With four kids who, like their mother, are “too fond of books”, you can imagine we have a lot of children’s books in the house!
Each child has his or her favorites on a bookcase in the bedrooms; we have picture storybooks on bookcases in the family room; and additional chapter books and miscellany on shelves in the playroom. We are happily surrounded by books!
As each child develops new interests, their “old” books are passed down to younger siblings who might enjoy them.
This week we came to a dead-end in the books’ journey. My four-year-old brought me a handful of beloved board books and asked me “Mom, can we take these baby books out of my room?”
I gathered up all the board books to make room for more “mature” picture books. This is what I culled:
J came home from work and wondered about the pile of books on the kitchen island. I told him that The Little Guy wanted them out of his room, but I didn’t know what to do with them. They’re a bit too worn to give to Goodwill, and I’m not the type to box them up until I have grandkids (plus, I tend to think they would disintegrate further being boxed for so long … our eldest is 13, I can’t believe I just wrote a sentence that includes the phrase “until I have grandkids!”)
He and I began volleying lines from the books:
The sun has set not long ago; now everybody goes below …
One berry, two berry, pick me a blueberry …
By the big red barn in the great green field …
… Goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush” …
… that night he had a stomach ache …
… the saw goes Zzzip Zzzip Zzzip …
… it had been a very busy day
(sigh) … I can’t get rid of the books, they bring back so many great memories of reading with our kids even before they were old enough to sit up. The books are a good reference for examples of rhythm and meter, and we love those Eric Carle collage illustrations. If a friend with a little one comes to visit, I can pull out the board books for the toddler to enjoy.
I’ll make room on the playroom shelves for now … any other ideas?
Can you identify the lines I quoted from some of our favorite board books?
How about stacked up to make an arch to get into the playroom? Or as support for a board across the top for a table for the playroom? (I’m so excited over the idea of a playroom!)
My kids are 14 to 30, and over the years, I’ve kept the books that meant the most to me. (The rest I’ve given to GoodWill, and the pretty worn ones, I put a free ad in the local paper, and gave them away to the first mom or daycare that responded. Lots of new moms want books and can’t afford to buy them. Also the local Women’s Shelter took some) My keepers included books like The Monster at the End of the Book, because I love doing the Grover voice, all my Robert Munsch, because I can’t get through Love you Forever without puddling up, The True Story of the Three Little Pigs, etc. I don’t know if I’ll ever get grandkids, but I still like having these books around. If nothing else, as reminders of both my kids youth and mine! Heck, I may end up in a nursing home someday reading There’s a Nightmare in my Closet to my doddering senile roommate.
I would spot Goodnight Moon with my eyes and ears shut! I donated most of the “baby” books to a daycare center, but I did keep a few sentimental ones (Goodnight Moon was one of them). We had another one called “On This Day”, where you could personalize parts of the book to your child…their name, birthday, etc. It almost makes me cry to read it now!
What a sad day for you when your little one calls those treasures “baby books.” It all just goes by too quickly.
I have no kids, nor have I ever had any, but I still have 15+ board books. They are always handy to have around when our friends bring their kids over. And WE like them
We have so many of those same books. Like you, we recently cleaned out a lot of board books. I put them in a bag and gave them to my sister. She took the ones she wanted and I donated the rest! So sad to get rid of those books!
However you decide to store them, I definitely think you should keep the ones that mean the most to you and your children. My mother kept most of my old baby books, even after I told her I was too old for them and wanted her to get rid of them, and I was glad of it when I got a bit older. It was so nice to revisit something I loved when I was little, and I’d have missed out on that if she’d listened to me and donated them to the thrift shop or passed them along to a friend with younger children.
rhapsody – the playroom doubles as a guest room. The floor is generally covered with stuff until a day before company arrives
Kelly – I had THE MONSTER AT THE END OF THE BOOK when I was a kid; I was so happy to add it to our family library.
Sandy – I’ve weeded out most of those that we didn’t have a strong connection to; those that are left are the cream of the crop
Kathy – it was sad! And he doesn’t want to grow up, in general. If I call him a “big boy” he lets me know that he doesn’t want to be a big boy … there are a lot of advantages to being “the baby” (J and I both are)
Lenore – yes, our friends with younger kids will enjoy them when they visit.
Julie – I’m not one to hold onto things (I didn’t even “preserve” my wedding gown like so many do), but I am holding on to most of these … as long as we have the space.
Memory – even my 11 year old will sit down with picture story books that we moved from his room years ago. I’m glad to know you did eventually want those books your mother saved.
Yesterday I took four boxes of books to the library for the upcoming sale. I know it’s hard to part with the kid’s old favorites, so we saved the ones with the most sentimental value, the ones I enjoyed reading aloud the most, and their ‘absolute favorites’. I bet somebody could come up with a crafty decorating project with old board books, too…
Oh man. I am the wrong person to ask. Remember me? Sentimental Ti who cried over her Hub giving the crib away??
I would keep them. I have the exact same problem. I am right now staring at a bookshelf that is completely overrun by books that my kids have outgrown. I can hand-down some of them to close friends, but some of them just mean too much to me (and them) so I simply cannot part with them. I have one book from when I was 3 years old and I cherish that book so I am hoping my kids as adults will do the same.
Luckily I have nieces and nephews that are younger than my kids; I pass the books on and leave it to them to decide what to do when they’ve finished with them.
Its so adorable that all your kids like to read
Unfortunately, as I have mentioned too many times, I didn’t read when I was young. So I probably don’t remember any board books either
My mother was also not the type to have kept many of my board books after I grew out of them, but I really wish she would have. Definitely keep the favorites (yours and theirs) – if your kids continue to love reading as they grow up, I bet one day they’ll be glad to have them.
My mom is the type to keep everything. She has special baby clothes and toys and everything stored away. She’s lucky that she has the space to do so and I’m glad she has certain things from my childhood ready for both my nostalgia and for my children.
Ahh..yes…we’re getting close to this ourselves. Our four year old is ready to be rid of this board books, the books he received as hand-me-downs from his older brother.
When dealing with something like this, I remind myself that the books (or whatever item it may be) may hold wonderful memories, but by getting rid of them I’m making room for more memories.
We offer up our “outgrown” items to our local Freecycle group. Perhaps see if there is one in your area? I’m certain that there are kids out there in your area that would love these gently loved books.
aaahhh, this is so sweet.
If you aren’t totally attached to keeping them, I think they would make a great gift for a church’s nursery room. I can understand wanting to keep them though, they are probably filled with wonderful memories for you and your family.
Do you have a preschool nearby that might like to have them? Or how about a Christmas gift drive for the needy?
If there are no missing pages or so much doodling on a page you can’t read it then it’s fine for goodwill.
“By the big red barn in the great green field …” – sounds familiar but not sure which book
“… Goodnight to the old lady whispering “hush” …” – Goodnight Moon
“… that night he had a stomach ache …” – The Hungry Little Caterpillar
“… it had been a very busy day” – the very busy spider
I’m the mother who did save the best books from childhood. We moved them many times and groaned with each move. But now that I’m a grandmother and have been able to share those books – oh, it was so worth it. All three of my kids love reading them again (over and over) to the granddaughters. When you learn to love books as a child it stays with you, as you’ve learned. It’s so good to go back and revisit those early loves.
I’m so happy my mom saved our children’s books!
I loved this post!!! I can relate … as I suspect my son might be getting past the board books soon. Yet even though he has them almost all memorized, they seem to be a comfort to him at bedtime and he loves when he can “read” them to us. He is starting to read for real but he feels so comfortable with the ones he knows. I couldn’t get rid of them either (well, some I could but others need to stay). And as far as your quotes, I recognized “The Going To Bed Book” right away — Sandra Boyntoyn is a genius! And of course “Good Night Moon” and “The Very Busy Spider.” I just adore Eric Carle books!!!
I think some sort of building annex is in order…possibly a library wing?!
With a drill and an inexpensive kit they make a great base for a lamp all stacked and colorful especially if they aren’t perfectly aligned. Stopping over from BPOTW.