Janeway Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Anyone have one of these? or something like this?https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0028XBXJY/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER I like the concept but I think this one looks so utility like. Anyone have one of these? Or something like it? Do you love it? Or is it something that seems good in concept but not in application? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I hope to get one once our garage is finished to keep our unit books in. I had one in my Kindergarten classroom when I taught that I loved if you have the room for it. I always kept it stocked with books centered around our unit at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 If you have the wall space you might consider rain gutter bookshelves. Wendy 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janeway Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 If you have the wall space you might consider rain gutter bookshelves. Wendy Those look so nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 We had one when my kids were younger. I used it for maybe 8 years. We still have it but it is stored away. I LOVED it! It was one of the best purchases I ever made for our homeschool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoobie Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 There's a hack to use IKEA spice shelves as outward book shelves. Friends just put up wallshelves (see Pinterest) down the hallway to their kids' rooms that's pretty cool looking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 There's a hack to use IKEA spice shelves as outward book shelves. Friends just put up wallshelves (see Pinterest) down the hallway to their kids' rooms that's pretty cool looking. I *just* bought these and built them but I haven't put them up yet. They prob won't hold more than 3 books, but I bought a few of them to mimic a bookshelf. I was so close to buying the 4-shelf one from pottery barn, but ikea was coksideranly cheaper to try first :p http://www.potterybarnkids.com/m/products/madison-4-shelf-bookrack/ They also have a wider, 3 shelf rack and a mountable magazine rack. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Um_2_4 Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I JUST bought this one: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00NANU55O/ref=dp_olp_used?ie=UTF8&condition=used If you have prime you take an extra 15% off the warehouse deals today. So it was about $22. I saw the ikea hack, but pretty sure it would never get done here LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I put up several rain gutters in DS's room for his "little kid" books. I bought a 6' length of gutter (to make two 3' shelves), 6 hooks and four end caps and I think the cost was $10-12. Totally worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 (edited) What is the point of these? I consider them a waste of space. The same number of books can be stored in a much smaller regular book shelf. Even when they were little, my kids were quite capable of finding the book they wanted by identifying the spine. And they had tons of books. Edited July 12, 2016 by regentrude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I do. My Dad made it for me out of cheap floor boards, the books rest in the groves of the floor boards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 What is the point of these? I can't speak for anyone else, but when DS was in the picture book/large illustrations stage, he was very literal, perfectionist and had ZERO imagination. If he couldn't see it clearly, he didn't think about it. And to be honest, he wasn't that thrilled with reading anyways. So turning the books so that the covers pointed outwards so he could see each and every book was a wonderful thing. And I rarely bought books that I didn't intend to keep forever (i.e. beautiful illustrations, excellent stories) so it was an aesthetic thing as well. I agree with you that an actual bookcase like that would be wasted space so I put the gutters up on the walls. Now? His chapter books are stacked normally in an overflowing book case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tita Gidge Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I inherited mine from a friend who taught preschool. I used it for "special" books that I didn't keep stored with our regular books. Things like seasonal books - say, for Advent or holidays - where I rotated the selection of books in/out. For a time I used it for library books related to our history or science studies - so, books they wouldn't have necessarily recognized (or chosen) by sight of spine. They knew to grab a "school book" from that specific shelf. My kids are older now so the front-facing perk is no longer necessary LOL, but we still use it to wrangle library books. It just keeps them all in one spot for us. I always liked the idea of the rain gutter and IKEA spice rack bookshelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 What is the point of these? I consider them a waste of space. The same number of books can be stored in a much smaller regular book shelf. Even when they were little, my kids were quite capable of finding the book they wanted by identifying the spine. And they had tons of books. I agree with this. This was another one of those things that I really liked the IDEA of when the kids were little, but the actual usefulness was lacking. We don't have a lot of space and we do/did have a TON of books. Rotating the books based on unit or whatever would have just been one more chore for me to do, probably an ongoing one since the kids would inevitably put books back in the "wrong" place. It was easier to just keep all the books together and pull out the ones I wanted. The kids were allowed to read any of books at any time, not just when we were doing a relevant unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I would need a bigger house to put something like that in it. Either that or reduce substantially my children's book collection. :hide: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
medawyn Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 We have two. They currently serve as room dividers as well as bookshelves. I painted them white to semi match my rows of Billy bookshelves. They by no means hold all my children's books, but right now they hold mostly board books for the toddlers, and in the future I hope they can hold them themed picture book collections. I also have nailed plywood to the back, and one shelf is a sensory board and the other is a lock board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Our outward facing bookshelf is where library books are kept. Or books we are currently reading. Since many people in my family are big on graphic novels the shelf still gets lots of use. Because if someone wants to reread all the Chi's sweet home/amulet/bone books that would take up at least a row and a half of the shelf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sk8ermaiden Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 We use the IKEA spice racks - I think we have 4 of them, though it might be 6, I forget. Even though it only fits a tiny fraction of our books (the rest are on our regular shelves), I do see a significant increase in the time my kids spend looking at books because the covers grab their eyes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I have one and thought it was a good idea when my kids were small, but in reality it didn't make a big difference. They still wanted to read their favorite books a bazillion times: "Tell Me, Tree" still got passed over. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wendyroo Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 What is the point of these? I consider them a waste of space. The same number of books can be stored in a much smaller regular book shelf. Even when they were little, my kids were quite capable of finding the book they wanted by identifying the spine. And they had tons of books. I don't have any free standing bookshelves like the one in the link, but I do love our rain gutter bookshelves. We have them in the kids' rooms and I like that they hold many dozens of books for bedtime reading without taking up the floor space of a bookshelf of any type; my kids spend rest time playing in their rooms so I would rather keep the books on the wall and the floor free. I have hung some rain gutter shelves high on the wall of the office where we can keep library books out of toddler reach. I like that the kids can see the covers of the books even if they can't reach them. Lastly, my kids are not at all proficient yet at keeping books tidy on a standard bookshelf. The books fall off, get crumpled, get put in with the spine facing the wall, etc. By keeping the current favorites on the rain gutter shelves, the kids are able to use them with much less wear and tear on the books or my sanity. Wendy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 If you have the wall space you might consider rain gutter bookshelves. Wendy My daughter did these. They didn't find them to be very sturdy. They droop forward even without much weight in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 You could use photo shelves too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 I have one and thought it was a good idea when my kids were small, but in reality it didn't make a big difference. They still wanted to read their favorite books a bazillion times: "Tell Me, Tree" still got passed over. Same here. I got mine at Aldi so it was pretty inexpensive. It wasn't all wood (part wood and part fabric). I still have it and use it, but meh...it's something I could have certainly lived without. Not sure anyone could have talked me out of it at the time though. I thought it was cute. :laugh: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrichor Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Ikea used to sell a "picture ledge." I had two of those for books when DS was a toddler/preschooler. We had shelves of books, but he never took an interest in them unless I got them out for him. Actually, he did take an interest in the bookshelves. He would throw the books off the shelves and walk away. But with the forward facing shelf ledge, he saw the covers, and took the books down to look through them, and he would bring them to me to read. I was not the kind of mom with the time or energy to try to chase after an unwilling kid to try to get him to listen to a story. Made the whole educationally enriching home environment so much easier for me to create. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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