Ways to save on summer reading

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If your child’s school has a required reading list, or even if you are just thinking about keeping the kids busy over the summer, you’ll want to get a head-start so that you can save money while snagging these great novels. As a teacher, I see many kids coming in at the beginning of the school year with frustration because they waited to order their book just before school started and the bookstore is sold out. Finishing a novel probably isn’t what most kids want to do over their last week of summer break (although it sounds glorious to me!) So why not start early and have the books available.

Your first step is to get the summer reading list from your child’s school. At our school, it is mailed home with the final report card. Some schools post the list on their websites. Others just have an ongoing list of suggested reading. You’ll have to check with your child’s teacher to get the scoop on their procedure.

My first suggestion is to get the book(s) you want by reserving the titles at your local library. These freebies go quickly, so don’t wait longer than you have to. Of course, that will mean that your child should read them early in the summer so that you can return the book without a fee. I’m really bad about not returning books on time, so I don’t like to check out books. An alternative to this is to ask if your library offers free e-book downloads. You can “borrow” the book on your e-reader, iPod, or whatever for free. No return fees at all with this option. You can also do this with Amazon Prime if you have a Kindle!! That’s almost worth buying a Kindle, in my opinion—-I already have Prime through Amazon Mom. If you have a reluctant reader, consider getting the book on CD as well as in print. It will be a great way to develop your child’s sight words, plus you can listen to the story together in the car. Reading a book together sets up the perfect opportunities to talk with your kids about social issues, emotions, and more.

Do you have a friend who has a child just a little older than yours? Maybe they have a copy of the book you need and will loan it to you over the summer. If you have a good used bookstore, definitely check there to see if they have the book you need. You can usually expect the used book to be around half the retail price. This would be a good time to unload your own bookshelf, just take an assortment of gently used books in and see if they will give you store credit. Then you can use it to get the summer reading books!

If you don’t like leaving your house, consider checking on PaperbackSwap to see if the book is available. If you have credits already, then the book is free and clear!!! If you haven’t used the swap before, let me say that it’s one of my FAVORITE ways to get books. After posting your books, you do have to pay to ship them when a person requests yours, but then you cash in the credit to get a free book of your choice. Plus you can print the postage from home and just put it in your mailbox for the postal carrier to pick up.

My last suggestion is to check at yard sales over the summer to find great books. My husband and I have literally hundreds (maybe even thousands!) of books for our kids and in our classrooms. Most of these books were purchased at yard sales for a quarter each. My students LOVE to read them and I don’t worry too much if the books get lost when I paid so little. My own children absolutely love to read, too, and always have books with them in the car and around the house. I also like to buy books for myself at yard sales, then post them on paperbackswap after reading them.

Do you have any summer reading tips to share? I’d love to hear them!! The book covers pictured are from some of my favorite books, I’d love to see what books are your favorite.