Building a home library for children is a rewarding journey that doesn't have to break the bank. It’s fun seeing your collection grow all for free! It takes time and consistently checking back on these resources, but over time you’ll build a magical library for your child! If you have space, collect books that your child can use in a couple years too. In this blog post, I'll share my experiences and provide you with a list of places where I found these treasures to create a rich reading environment for my little ones - as well as give you suggestions for free books here in the U.S. and abroad (as given by my Instagram followers - thank you!).
1. Don’t Sleep on the Local Library:
Of course you can check out free books from the library, but I’ve also got many free books from library events over the years. Literacy programs and non-profits will often use libraries as a venue to distribute their books. Friends of the Library. Be sure to check in with your library every couple months and ask if any book distribution events are coming up. And don’t forget to check libraries outside of your count!
2. Book Banks & Free Bookstores
Book banks are the book version of a food bank! The Maryland Book bank and The Book Thing of Baltimore are my local go to's. The Maryland Book Bank allows children to take any books they can carry. Adults can take up to 25 books unless you become a member for $45 – in which case you can take an unlimited amount. The Book Thing gives you an hour to take as many books as you'd like - and they restock every hour. At the current time they are open once a month.
3. Teacher/Homeschool Supply Swaps
When my children were small I got a lot of books from the now closed-due-to-funding Baltimore Teacher Supply Swap. Although this isn’t a resource you can use now, try googling “Book Swap” in your area – especially on Facebook!
4. Buy Nothing Groups on Facebook - Type “buy nothing” in your facebook search bar. The idea of the buy nothing ‘movement’ is that we can be kinder to the earth, save money, and be good people by giving our local neighbors our unwanted items, instead of throwing them away, selling them, or donating them. Some of these groups can be really specific about the area you live in, because the idea is it doesn’t help the earth or your $ pocket if you have to drive 5 miles to donate 5 books. When I was in California, they wouldn’t let you join more than one local buy nothing group. Here in MD, I have been asked to verify my address at one pickup! But all groups and people are not like that, especially if you routinely participate in the group giving away things.
5. Bookstores - About 70 books in my collection have come from bookstores giving away new books. One big haul was at a Kwanzaa event at Sankofa Bookstore in Washington DC. Each summer my children participate in Barnes and Noble’s Summer Reading Program and get books as well.
6. The United Way/Dolly Parton's Imagination Library - The United Way seems to be a big distributor of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, and similar non-profits. So contact your local chapter to ask about free books in your area/state.
7. Little Free Libraries - I’ve gotta be honest, I love the idea of little free libraries, but I mostly see them in neighborhoods where kids already have access to books. That being said, take a drive to those neighborhoods and grab some books! Here's a map of locations near you. Don’t be afraid, they are free and sometimes you can find great books. The best thing about these is that when your library is too full, you simply give them back!
Here are some other free resources, arranged by location. If you know of any free bookstores, book banks, or programs, please e-mail me and I will add them to the list!
East Bay Book Project | 2501 Harrison St, Oakland, CA 94612 |
Children’s Book Project | 2166 Palou Ave, San Francisco, CA 94124 |
Imagination Library | Stanislaus County, CA |
Little Read Books | 2260 California st , Denver Colorado |
Ferst Readers | 1040 Monticello Rd, Madison, GA 30650 |
Books for Keeps | |
Bernie’s Book Bank | 917 N Shore Dr, Lake Bluff, IL 60044 |
651 W. Lake St. Chicago , IL 60661 | |
Books 4 Cause | 2931 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60618 |
Maryland Book Bank | 1794 Union Avenue, Baltimore Maryland, 21211 |
3001 Vineyard Lane | Baltimore, MD 21218 | |
Check website for availability - International and USA, Some states served include Tennessee, Illinois, Missouri, florida, kansas, Minnesota, Central Georgia, Some Mississippi Counties/Cities, IL, UT AR, AZ and more! Enter your zipcode. | |
The Bridge of Books Foundation | New Jersey |
Book Smiles | 7300 N Crescent Blvd #10, Pennsauken Township, NJ 08110 |
Grassroots | 660 E Grove St, Reno, NV 89502 |
The Rolling Library | Queens New York |
Book Bodega | 141 Flushing Ave suite 407, Brooklyn, NY 11205 |
Strive Higher Inc | Bronx NY |
The Children’s Book Bank at Smart Reading | 1915 NE 7th Ave, Portland, OR 97212 |
The Book Cycle | 405 Velasco st Houston Texas 7703 |
The Welman Project | 3950 W Vickery Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107 |
Virginia Children’s Book Festival | 104 High Street, Farmville, VA |
The Big Free Book Store | 5802 E Virginia Beach Blvd #158, Norfolk, VA 23502 |
The Bookmobile | 77 bells hill roads, Fredericksburg VA |
Book Bank Caracas | F5R2+8JR, Caracas 1060, Miranda, Venezuela |
South Sound Reading Foundation | Washington state ,Lacey ,Olympia ,Shelton |
Jet Blue Free Book Vending Machines | Moves to different states each year. Check the website close to summer https://soarwithreading.com |