I'm finding that my four year old loves to read with us, but doesn't instigate reading (unless we show her a book first). I think it's because her books are set up like a typical bookshelf, and she obviously cannot read any of the bindings.
I'd love to do some front facing ledges in her room, but wonder if that's too young when she has a bookcase already?
Also, I have some ikea spice racks, but realistically they don't fit many books width wise. Looking for some new ideas!
nectarine / 2085 posts
We have bookshelves and baskets on the floor that I rotate books through. We've got a set of two baskets in the two rooms we tend to read in (so, four baskets total), one has our books and the other has library books, or at least, that's the idea. They tend to get mixed up after he's done with them.
As for ledges, I've seen rain gutter shelves and a picture shelf that IKEA sells that is longer than the spice racks.
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
I've seen the rain gutter shelves, @honeybear: - I love the look of them! I can't help but wonder if they're sharp, though?
pomelo / 5573 posts
I like the idea of baskets, and if you want to further encourage reading what about a special reading area (maybe a beanbag chair in a corner with some book baskets next to it) and some dedicated reading time? Like just say after dinner (or whatever, based on your schedule) everybody reads for ten minutes? I read a thing the other day that one of the best things you can do to encourage a love of reading is let your kids see you reading.
hostess / watermelon / 14932 posts
duh. just realized - plastic gutters. hahaha! we have an old house with sharp metal ones.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
We do a lot of reading in our living room, we have a bin, a basket and stacks of books on the coffee table. I like that they're right there, no reason not to pick up a book!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
We have a basket of books in the living room. In DD's room we have picture ledges that she can't reach. They are full of books she's too young for (illustrated Harry Potter for example). Then we keep a pile of her favorite books on the floor next to her rocking chair. She requests the same 10 books before nap and bedtime! I love having books in the living room where all her toys are. She "reads" to herself quite a bit and sometimes brings DH and I a book to read to her. We check out a couple board books at the library each week and keep those in the living room too.
kiwi / 556 posts
http://raisingolives.com/2009/07/raingutter-book-shelves-tutorial/
I saw this while I was pregnant with DD1 and I've been thinking about it since!
hostess / papaya / 10540 posts
This is what our setup looks like with Ikea Ribba shelves (photo from Pinterest):
They aren't very pricey, easy to install, and have worked great the last 5 years! I think if you look back on my IG you can find a photo of when we first put them up.
nectarine / 2243 posts
we have this and we LOVE it. Lot can just flip through it and find a book. its also easy to shove books back onto it. We set it up next to her PBK anywhere chair and she walks in there daily and grabs a book and sits down (she's 2 but she's been doing that for 9 months!)
nectarine / 2262 posts
@littlebit7 I like the look of that. I need something that will sit on the floor. Does it hold a lot of books? Kind of $$$ though.
Following for more ideas. Our playroom/family room has stacks of books on the floor, it's a mess. We can't do shelves on the wall because of how the room is set up (kind of open to the living room/dining room and the furniture is against the wall). So we need something that can sit on the floor and store books.
pomegranate / 3438 posts
We have this book case. It's ok as long as the books are on the larger side. The small books tend to get lost in it. I also have a basket of books. I rotate them between the basket and book case every few months.
apricot / 370 posts
We have a couple of these low to the floor in each bedroom - they work really well for board books. And, blue and yellow are on sale right now!
http://www.landofnod.com/cobalt-origami-wall-shelf/s580130
nectarine / 2243 posts
@MrsADS: yeah I know it's $$. And I agree. But I'd spend the money again. It came fully assembled and the paint has held up well. LON has sales occasionally (I think I got it 15% off and free shipping). It probably holds between 20 and 30 books depending on thickness. It really fosters independence...the books are all at the perfect height for her.
honeydew / 7463 posts
We have this that I think my mom got from Walmart or target. Maybe even Amazon. I'll find out.
I like it BUT if I had a choice I would have gotten one with a back to it. This one is open in the back and just uses the wall to lean against (ours is attached with straps) and there is a small gap between the shelves and the wall. So sometimes books fall down behind. It's fine, you can get them easily, it's just a little annoying.
ETA: here it is. Should have known it was wayfair knowing my family. Lol.
https://www.wayfair.com/Guidecraft-Expressions-43-Book-Display-EZ2689.html?PiID%5B%5D=11803541&source=hotdeals
cantaloupe / 6017 posts
So we have a stupid amount of kids books. We keep some in her room on shelves, some in the upstairs hallway on shelves, board books in the living room on shelves. Then I rotate a seasonal collection that I display on a low shelf beneath our nature table (where we keep seasonal stuff from nature walks, little gnomes, animals, etc).
pear / 1503 posts
We have the same IKEA Ribba shelves as @Boogs, but find it's annoying trying to keep the books upright when they are stacked more than a couple deep because the lip of the shelf is so low they sometimes topple over. They've worked okay for the last 2 yrs, but I am now having my Mom make MDF clouds for the front to raise the height a little and give them more visual appeal. She has a scroll saw and is very crafty. Unfortunately she lives on the other side of the country. 
persimmon / 1198 posts
We have have IKEA shelves like the ones mentioned above, but I think we have a different style that was about half the price. I love having the books facing cover out for the reasons you mentioned, and I think it does create more reading interest in my LO. He loves running into his room now, grabbing a book and sitting in his chair to read. We purposely put them low to the ground so he could access them himself. I wish we had more space, but I'll probably just rotate or keep his favorites out like this. We also have a large basket next to the chair/these shelves that holds library books.
@MrsADS: IKEA sells something similar that is way cheaper! You could get a couple for the price of the LON one. http://m.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/art/00290783/
pear / 1503 posts
We also recently bought the small floor one @bookwormmama posted right above. It's not big but we are using it to rotate books in and out and have DS more involved with tidying up his room. Literally, just went to look up the link!
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@bookwormmama: @Astro Bee: so I had that IKEA floor one too and a safety expert inspected our house and his report noted that item as Urgent Unsafe & Could poke out an eye. DH had been saying that for weeks, but he's so dramatic sometimes. How old are your LOs? I'm hoping I can use it again when LO is older. It's a perfect little stand to hold a few (8-9) favorite books.
persimmon / 1198 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: we don't actually own it. I have seen the sample at the store several times and wanted to get one or two, but they were sold out the few times I've gone. I haven't really have a desperate need for it, so I haven't gone specifically to pick it up. I never really noticed that kind of safety issue with it. My son is 3 and I don't think I'd have an issue with one of these in his room for books.
pear / 1503 posts
@Mrs. Lemon-Lime: DS turns 2 next week, and we've only had it since end-Jan. At this age I'm not concerned, but at the crawling/just starting walking stage (I see your LO is 11 mos), I would probably be a little nervous of the posts. DS really likes putting his books away on his own, and the small size is good for that. DS2 isn't due for another month, but by the time he is mobile and it becomes a potential hazard we'll put it away temporarily. I tend to be a little like your DH, but it's good to keep an eye out (no pun intended) for things that might happen. Case in point: My in-laws house is a death trap. Lol!
wonderful pea / 17279 posts
@bookwormmama: @Astro Bee: thanks for replying. Definitely makes me feel better about keeping it and bringing it back out later.
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