tea
& Cops and Robbers
.
On top of the toy box, are large board books, noisy books, and plenty of fun touchy feely books which Lydia particularly enjoys.
Some fun favourites from this selection are Thomas & Friends Amazing ABC
(which you can see Georgie read aloud here if you fancy a laugh), Peppa Pig: Birthday Surprises
, and Noisy Train
. Spin and Say
, Buster’s Zoo
& Buster’s Farm
are three of the girls’ favourite Rod Campbell books and can be seen here too.
Inside each of the toy boxes we keep in the entertainment unit are plenty of smaller board books – we have amassed a huge collection of “little library” books which both girls enjoy looking at as they play, so most of those books are in these boxes.
Ladybird Baby Touch: Wiggle Jiggle Ladybird!
and The Baby’s Catalog: See the Rabbit
can be spotted in amongst the toys in this box; both Lydia’s firm favourites. There’s a really cute board book version of Dr. Seuss’s ABC: An Amazing Alphabet Book!
in there too which Georgie really enjoys.
So, what do you think? Is this too many books? Or maybe, just maybe, it’s not enough? It is certainly a much loved, hugely enjoyed and well read collection.
Personally, I think I’ll be continuing to buy children’s books at a rate of knots for many years to come.
I think we’re going to need another bookcase.
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No, never too many books! How else do you help your children love books?
I’m dreading the day we need to start weeding out the ‘baby’ books 🙁
This is so lovely- I never think too many books. I used to read so much as a child and now I am obsessed with English I think it is such a great idea- so many children are on social media far too early and hate reading xxx
We have a huge amount of books and I keep finding new homes to keep them all. You can never, EVER have enough books! x
That is a lot of books! but I do think there is no such thing as too many 🙂
No such thing as “too many books”. My son taught himself to read through just being exposed to books and being read to before he started school. My partner would share his Autosport and train magazines with him. He is now nearly 8 and has a reading age of 16 plus. My youngest also loves stories and books. We too have the problem of not enough book storage. We are having an extension soon and I am really excited as I have plans for a floor to ceiling bookcase to house some of them currently languishing in boxes.