Building a Library Inexpensively

Reading is important but how do you build a library inexpensively? The more a child is surrounded by books, the more he or she will be encouraged to read. I know that we are in the age of electronics - books in digital formats may be good for older children and adults but you aren't going to give a child a love for reading this way. Personally, I prefer to hold a real book in my hands. 

There are many ways to pick up book inexpensively: 
- garage sales 
- thrift shops 
- used book sites on the internet: Alibris, Abe, Half.com, Barnes & Noble, Kregel 

Be sure your library includes a variety of books, not just fiction. Include some of the following:  

Classics: Dickens, Hawthorne, Defoe, Spyri, etc.  
Biographies: Presidents, Missionaries, historical figures, composers, artists  
Spiritual, Character building: find books that will help grow your child's character and spiritual life. These can be fiction or non-fiction. Check out Vision Forum and Lamplighter Ministries for some great sources  
Reference books: dictionary, commentaries, concordance, Bible dictionary, Thesaurus  

 “He that loves a book will never want a faithful friend, a wholesome counselor, a cheerful companion, an effectual comforter. By study, by reading, by thinking, one may innocently divert and pleasantly entertain himself, as in all weathers, as in all fortunes.” - Barrow

Thoughtful Tuesday

"Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own."  

-- Nikos Kazantzakis