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Building a House of Books

There are books in our living room,

And in our playroom too,

Books beside the big bed,

And the smaller one for you!

We read together at breakfast,

(And quite often lunch as well),

We like listening books at naptime,
The kind that are good to tell.

We have books for pretending as we play,

And for driving in the car,

If there’s one thing to know about us, it’s…

There are books WHEREVER we are!

How do you include books in your family routines? Do you have books strewn all around the house like we do?

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Christie Burnett is a teacher, presenter, writer and the mother of two. She created Childhood 101 as a place for teachers and parents to access engaging, high quality learning ideas.

Read the comments or scroll down to add your own:

  1. Anna says

    Oh now that looks very familiar. We are very much the same, except for the breakfast tables as my three are far too messy when they eat. Sometimes I think the car should be a mobile library we have that many in there.

  2. Francesca says

    That's exactly how our house looks, not deliberately either. It drives my husband mad but there are books everywhere! No reading while eating but that's pretty much it. Otherwise I just can't say no. I've tried, but I can't. We all have our vices, mine our books.

  3. Antonia says

    We have books on just about every horizontal surface in every room. I have been keeping some of my overflow in my 4 yr old's room. She loves picking up grown up books and 'reading' them. Funnily she seems to always choose books with a feminist slant, such as works by Simone de Beauvoir, Ann Summers and Betty Freidan! I just love the book display you have in your playroom. Do you remember where you got it? I have been looking for an attractive shelf that allows children to see the front cover of their books for ages.

  4. Sarah says

    We love books. They too are everywhere. As with Anna, we try to avoid books & food. I feel very blessed to have children who love books as much as I do.

    • Christie Burnett says

      I am going to give some of our older books a 'makeover' ala this post - http://creativestarlearning.blogspot.com/2011/06/recycling-books-for-use-outdoors.html for use in our cubby house :)

  6. Kellie @ Three Li'l Princesses says

    We have a ``books anytime'' rule! ;) I'm currently looking at a pile on top of the window seat, which also houses more books. Then there's the girls' bedrooms, big lounge, our room, car and there's a pile on the dining room table. Our favourite book time would have to be bedtime books, which we now call ``family time''. We all snuggle into Ella's bed and read three books, before singing three songs. Bliss!

  7. Cat says

    Your house looks SO much like ours with books everywhere - I even have the Bebito's books on my bedside table for morning cuddles. I once read a quote that said, "A room without books is like a body without a soul." You've inspired me though to take some photos of where our books are! These are the sorts of the things we forget as our babies become toddlers who become small children and then large children I'm sure. Great post Christie. xxx

  8. Renee Taprell says

    Is that FAT CAT? Wow! That takes me back. I'd forgotten all about Fat Cat. Can we still call him Fat Cat or is that not politically correct? Sorry, I'm reliving my childhood. I love your post about books in every corner of the house. It's so wonderful to see a book is always within arms reach to encourage children to read and wonder.

  9. Milina says

    I love this! My children and I love books and I would love to be able to do this in my home. One problem though, my 2 year old loves to rip books :(. Any tips on trying to get him to stop? He loves having books read and knows he's not meant to, as he does it when we are not around, or tells us to 'go away'. He even manages to rip board books! So unfortunately our books are stored where he cannot reach, and unfairly where his nearly 4yr old sister cannot reach (they share a room). I hope he gets over this phase soon.

  11. Natalie says

    Our house is just the same way! We have books in every room. Our daughter insists upon being read to during meals, so we have a special stack of books at the kitchen table. I actually just wrote about this stack of books yesterday! http://acandletobelit.wordpress.com/2011/07/14/books-of-the-month-2/ We even have the same sort of bookshelf in our living room that you do, with all the covers facing out. I love having books in a room, a house feels empty without them.

    • Christie Burnett says

      Our mealtime reading doesn't look as organised as yours, Natalie :) Have you read Grandpa and Thomas by Pamela Allen? It is one of our favourite beachy stories.

  12. LJayne says

    Books everywhere here too. I did English Lit at Uni so I have LOADS of books of my own and I don't seem to be able to stop buying them for the kids "oh dear" ;) My awh moment is when the 8 and 5 year old read each other's bedtime stories and then do the same for the nearly 3 year old. And then she gets a book and "reads" the story to me!

  14. jeanne says

    Oh, so very lovely :) Love 'Stella' books (& all others!) by Marie-Louise Gay and all things with Lauren Child's name on it! Your home looks like my classroom, with books available in all areas: resource, quiet reading, listening books, buckets of books, shelves of books - and, of course, an inviting place to write your own books :) Cheers to books! (Do you know the book "Book" by George Ella Lyon? It is out of print yet the most gorgeous book about Loving Books and how books are a part of us).

  15. se7en says

    Yes...Love your house of books!!! We live in a house of books too... I used to keep all our library books on a special dedicated shelf but as my kids get older they claim their own... So they have a library bag that they drag around the house from room to room!!! At least on library day I know that their books will be in the bag and not immersed somewhere around the house!!!

  17. mandy says

    I'm a librarian...so, yes, our house looks like that too! My son's main bookcase is in our living room, but he also has a small bin of books in his room. We have a large bookcase in our bedroom, another one in the office, and misc books in various spots about the house (bathroom, on the stairs, on the couch, etc). Reading is part of the bedtime routine and my son (20 months) will usually stop anything for an opportunity to sit and read a book. I suspect he will be much like I was as a child -- I would often sneak books under my night light after I was supposed to be in bed, lol.

  18. Rebecca says

    House of books? Oh yes. Love how that sounds. We have baskets and piles everywhere. We love books on CD, but hadn't thought of downloading them. Are they on iTunes, or do you have another suggestion?

    • Christie Burnett says

      Some of ours are from iTunes and some from CDs we have purchased, Rebecca. Depending on the age of your child, there are some websites with free audio downloads - Story Nory is the one that comes first to mind.

  19. Elise says

    One of the first "big" items we bought when we were having our first baby was a massive bookshelf for the nursey (the furniture had to match the bookshelf). Each of my children have a bookshelf in their room and it gives me great pleasure filling these with quality books. Actually, I am always online and in in bookstores adding to our collection.

  20. Melissa says

    We have books everywhere as well. I walked into my 3 yr old son's room the other day to find every one of his books on the floor and he and his 1 yr old sister sitting in the middle of the pile reading and giggling. I was told they were having a book party! Love your Fat Cat too! It brings back memories of watching it on TV as a kid!

  21. Amanda Kendle says

    I loved seeing Fat Cat there too! Our house is very similar although considerably less orderly ;-) I'm also glad to see so many like-minded people making comments. I heard last week of parents who *don't read* to their children! I was shocked! Isn't it pretty much as necessary as eating and sleeping? :-)

The Book

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