The Blue Bag

Maybe this is common at everyone's library, but I've never seen it before and I'm so excited that I have to share!

Our library has these book kits called "Story Express Kits" that are basically multi-media collections that revolve around a single theme.  They consist of several books, a music CD, a DVD and toys or action figures.  All of the items are neatly contained in this handy blue bag, complete with a laminated card listing the bag's inventory.

I chose the dinosaur themed bag this time due to Colin's still rampant love of dinosaurs (just recently he told me he wants to name his baby sister "diplodocus").  I really wish I had the camera handy when the boys opened the bag because their faces were priceless!  Who knew a bag from the library could thrill them this much?  The dinosaur bag contains:

• How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?
• Saturday Night at the Dinosaur Stomp
• Dinosaur Roar!
• Dinosaur! (couldn't find a link for this one)
• Dinosaur Bones
• Ten Little Dinosaurs
• Wee Sing Dinosaurs (music CD)
• Dinosaur (DVD)
• a Allosaurus
• a Parasaurolophus
• a Styacosaurus

The boys were totally thrilled that there were toys in the bag.  We had to break out the dinosaurs and put in the DVD immediately, while they also thumbed through the books.  We'll be reading and posting reviews of the books all this week.

As previously mentioned, the library has several Story Express Kit themes to choose from.  I stopped at dinosaurs, but I also saw "colors", "alphabet" and "cars".  I'll have to pay more attention next time and note what the other themes were.

The way the process works is that the library keeps a binder of laminated cards that describe the theme and contents and when you find one you like, you take the card to the circulation desk and exchange it for the bag.  A great thing about this process is that you know when you choose a theme card that it is actually available since they keep that card out of the binder until the bag is returned.  No last minute disappointment!

I look forward to reading these books to the kids this week and even listening to the dinosaur songs on our daily commute to school.  The only challenge thus far has been making sure that the "library dinosaurs" go back to sleep in the blue bag when they are done playing with them.  I'm paranoid that we are going to lose them and I'm going to have to buy the library new ones!

I imagine ours is not the only library with these story kits - I highly recommend that you ask about it next time you go to your local library.  If you do, let me know.  I'd love to hear about it!

Hello Again & Book Haul

I finally went to the library that is closest to our new house (almost a year later - ha!).  I've been putting it off because I thought it was too much of a drive & it's hard to mix a library trip with a grocery store trip.

Well, I should have gone a long time ago because it really is a nice library!  They even have a cafe that serves ice cream sourced from a local shop - how can you beat that?  They have a large children's section and it seems like they have a lot of events and story times for children.  I will have to keep that in mind this summer when I have all of the kids home with me and we're looking for something to do to escape the heat.

I'm really glad I was able to scope it out without the kids today.  It gave me a chance to walk around and check it out without any distractions.

Without further ado, here's what I came home with:

I actually got three books for me as well.  I've been mostly reading books on my Kindle, but the free books available have been getting kind of tired for me so I was happy to reserve some books at the library and have them waiting for me on the shelf with my name on them.  :-)  Oh, I check out The Sewing Bible several times a year - I love this resource!  I really should buy it one of these days...

For the kids, I brought home:

• Hello Baby! by Lizzy Rockwell
• Rick Is Sick by David McPhail (for Jack to read)
• Jack and Rick by David McPhail (also for Jack to read - can't believe I'm writing that)
• Carolinda Clatter!  by Mordicai Gerstein - this one came with a CD
• Ogres!  Ogres Ogres! by Nicholas Heller
• Danny and the Dinosaur (DVD)

More about the blue bag next post!


 

Where to Get Children's Books

I thought it would be fun to share where we get our books.  Maybe you will get a few new ideas and maybe you can share your ideas with me.  I'm listing these in order of preference.

Library
Our local library is a great resource for children's books (and audio books, e-books & movies!).  Most (all?) libraries have a website now where you can put items on hold, renew checked books & even pay overdue fees (guilty here).  We find it more fun to go in and choose books on the spot though.  It's a great way to discover new books and old favorites all in one place.  Best of all, library books are free!

Hand Me Downs
Another free resource is friends and family with older children.  We were lucky enough to receive large shopping bags full of books from a good friend whose children are older than ours.  Some of the books were over their age range, but we just held onto them (in some cases, still holding onto them) until they are ready for them.  We've also brought home a few books from Grammy's house, mostly the Bernstein Bears series that Jack loves (he calls them "the dancing bears"), but we really like to leave most of them at Grammy's house for the kids to discover.  Don't forget to share the love, though, and hand down books to younger friends when you're finished with them.  We have quite a few baby/toddler books that we need to hand down and/or donate.

Library Book Sales
Our local library has a book sale at least a couple of times a year.  Children's books generally sell for anywhere between five cents and a dollar.  The books are usually in well-loved condition, but this is a great opportunity to stock up.  There is usually a flier at the front desk when a sale is coming up or you can check the library website under "Events".

Local Used Book Stores
This one is tricky.  Our favorite used book store carries children's books, but generally frowns upon children in the store (I base this on experience, not store policy obviously).  Also, in my experience, prices vary from store to store.  Sometimes we get a great deal, other times we don't.

On-Line Retailers
I buy so many things on-line these days, including books.  I like Amazon's 4-for-3 deals, especially for gifts.  Even better if you can get free shipping.

Brick & Mortar Stores
Are there any local booksellers around anymore?  I've purchased books for the kids at Barnes & Noble on occasion and Target (impulse buys), but I think the last time I bought a book from a local bookshop was when Colin was a baby and I was visiting my hometown.  Sad.

Where do you get your children's books?  Any experience with eBay, Craigslist or Etsy?