How to Organize Children's Books

My daughter is in LOVE with books. If she had her way, she would read all of her books all day long. When she is teething, all she wants is books. When daddy says books, she runs into his arms. She even has mastered the baby sign for books. With all of the books, we need to figure out a way for her to choose what books she really wanted.

We wanted to instill a love of reading from the beginning. So, at 3 months old, we added books into our nighttime routine. Her favorite book was "Peek-a-boo Forest".

Purchased from Amazon*

If we didn't read that book at night before bed, she would cry and cry. We could read any other book but if that was not the last one, read at least twice, the whole night was ruined.

How do we know this, you ask? We left the book at my parents house after a sleepover. Worst bedtime routine still to this day...

Now, she loves almost any book. She is still not into too many words but she is starting to. She loves books she can feel or flip open flaps. Some of her favorites are these Bug Books.

Purchased from Amazon*

Between these books, books from when I taught, books the grandparents have bought and other books we have purchased, I needed a way to keep the current books that she enjoys now organized. Organizing the rest will come later.

Tackling the first problem: What to do with the books on her windowsill that we read every day and every night? How does she know what books are there and which one she wants to read?

My best solution was a book stand. Like the ones they use in stores or in libraries.

via

But I wanted some thing that was easy to get, not as expensive and somewhat smaller so we could minimize the options of books available. I find that minimizing the books allows for us to switch them out easier and excite her with "new" books. Not a new idea but a good one.

So walking through Target that day, I found a solution. A dish rack. They had several options. They even had a Cartwheel discount for one. I chose this one because it was low in the middle so it would be easy for Seraphina to get the books out and I liked the placement and shape of the utensil holder, which made it great for smaller books or other accessories in the future.

Purchased from Target

As soon as I got home I packed the books in. I placed her favorites in first and then sprinkled the others in there. Most of her other books got moved to the play area in the basement or the living room on the first floor. Some got put away for the future.

So far the system is working great! She can lean into the windowsill and choose which book(s) to read. And when I place the rack on the floor, she can easily grab  the book(s) that she wants.

I love using ordinary products for something different. This was an affordable and simple option to corral the books.
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What do you do with all of the books your kids read?