Best $10 children's gift, ever!

For the past several months I have been in the process of building my daughter's home library. I have scoured Amazon, Target and Walmart searching for the biggest bang for my buck in bulk book purchases. I have visited used bookstore along our travels, and I have managed to hit most of the library book sales covering a 150 mile radius from our home. I have found that an average book (hardcover) cost is approximately $12.00, so a measly ten books is going to run you about $120. I have quickly realized that children’s books are not cheap. However I have managed to round up a little over 125 tiles for my little one (so far) and I can promise you, I did not pay the average going rate for her collection. Not even close.

This blog allows me to do something else that I love to do: share. I just found another incredible, AMAZING, children’s book deal that I'm itching to tell you about. I stumbled upon Kohl’s Department Store and found famed children’s author, Eric Carle’s hardcover books for $5 a pop! F-I-V-E dollars! Un-heard of! A. Total. Steal. Trust me! Classics such as, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, The Very Busy Spider, Does the Kangaroo Have a Mother Too? and,10 Little Rubber Ducks, each for $5 a piece. In addition to the books they are also selling the corresponding stuffed animal for a mere $5 bucks too. For the price of a latte you can get a wonderful keepsake that can be passed down to future generations.

I picked up all four books and the plush animals as if the deal were expiring within minutes and raced to the check out counter only to find out that Kohl’s does this continuously throughout the year, rotating with various children’s authors. But here’s the BEST part! Kohl’s is committed to Kids Health and Education. “Throughout the year, Kohl’s sells kid-friendly cause merchandise, with 100 percent of the net profit donated to support kids’ health and education initiatives in communities nationwide’. Since 2000, they have raised over $180 million through this program and for five dollars a book, they have been able to reach more readers across the country. So very cool!

I pass on this information to you as a parent, aunt, godmother or friend, because this is the best $10 gift you could give a kid. Not only will the parent appreciate the book, the child will love the soft, furry stuffed animal. I picked up extras to have on hand so I might pass them out to a neighbor, a colleague, drop them by a domestic violence shelter, or give one to my daughter on a rainy day Tuesday. I wrapped them in cellophane, tied on pretty ribbons, and voilà, they became the perfect gift! Keep this in mind as you gather your own child’s home library collection, or need a gift.

Happy reading, Melissa