Children's Books: Hardcover, Paperback, or Board?

[UrbanSue]

I was just shopping for a baby shower for a couple that probably would never think of reading to their child. So instead of adding to the huge pile of onesies they will likely receive, my kids helped me select four nice books to give them. I would have purchased them a whole library if funds would allow, and yet, I bought only hardcover books because I so strongly prefer them myself. I find they are easier to read aloud than paperbacks and hold up far, far better than board books. But I wonder if I am alone in my preference. Maybe I should have gone the cheap paperback route and bought them twice as many. Or maybe gone with board books so the parents don't see the books as too precious to actually read. Hence, the poll.

 

Assume, please, that we're talking about books available in all three categories :)

[Arcadia]

I vote hardcover for my family. However for a couple that might not read to their baby, I'll get board books or bath books as the child might end up chewing on the books.

[Gentlemommy]

For babies, I prefer Indestructables brand books.they are made of magic paper (lol) that won't tear. The kids can chew, suck on, and try to rip it. For toddlers I prefer board books, because they like to turn the pages, and it's easier for them to do so. For my older kids now (8 and 5), I prefer paperback. They take up less space, and are more cost effective. I haven't found that hardback books last any longer. We do have a lot of bigger anthology type books that are, of course, hardback.

[HelenNotOfTroy]

There is a time frame where I prefer board books, simply because older babies and toddlers can be very hard on books. I love hardcover books, but tend to buy paperback for gifts for budgetary reasons. I buy mostly used for my own household and if it is a book I want us to have, I don't worry about whether it is paperback or hardcover.

[Lily_Grace]

For babies, I prefer Indestructables brand books.they are made of magic paper (lol) that won't tear. The kids can chew, suck on, and try to rip it. For toddlers I prefer board books, because they like to turn the pages, and it's easier for them to do so. For my older kids now (8 and 5), I prefer paperback. They take up less space, and are more cost effective. I haven't found that hardback books last any longer. We do have a lot of bigger anthology type books that are, of course, hardback.

 

I agree completely. I got frustrated with board books becoming soggy, germy messes and told DH that I wanted books made out of Tyvek. He laughed at me until I found the Indestructibles. They were awesome little things.

 

Now that he's older we buy hardcover, and give hardcover books when we want to give a book as a gift. Our home library is small and only for books we'll cherish so I don't mind the extra weight of carrying around hardback books.

[trinchick]

I didn't vote because my answer is "it depends." For a shower I would definitely give board books UNLESS I was giving a classic like Make Way for Ducklings that I know the child will grow into. Then it would be a hardcover.

 

For gifts I give to my family (assume you mean my own children), I generally opt for softcover for DD8, who reads chapter books, unless I am giving her a keepsake classic (e.g. Anne of Green Gables). For DS2, I give hardcover picture books, though there are fewer for him as we have a pretty good library of picture books already.

 

For gifts to children outside my family, the same rules apply based on suitability of the books to the age of the recipient.

[Hwin]

I didn't vote because my answer is "it depends." For a shower I would definitely give board books UNLESS I was giving a classic like Make Way for Ducklings that I know the child will grow into. Then it would be a hardcover.

 

This is exactly what I do.

 

When I'm buying books for an older child, it depends on my budget. I'd rather buy 3-4 paperbacks than 1-2 hardcover books. If it's a special book and I wanted to write a message inside, it's going to be a hardcover.

 

As a recipient, I am not picky. Basically, if you give my child books, my response is - Yay! Something that won't be a pile of broken plastic two weeks from now.

[Ellie]

I voted "hardcover" for everything, but really, if the recipient is under, oh, 4yo, it might be a board book.

[UrbanSue]

This was definitely a case of buying classic books. I tried to choose books that my children will love by 18-24 months and keep loving for at least several years. I don't have particularly angelic children but we teach them to be kind to books and, for the most part, they are. We don't let them chew on any books (we have books that are chewed on accidentally, but for the chewing stage we just don't give them books).

[Meriwether]

If I have a choice, I like to buy hardcover. I'm a build a library kind of girl. I do like to have paperback books, though. We travel a lot and paperbacks are smaller and lighter to take along. I recently bought books for a baby shower. I got each of my kids' favorite preschool type book (Brown Bear, Brown Bear, Lavender's Blue, etc.) I got hardcover when I could and the rest paperback. I also got a box of board books from Sam's, so the books I got ran the gamut.

[*Lulu*]

I prefer hardcover with one exception, I love to put board books in the hands of the very young. I regularly give hardcover books as gifts to all ages, but also regurally give board books as baby gifts. (Especially the 2 or 3 that were favorites here.)

[kubiac]

I shop for used books so often that I have worked out a mental hierarchy of preferred formats, and I have totally been known to buy a second copy in a better format and pass along the less-preferred format to a friend or a school, etc.

 

Hardcover with dustjacket

> Hardcover with picture cover or without dustjacket

> > Oversize "lap book" board books

> > > Paperbacks with "spines"

> > > > Board books

> > > > > Thin paperbacks with staple bindings, no spines

 

Oversize board books are a rare format, and they're very big so some families may not have room to store, but I love how sturdy they are!

 

Long story short, I join you in your hardcover preference and if I'm gifting a new book, that's always what I choose.

[Erica in OR]

We just gave a young couple in our church books for their baby shower. I had each of my three older kids select a book (board book or hardcover) then write a short note about why they chose the book. They ended up selecting two board books and one hardcover. I love the notes that they wrote. My oldest wrote hers to go with The Runaway Bunny: "Dear Baby C., I chose this book because it shows that your parents always love you. Ask them to read it to you at bedtime."

 

I appreciated receiving board books and hardcovers. I can find paperback picture books myself cheaply at used book stores.

 

Erica in OR

[dirty ethel rackham]

I would love to have the option of all three. For gifts to new parents, I like giving a combination of hardcover classic children's books and some board books that the child can love without the help of mom and dad. When my kids were little, we preferred hardcover and board books (although I did get plenty of paperback books ... they just didn't last as long.) Board books were kept low where they could get at them whenever they wanted to and the good paper-page books were kept higher so that I could read them with my kids while teaching good book manners.

[freeindeed]

I like to give and receive hard covers, but when I'm buying for my own family, then I choose the cheapest option.

[vonfirmath]

For a baby, I'd get board books. Starting at age 3, I buy hardcovers. My son, at 5, is just starting to be able to handle soft cover books.