Cheap Ways To Stock Your Classroom Library

Want to beef up your book selection? Here you will find cheap and free ways to stock your classroom library PLUS grab a resource to help motivate your students to read all the “new” books you score with these tips!


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Puny, sparse, and uninviting. Those are the words I used to describe my classroom library as a first-year teacher. It took three years to be able to say that I had a “real” class library.

And switching grade levels over the years made it seem impossible to keep an age appropriate book selection. Needless to say, I have had plenty of experience acquiring cheap and free books for my classroom libraries.

So I want to share my tips on ways to stock your classroom library without breaking the bank!

Stores With “Cheap” Books for Teachers

1–Goodwill Books

My favorite way to get cheap books as a teacher is to use Goodwill Books. Many cities have a separate Goodwill Bookstore that has a section devoted only to books.

“Cheap” doesn’t mean low-quality!

I usually find tons of books for $1.00 or less. They also have books priced higher than $1.00, but I have never paid more than $2.50 for a single children’s book. That includes chapter books for older students.

The best part is that the books are in very good condition! The books rarely come with rips or broken binding. There is the occasional “scribble-scrabble” writing from a “budding future artist” on a random page inside the book.

So I do recommend scanning the pages well before you purchase.

Although these books are good quality at great prices, here are the downsides of shopping here for cheap books:

  1. It is almost impossible to find full book sets. But I have purchased enough of the same book copies to make a small group or to get double copies of books for partner reading.
  2. You MUST be patient! The books are not categorized well. They are all randomly arranged on the shelves. Be sure to go shopping when you have plenty of time!
cheap ways to stock your classroom library the butterfly teacher
Here is just one shelf of books from my local Goodwill Bookstore.

2–The Dollar Tree

I have nicknamed The Dollar Tree my Teacher Mall! I LOVE The Dollar Tree for so many things. But I would have never thought that I’d find good library books for my classroom library there!

Now, I will admit that it’s extremely rare to find up-to-date books or comic book novels. I have only found books that are considered “classics” like The White Fang and Sounder.

So I use The Dollar Tree for those and to find my non-fiction children’s books. They have pretty interesting topics that my students enjoy reading. Plus, I can easily use the shorter non-fiction books to teach reading comprehension.

The Dollar Tree also has a wonderful ship-to-store feature that doesn’t cost any extra.

This works when you find a really good book and want to get a class set. You can order multiple copies online and have them shipped at no extra cost.

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3–2nd & Charles

2nd & Charles is another store that will help you build and create your classroom library on a budget.

This is a store that accepts gently used items in exchange for store credit or cash money. Then they resell those items for low prices.

Here are my hacks for using 2nd & Charles to get free and cheap books:

  • Set up a store credit account: (Which doesn’t cost a single penny.) Ask family and friends to take their items to 2nd & Charles for reselling, but then have the store put their amount earned on your account.
  • Ask your school to set up a school wide account so that all teachers, parents, and volunteers can donate. Then each teacher receives a set amount to spend for their classroom library.
  • Make a book wish list: This helps during Christmas or Teacher Appreciation days when others want to contribute to your classroom. They will automatically know what book items you’d like.

2nd & Charles’ book selection is massive! Plus, I’ve been able to get full book sets from them. If you want more info, here’s their site. 

cheap ways to build your classroom library the butterfly teacher
I scored this brand new picture book at 2nd & Charles for way cheaper than other retailers. It is a part of my Read Aloud with Rigor Series. Click the image for more details.

Digital Options for Growing Your Classroom Library

DISCLAIMER: The digital options presented here don’t allow you to actually OWN the books that you use. 

4–Kindle Unlimited

Kindle Unlimited offers a huge selection of digital books and magazines for one low fee each month.

You can download their free Kindle app on any device, which is how you access the books. My school is not a one-to-one school, so I didn’t have enough devices for each student to read digital books separately each day.

Amazon Kindle Unlimited--The Butterfly Teacher

I purchased this headphone router from Amazon and some cheap headphones from The Dollar Tree.

That allows my students to listen to the books in our Listening Center when I have small group rotations for literacy time.

I have saved plenty of money using digital books from this service. They also have a really big selection of topics to choose from, which works for teaches across grade levels.

5–Libby App

cheap ways to stock your classroom library 2 the butterfly teacher

I am still a newbie with the Libby App so I’m not an expert with all of its features. It is a free app that scans local libraries databases for you. Then it “checks” them out for you to download and read as an e-book. You don’t get to OWN the book, but you can check it out often depending on the terms of your local library.

See more details about The Libby App here.

Detailed Posts Related to Tech Tools Teachers Can Use:

6–Project Gutenberg

Project Gutenberg contains almost 60,000 FREE books for teachers to use in their classrooms.

If you are a middle or high school teacher, this site is a goldmine for you. It features children’s literature that seems most helpful for older readers.

I also found lots of folktales, myths, and fairy tales. They have fiction and non-fiction texts as well.

You can begin browsing their bookshelves by clicking here.

7–Epic Book Selection

Elementary school teachers will love using Epic (no affiliate) for building their classroom library.

It’s a FREE service for K-5 teachers only that offers tons of digital books on a variety of topics.

I really enjoy the other features Epic offers like printable calendars with reading challenges and tips for getting students to read at home.

Ways to Get FREE Books for Your Classroom Library

7–Book Swaps with Other Teachers

Another fun and cheap way to stock your classroom library is to collaborate with fellow teachers to do book swaps!

When I moved from 2nd to 4th grade, I needed books for my older kiddos and I no longer needed as many of the younger leveled books.

So I coordinated with other teachers who were also moving grade levels or classrooms. We agreed to exchange picture and chapter books one-to-one.

This works especially well if you get a lot of teachers involved or if you know a retired teacher who is trying to get rid of all his/her books!

8–Simply Ask Family and Friends

I know this one can be tricky. You are already asking family and friends for so much! One day I mentioned to my dad that I really needed some books for my new classroom.

He told his co-workers that I was a teacher and they teamed up to buy me a class set of the novel Holes by Louis Sachar.

free ways to build your classroom library the butterfly teacher

Don’t underestimate the generosity of the people in your corner who want to see you succeed! Even if you don’t get a full novel set, I bet they would be willing to help stock your classroom library in other ways.

Resources to Use With Your Books

As you build your classroom library, you’ll obviously want to motivate your kiddos to read more!

Here are some fun reading bookmarks that can be used throughout the year that will easily encourage students to read as much as possible.

reading bookmarks
Click the image for more info on these editable reading bookmarks.

Let’s continue to transform learning beautifully together, dear butterflies!

The Butterfly Teacher

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