Five Tips for Building a Home Library for Kids

Have you ever wondered if your children’s books could be set up differently at home?  Do you think about ways to make it easier for your child to find and read his books?  Here are a few tips to help you set up a home library for your child:

1. Make books accessible for your child.  Keep them low and easy to reach.
2. Consider placing books in easy to move baskets, instead of standing them up on a bookshelf.  Placing them in baskets makes it easier for your child to find a book he/she may be looking for.  It’s much easier for a child to choose a book by looking at its cover, rather than the spine.  If you need the space, consider placing some books upright and others laying flat, as seen below.
   

   My seven year old son's bookshelf - only partial

3. Consider organizing books by genre or topic.  This is also made easier by baskets.  Each basket can hold its own genre of books! If your children are old enough, consider having them help you sort books and determine genre.
4. Include periodicals in your home library.  Children love receiving mail and periodicals provide additional opportunities for children to read for different purposes.
5. Don’t feel confined to one area!  Place “mini-libraries” on every floor of your house.  We have small book holders in our basement playroom, bookshelves in our first floor family room, and each child has bookshelves (overflowing with books!) in their bedrooms.

Do you have any innovative ways you organize your home library?  I would love to hear how others use their space for books!

Dawn Little (aka Links to Literacy) also blogs at www.teachingwithpicturebooks.wordpress.com where she provides educators with picture book lessons based on comprehension strategies and the Six Traits of Writing.  In addition, she blogs at www.literacytoolbox.wordpress.com where she provides educators and parents with tips and tools to enhance the literacy lives of children.  She is the founder and owner of Links to Literacy, a company dedicated to providing interactive literacy experiences for children and families.  Find out more at www.linkstoliteracy.com

One Comment

• Sweety S Manglic says:

  April 17, 2010 at 4:40 am

  Dear First Book Team,

  Thank you very much for this beautiful piece of information. Since i am planning to have a library for my daughter very soon, would like to read more posts on building kids library at home.

  rgds,
  Sweety S Manglic
  Ahmedabad, India