Every Teacher Needs A Library

One thing that all new teachers and student teachers need is access to great books for children! Unfortunately, when you secure a full-time teaching position, you do not often inherit a beautiful classroom library; rather you have to build it. Fortunately, it is never to early to begin collecting.

Hunting for children's books for your own library can be fun and thankfully should not cause you to break the bank. In other words, try to stay away from buying books at book stores (and paying full price) unless you really need specific books you can not find anywhere else. That being said, spending some free time in the children's section of a book store can be great fun and inspirational. It can help you learn top authors and kid's favorites. Sometimes I go to the bookstore just to update myself on what kids are currently reading. I take a tiny notebook and pen and write down authors and titles that are featured in the store. Then, I find them in my local library so that I can read what kids are reading.

But I digress...If bookstores are not the best place to buy books, where should you get your books? Visit your local library and ask about book sales. Some libraries have ongoing book sales and others have a few big sales each year. Check out local thrift stores or yard sales for children's books too! Finally, ask family members, friends, or neighbors if they have any books they are looking to off-load. Once you get a full-time teaching job, you can get books economically through scholastic book fairs or other types of book programs that come to school. In fact, you may even consider writing a grant to help you get money to put towards creating a stellar library.

If you want to give yourself or a student teacher friend the gift of great children's books remember to buy books in all genres: poetry, fiction, informational, biography, how-to books, etc. When buying nonfiction, make sure the information in the book is not outdated (I usually try to stock up on books written in the last five years). In addition, buy books on all different levels. Just because you want to teach third grade does not mean you will and just because you teach a certain grade doesn't mean you won't have students who read above or below grade level.

To keep yourself or a friend really organized, you may consider labeling the books for your library. I like to include my name, the genre, and the reading level of the book. You can use a simple mailing label to do this, but if you want to get fancy and make your own bookplates, try this website for free, downloadable bookplates: http://www.skiptomylou.org/2009/12/02/teacher-gifts/

Here is an image of the bookplate: