I’m out of school for Thanksgiving break, and today seemed like as good a day as any to pick up a few books for my classroom library.
There’s a Goodwill Outlet in town that sells books at a rate of ten for fifty cents. Yes, you read that correctly: ten for $0.50, or one for a nickel. But you can’t actually buy just one for a nickel, as it will cost fifty cents. The amount and price is locked – 10 for 50 cents.
Anyways, so I head there and find plenty of books to sort through.
Your regular Goodwill has books on shelves, but as you can see here, these books are in bins. They always keep three bins on the floor, and whenever one is close to being empty, they combine the remaining books into two bins and bring out a new bin with more books. There is hardly ever a shortage here.
I find all kinds of books. This one in particular was popular when I was in elementary and middle school, so I grab it. The nostalgia factor makes it alluring, and I think my students may enjoy it. Either way, it’s going to be added it to my library, and if my students don’t read it, I will.
This book is the subject of controversy, and I already have several copies of it anyways. It’s also not in the best condition, so I don’t believe I’ll be taking this with me. But there are plenty more to choose from!
Well, looky here. Stephen King really kicked off my love for reading as an adult. Books like The Stand and It challenged me to take on 1000+ page novels and reconcile with my inner darkness. I’ve read Pet Semetary already, but still this is a great find.
I collect books by popular authors (such as King), create bundles, and eventually sell them for profit. I could easily turn $.50 cents into $10 if I gather ten Stephen King books. And that’s just one of several ways I make money from books.
I ALWAYS pick out popup books and other interactive books like these. Why? Because they’re awesome. I have some amazing ones for my personal collection and others that will probably end up in the “MUST REMAIN IN CLASSROOM” section of my class library.
I picked out 20, and 13 will go to my classroom library. The other 7 will be sold.
This has been a successful trip, and I’ve hadThe Coworker by Freida McFadden narrated through my AirPods the entire time. Listening to audiobooks while collecting books. So meta. And wow, so many good books!
Complete Haul List
Literacy texts
- The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
- Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger by Louis Sachar
- The Borrowers by Mary Norton
- My Life as a Computer Cockroach by Bill Myers
- Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
- The Call of the Wild (Illustrated) by Jack London
- The Jungle Book (Illustrated) by Rudyard Kipling
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Illustrated) by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Karen’s Witch (Baby-sitters Little Sister) by Ann M. Martin
- Pug Blasts Off (Diary of a Pug) by Kyla May
- Hansel & Gretel (A Pop-up Book)
- I Cold Pee on This: And Other Poems by Cats by Francesco Marciuliano
Informational texts
- Lake Tanganyikan Cichlids by Barron’s
Other (to be sold)
- The Testament by John Grisham
- Cold Fire by Dean Koontz
- Three Women Disappear by James Patterson
- Four Blind Mice by James Patterson
- Jubal Sackett by Louis L’Amour
- Needful Things by Stephen King
- Pet Semetary by Stephen King
How cool!
I know, right!