How and Where to Find Discount Children’s Books
Parents love to stock the libraries of young readers with plenty of book choices in order to help build a lifelong love of books. However, stocking your kid’s shelves can be expensive, especially as kids grow up and into new levels of books so quickly. Luckily, with a little bit of time and planning, there are plenty of options for buying both used and new discount children’s books. From your local library sales to online sites, parents and educators looking to build a kid’s library have options to buy books without breaking the bank. Read on to find out how to get the best deals on discount children’s books for the young readers in your life!
1. Shop Library Sales
In addition to checking out books from your local library for free, library book sales can be a great place to pick up used children’s books at a steep discount. Often these sales happen once or twice a year and are run by the Friends of the Library or a similar group. Sale shoppers can pick up used children’s books (and all other kinds of books, too) for a couple of dollars apiece. Some sales even have days where patrons can bring in grocery bags and fill them to the brim with books for a set fee per bag. Bigger libraries or the main branches of larger library systems may also have stores that sell used books year-round. Asking your local librarians if they know of places to get discounted children’s books can also be a way to find out about local consignment or charity sales taking place in your area.
2. Look for Secondhand and Discount Stores
Thrift and second-hand shops often have shelves full of used books for cheap. If you’re looking for discounted children’s books be sure to browse your local Goodwill and other secondhand stores. Additionally, you can often find children’s books at the Dollar Store or Dollar General. Your town or city may also have stores like The Book Deal that specialize in bringing affordable books for families or a local branch of Half Price Books that you can browse.
3. Check Discount Sites
If you have some time to browse websites there are a plethora that sell discounted children’s books. Thriftbooks, Better World Books, and Book Outlet all have sections for kids’ books (Book Outlet even has a $1.99 deals page). Amazon has a deals page for discounted children’s books that includes both Kindle versions and print copies and Barnes & Noble has an under $5 section you can look through as well. For a site dedicated to just discounted kids’ books, head to KidsBooks which has books organized by topic, age range, and genre.
4. Look Around Your Neighborhood
There are often great places to pick up children’s books for cheap or free close to home. If there are any Little Free Libraries in the area, those are a great place to start. Yard sales can also have books from families whose kids have outgrown them and your local Facebook marketplace may have neighbors selling or even giving away books.
5. Consider Buying in Bulk
If you’re looking to get books to fill a classroom library or host a school giveaway, think about buying in bulk for a cheaper price per title. You can look at places like The Book Bundler (which sells bulk boxes of books by age range) or Books by the Bushel for options. If you’re buying for just one kid, consider finding friends or family members who want to split the cost of a bundle and then swap the books between households.
6. Sign Up for Discount Emails and Coupons
Getting on the email lists for your local library and bookstore(s) is a great way to find out about upcoming sales and clearance events. There are also options for readers looking for ebook deals. Services like Book Bub will email or text you ebook deals, and you can sort through to find books for kids. Book Riot also has awesome options for staying on top of discount children’s books. You can check our Book Deals page for the latest in discounted ebooks and sign up for the newsletter to make sure you never miss a deal! We also have a weekly round-up of children’s book news, The Kids are Alright, that includes discounted children’s book deals and newsletters for Kid Lit Giveaways and YA Promotions.
Happy reading!
