Read Green – Used Books!

Used bookstores and thrift shops offer fantastic used books and bottom of the barrel prices. Not only are you saving your bank account, but is is also environmentally friendly to shop used! Here are four finds from our latest shopping adventure.

“All by Myself” by Ivan Bates is a sweet book about a little elephant exerting her independence. Sound familiar? It might if you have a toddler or preschooler close by! My husband and I laughed so hard when I found this at the Goodwill, just minutes before my son had proclaimed ” I do it” very loudly for all to hear. The story is great though because although the little elephant wants to do it herself, she can’t. Like many of the tasks young children desire to do independently, she simply can’t do it without help. Her mom backs off though until her daughter is ready to use a little old fashion teamwork to get it done.

“My Little Sister Ate One Hare” by Bill Grossman is a huge hit at our house. It’s a counting book that counts all the disgusting things the narrator’s sister ate from 1-10. The rhyming text builds and repeats as she eats and eats! My son was thoroughly entertained and I liked that he was having fun pointing out and counting the things she ate.

“Everybody Bonjours!” by Leslie Kimmelman was such a find! I adore Paris so my review of this book may be slightly biased. Absolutely love it. I love the simplicity of a little girl going to Paris and saying hearing “Bonjour” everywhere she goes. She stops at many of the major tourist’s attractions and at the end of the story, there is a short guide for the sights she sees with her family. Also, it should be noted that there are many pages that contain opposites on them so children will enjoy being able to anticipate the story. I love the illustrations by Sarah McMenemy they give a retro feel to a very cute book. My son really liked it especially since he was just learning “Bonjour” the other day and happily helped me say it with each turn of the page.

“James and The Rain” by Karla Kushkin is another great find. The story is about James who suits up when the rains come down and go about asking all the animals if they like the rain and what they do in it. However, like “My Little Sister Ate One Hare” the story builds with numbers as it goes along. The first animal James meets is one cow, the next are 2 ducks and the numbers continue to grow. All the animals follow James and he has quite the entourage by the time he returns home. It was a little long for my son to sit through but he did come back to read more later in the day. Being that was live in a rainy part of the world, this book is a great fit for our library.

Where do you normally shop to find used books? Comment below or share on my Facebook page!

For more quick tips on helping your child learn to read check out my book; Raising A Rock-Star Reader. It is packed with fun ideas for families, book lists, and advice for parents.