Owning Books

[Jack400]

According to a McDonald's ad 1 in 5 children do not own a book. Of course it doesn't state the age of the children, I mean at 1 month old there's not much need, but it does seem dreadful.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Whenever I come across a statistic like that, I always want more detail. Some children who don't own books may borrow them regularly from the library, or from friends and relatives, so they might still have plenty to read. Others may not have much storage space, so their parents might encourage them to pass a book on to someone else as soon as they've read it.

Having said that, there's something special about building up a collection of cherished titles. Owning books means you can revisit stories whenever you want, and the characters within them come to feel like old friends. Some of my books have been with me for as long as I can remember and it's lovely that they've always been there, just the same as ever, through all the changes that life brings.

[Katharine]

Anita, I think the same.

I'd also like to know if any of those children access books on electronic devices?

Having said that, I do know of at least 3 different households who think books make a house untidy, so probably don't own any books other than perhaps a recipe book.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Good point about accessing books on electronic devices, Katharine!

[shadow]

We've just had some building work done and had to move some books off shelves, to accommodate the work. The builder, who was in his late twenties maybe early thirties said he'd never read a book in his life and was astonished that we'd read so many. The books that were out are only about a fifth of all the books in the house, as the others are in boxes until we find a home for them, including all the Enid Blytons I have. There are some children who don't read.
Also my son has a speech and language disability and until the age of 15 didn't want to read as he found it very difficult. Two years later and he's running out of storage space on his book cases plus all the books he owns on Kindle. He's found out what he likes to read (and what he can easily read) so there's no stopping him now.

[Lucky Star]

I've owned books for as long as I can remember. The first ones were Ladybird books, then Blyton, then.... everything and anything. As others have suggested some kids do their reading electronically now but I have noticed a trend whereby books are coming in second to social media and computer gaming. On the other habd I read somewhere recently that bookshops are on the upsurge now after years of decline.

[Boodi 2]

I find it difficult to imagine a house without books, although having said that we probably have far too many. Our son tends to do his reading electronically, but thankfully his partner is a passionate reader so she has their apartment full of books too!

[John Pickup]

I never owned a book until Armada paperbacks were first published in 1962. All my reading was from books borrowed from the library. My parents weren't well off and couldn't afford to buy me hardbacks. I would think that plenty of children of my generation, in their 60s and 70s, would be in a similar position, relying on the library to feed their appetite for stories.
That is why libraries are so important, particularly for children whose parents can't or won't buy books.

[Anita Bensoussane]

I've owned books for as long as I can remember. The first ones were Ladybird books, then Blyton, then.... everything and anything...

Same here, John, though I still went to the library every week throughout my childhood too.

It's great to hear that there's no stopping your son when it comes to reading, Su!

[Katharine]

I never owned a book until Armada paperbacks were first published in 1962. All my reading was from books borrowed from the library. My parents weren't well off and couldn't afford to buy me hardbacks. I would think that plenty of children of my generation, in their 60s and 70s, would be in a similar position, relying on the library to feed their appetite for stories.
That is why libraries are so important, particularly for children whose parents can't or won't buy books.

Yes, that's a good point.

My parents certainly didn't own many books during their childhoods - it was before paperbacks, so a hardback copy of something like a Famous Five book would have been something they would only have received as a birthday or Christmas present. I know the copy of Five on a Hike which my father has very kindly passed onto me was one he was given by a boy at school who didn't want it any more - minus it's D/W and with lots of scribbles inside! I think my mum and her sister also were lucky enough to have some 'hand me down' books from a cousin, to help swell their small collection.

I was lucky that paperbacks were abundant when I was collecting my Enid Blyton books - I think one year I got about 6 different ones for Christmas from various relatives, but I doubt I'd have got anywhere near as many of they'd had to fork out for a hardback.

With so many school fund raisers, and charity shops selling books off for literally a few pence sometimes, it is a shame if children don't get the opportunity to choose a book or two of their own, but if parents are on a budget, then even finding a 'spare' 50p might be beyond their means. Thankfully there are libraries as has been pointed out, and I know some schools (may all?) let children borrow books.

I can also appreciate that some children are 'reluctant' readers, and it can be very difficult to find suitable reading material for them.

[Boatbuilder]

Do schools still have libraries these days, like they did when I was at school? I might have mentioned it on here in the past that I was our school head librarian when I was in my final year at school having been a librarian for the previous two years. Plenty of children borrowed the books in those days. Of course there weren't things like X-boxes and Playstations, etc., etc.

[Bertie]

One sad phrase that I hear to dismiss things like books and ornaments is "dust collectors".

If people can't afford to buy them then that's one thing, and it's why libraries are so important for them. But I hear a lot of people who almost wear their disdain of books and ornaments as a badge of honour, dismissing them as 'clutter', 'dust collector's' and the like.

I guess a lot of it is the priority difference between 'neat and tidy house' v 'cluttered, cosy home'. I was very much brought up in the latter, and loved it, and it's what my home is like now - full of books, ornaments, paintings, etc, that I love. I think a lot of people nowadays much prefer having devices they can read, watch, listen things on rather than 'cluttering' their home with books, DVD's, CD's, etc. But I still much prefer the tangible format.

[Fiona1986]

I can't speak for all schools but yes, many still have libraries. I suspect that most of them don't have librarians, however, and are managed by support staff and/or volunteers.

While I can very much believe that there are children out there who don't own books 1 in 5 seems a shockingly high number.

Brodie had at least a hundred books on his shelves before he was even born

[Anita Bensoussane]

One sad phrase that I hear to dismiss things like books and ornaments is "dust collectors"...

I guess a lot of it is the priority difference between 'neat and tidy house' v 'cluttered, cosy home'. I was very much brought up in the latter, and loved it, and it's what my home is like now - full of books, ornaments, paintings, etc, that I love.

Sounds lovely, Bertie! I cherish my books, games and ornaments too. When my son was about seven, a friend of his who came round to play stood in the middle of our lounge-diner and said, "Where did you get all these books and things? It's like being in a charity shop!" He said it with delight and meant it as a compliment, and I certainly took it as one! I've moved since then, but the same could be said of the flat where I live now!

[Boodi 2]

I am sure you would feel quite at home here Bertie and Anita! Talking of dust collectors, I am very pleased with my IKEA Billy bookcases with glass doors, as they have definitely reduced the amount of dusting I have to do. It is a great pity Uncle Quentin did not invent something to keep dust at bay!!!!