You KNOW I Love a Bargain!!!!!!!

I am so excited I can hardly stand it! I love, love, love when I stubble across a great bargain.  I have purchased, counting what I have put back for Christmas, probably 80 board books for my granddaughter.  Why yes, she is just two years old, why do you ask?  For my DIL's baby shower I collected a clear plastic tub full of board books as my gift.  I started reading to my granddaughter when she was about 6 months old, when I started babysitting. Her parents started reading to her before then.  Her aunt, her parents, and I have read to her every day.  Multiple times a day.  The only thing she likes better than books is going to the library to get more books.  Anyway, because I have purchased so many board books for her I know what they cost.  I was at Wal-Mart today... yes, I know I told you I would not be going back to Wal-Mart or anywhere else until after Christmas but I realized I needed a haircut and I get it cut at Wal-Mart.  No one can mess up a short pixie cut....almost.  There is this one woman that I don't want to ever cut my hair again so I wandered over to the book section so I could glance over to the haircut place and see if she was the one working today.  Since I was standing in the book section I couldn't help but see this wonder of all wonders...a box of 8, yes eight, lift the flap Karen Kratz books for ... drumroll please ...$7.97. SEVEN DOLLARS & NINETY SEVEN cents for EIGHT books! If you have not had a toddler in your life in a while this might not be so exciting to you but it is to me!  After I got the box set home I went online and added up what the 8 books would have cost at Amazon prices  ...  $49.42 !!! A savings of over $41!  My granddaughter has just one of Ms. Kratz' books but she loved it so much she wore the flaps out.  My granddaughter is looking forward to a baby brother being born any second now, he is a week late, so this set is for him.  I will put it in the closet and will probably keep them until his first birthday.  If there is a toddler in your life, check your Wal-Mart because this is quite a deal on books toddlers love!

And all those other board books I have purchased for my granddaughter? How could I afford them?  Most of them came from Hastings Books.  If you have a Hastings Book Store near you look for used books.  They have a forest green strip at the bottom of the spine that says "used."  The price will be a fraction of a "new" copy.  I only bought "used" board books that looked like brand new.  That is because they were.  If it were a board book with flaps you could tell the flaps had never been lifted.   I would never buy a board book that has been chewed on or slobbered on, as babies do.  I gather that Hastings buys out other suppliers and then sells them as used, or people sell back books someone gave their child or something. I don't know. What I do know is I worked in a public library for 20 years, almost entirely in the children's department and I know what books kids like. I know what a board book looks like if it has been used.  So, go to Hastings and check out the used books.  Now, they do have used books that are really used but even so, other than for a baby that will put it in it's mouth, there is nothing wrong with a used book in good condition. What a bargain!
 **** Here comes that disclaimer **** ... No one at Wal-Mart or Hastings Books has asked me to do a plug for them, they have not given me anything, they don't know who I am, I am just a loyal customer of both businesses.  While working at the library I have worked for both Wal-Mart and Hastings at night but both part time jobs were years ago.  Trivia... Hastings Books is headquartered in Amarillo TX and has 136 superstores across the country.   At closing time Hastings plays "Happy Trails To You."  There are 4,759 Wal-Marts in the US.  If Wal-Mart ever closes, like at Christmas maybe, I have no idea if they play a song or what it might be. :)