A crucial part of this project -- and our daddy-daughter reading in general -- is the library. In our case, it's the Chicago Public Library, recently named the best urban public library by a German university (weird, but whatever, I'll take it).
With a library card we can cycle through a ton of books easily and for free to see what Violet and/or I respond to, then (as in the case of "The Day the Crayons Quit") if we find something we both really like, we can spend our hard-earned dollars on it. Plus, plenty of kids books are perfectly fine for a little while, but not great enough to bother owning forever ("Elephant & Piggie Are In a Book," I'm looking at you!).
Especially given the vastness of the world of children's literature, and the capriciousness of my daughter's reading moods, it helps to have a whole bunch of books on hand to offer up at bedtime or naptime or anytime. The library is crucial for us in maintaining a proper crop of variety, while also allowing us to limit the books we buy to the best of the best. To this end, I am not ashamed to say that I am in possession of not only my own library card but also my wife's card. It is a nearly impossible amount of borrowing power that I hold.
Now, I don't know how it works in other areas and library systems, but the Chicago Public Library's online system is absolutely fantastic. You can search the entire card catalog on the web, and put books on hold electronically. Then you wait -- sometimes a day, sometimes quite a while -- and you get an email letting you know your book (or movie! or CD! or whatever!) is waiting for you on the special shelf in the library of your choice. Plus, you can renew books online as well. I'm telling you, it's an absolute life-changer. I canNOT recommend the library highly enough. I've even been known to get a book or two out for myself by accident. And even more by accident to get a movie for the weekend.
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