Over the Martin Luther King weekend, we attacked our vast collection of children's books. Some of the books I read to all three boys, I couldn't bear to part with. They include Goodnight Moon, The Runaway Bunny, The Little Engine that Could, and some holiday books that my parents read to me when I was little. But there were literally hundreds of pre-school books and early-readers that I've ordered from Scholastic, or bought at Book Fairs, that the boys have outgrown. In the past, I've given books to our local library, which then sells them for $.50 or $1.00, as a fund-raiser. In Philadelphia, you can donate used books to the Book Corner Bookstore, which is located behind the Main Library branch on the Parkway. If your local library doesn't accept used books, you can donate them to Friends of Libraries USA.
We put all our used children's books into boxes. And on Martin Luther King Day, we delivered them to the Lamberton School in Overbrook Park. There, volunteers were on hand to sort the books, which were to be distributed to needy children. Other volunteers were reading the books aloud to create books on tape. I love knowing that all the books that gave my boys so many hours of enjoyment will go on to bring that enjoyment to other children. Certainly, that's a much better fate for the books than just sitting on our bookshelves and getting dusty!
Other places to which you can donate used books include:
In an upcoming blog, I'll tell you about the big plans we have for our outgrown clothes and toys!
Read more Parenting Perspective blogs by visiting the Parenting Channel on 6abc.com.
