Books, Books, & More Books!

Can a home have too many books? What a silly question. That's like asking if you can learn too much. Of course not.

A few months ago Kara was filling out a survey addressed to Viva. It asked about different activities in the home. One of the questions was how many children's books do you have in your home? The choices given as responses were very limited. They ranged from none to 25 or more. HUH? 25 is the threshold of sufficient books to launch your preschooler into the world of reading? Seriously?

I know that public libraries exist--and we visit our local one regularly--but you still should have a sufficient library of your own, don't you think? Of course, the question is--what is sufficient?

I decided to take an inventory of the children's books in our home. There are three different primary locations where children's books are found.

First there's the children's bedroom where bedtime stories take place. There are two bookshelves in their bedroom. There aren't any toy bins in the bedroom, just books and stuffed animals. There were 333 books on the shelves in the children's bedroom. Do you see why I find 25 a ludicrous answer?

Second there's my bedroom where I keep many of the books I've purchased for the trio. The children's books inhabit three of the lower shelves of the double bookcase in our bedroom. I counted 135 books on the shelves. A miserly collection compared to their bedroom, but it's still more than 25 books!

The third location for children's books in our home is the formal dining room/children's library. We only eat in there once a month when the missionaries come to dinner, so we needed a more useful purpose for the room. We moved a bookcase in and a small child-sized couch. Viva hangs out there for an hour or more most days. (She also reads in her bedroom during nap time.) There are currently 210 books in that bookcase.

In addition there a few other books floating around the house. I found 11 Halloween themed books in the main floor family room, 18 books in the upstairs family room, and I know there's a couple dozen hidden in holiday décor boxes. I've some in my Sunday bag and some in my truck and some in a box in the TV room. I personally think there is no finer piece of wall décor than a bookcase. Paintings, photos, and quilts are nice, but a bookcase is essential to make room look inviting.

The children's library of books has been growing for almost five years. Grandma Vicki sends packages to the kidlets throughout the year that contain books. Kara buys children's books. Matt buys children's books. I buy children's books. The children are on the mailing list for Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

Do you know what is most amazing to me? Despite the multiple contributors to the children's library, they seldom receive a duplicate title. (Other than the duplicate titles sent to Jake and Viva by Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.) Every contributor has their own idea of what a good child's book is and we seldom overlap because there are so many wonderful children's books.

Over the next week or two, I'll add posts telling more about the children's book collection. Which books are the children's favorites? Which authors are best represented in the collection? What is their oldest book? Their newest book? Where do we go to find a good deal on a good book? Where do we go to find a good suggestion for a book?