You guys loved my 10 under $10 Kmart Toys post, so I thought I’d write one about books too! Another mama on Instagram totally inspired me to write this post as she mentioned that she found it hard finding books for her bub that weren’t crazy prices!
Books can be so expensive, and it’s heartbreaking when your baby has no concept of “good” and just ends up chewing on one that cost more than you’d like to admit! I’ve also found that if your baby is a bookworm (like Jack) then you need A LOT of different books to keep them entertained as they will get bored of the same ones read over and over again. So I thought I’d share where we get the majority of our books from and tips for hunting out books your baby will love!
One place we get about 90% of our books from is…. the charity stores or op-shops! Seriously these are a goldmine for amazing finds and we have found so many books in near-new condition! My mum is amazing at op-shopping and has found us so many beautiful and classic stories that Jack just loves! We only buy the ones that are in near-new condition and we usually take them home and give them a wipe down just to make sure they are perfectly clean. This is a super cheap way to buy books, with some op-shops selling them for as little as 50c!
Obviously with op-shopping you aren’t always guaranteed to find something, but if you go in regularly, I promise you will be able to find some total gems that your child will love. Of course, you could also keep an eye on second hand sites like Trade Me too! We’ve actually got a few books tucked away for Jack that were too good to pass up – like a brand new copy of a collection of Lynley Dodds Hairy Macleary series, and a few Thomas the Tank Engine stories. Jack will get these books when he’s a little older and he stops trying to chew on the books and grab the pages, so do buy ahead if you can too!
I’ve also bought a few books from The Book Depository, which is an online store for books. They are so much cheaper than buying in store and also offer free shipping. The books take around 1-2 weeks to arrive depending on what seller they come from. You can also get puzzle books, sticker books, and flash cards on here too! I’ve been really happy with the books they sell on here, and they work with Goodreads, so you can read reviews and ratings on each book before you purchase.
I bought a few of Jack’s very first books from here including these touch and feel books which he loved when he was younger and still likes to look at. We have Animals and Fluffy Animals and these were perfect simple first books. They were also great for teaching him animals! Jack loved the touchy feel books from about 10 months onwards, so we also got him ones from the That’s Not My….. series. He loves That’s Not My Duck!
Kmart also have a good range of kids books with most books being under $10! What’s In My Truck? is a current favourite in our household! Jack is also loving Jack and the Flumflum Tree by Julia Donaldson which is a fun rhyming story.
Favourite Books for Toddlers…. According to Jack!
- Goodnight Moon
- Little Blue Penguins
- That’s Not My Duck!
- The Tale of Peter Rabbit
- Incy Wincy Spider (with wiggly legs)
- I Can Do It!
- Spot the Dog
- Buddy the Junior Conductor
- Hairy Macleary
- What’s in My Truck?
