Happy Spring Break to you! Maybe you have fabulous travel plans - Disneyland, Texas, Hawaii? Maybe you're like my family and are just staying home more than usual because everything is super crowded? :) Well whatever - I hope you're enjoying it!

So guess what? The Eugene Public Library's book sale is Saturday, April 11 and Sunday, April 12. You go to this sale, right? If you've never been before, please plan on going - it's a hoot. Wonderful volunteers work for ages to get a bazillion books, cds, and dvds organized at the fairgrounds for eager shoppers to take home. 

Here's how it works: 
They start giving away timed and numbered entry tickets at 5:00 am Saturdaymorning (I know!! Early!) Doors open on Saturday at 9 am. Truly, I have done this sale for years, and it is chaotic every. single. year. I usually show up around 7:30. They give me a little ticket that says something like "9:20, #118". Then I leave, go get Starbucks, and sit and read until 9. Then I head back to the line, where hundreds of strangers are trying to get themselves in numerical order. It's hilarious. For some reason (probably the fact that it's early on a Saturday morning and usually raining), people are usually somewhat grumpy about this. It's a serious and weirdly competitive affair. My favorite part about lining up is watching the line for the event that is somehow ALWAYS scheduled in the next building over at the same time: a gun and knife show. I find this completely ironic and comical, because  - well, it just is. :) 

Now, you certainly don't have to be there at the crack of dawn. There are literally thousands of items. If you show up in the afternoon, I think you'll still have plenty to choose from. However, I've heard that it's pretty picked over on Sunday. 

Once you're in the door, if you haven't remembered to bring a laundry basket or IKEA bag with you, grab one of the free liquor boxes they offer you (why are they always liquor? Does anyone know? Does the library have an inside man in the alcohol industry?) because you're going to need something to hold all of your fabulous finds. 

The event is free to enter, but it's a fundraiser for the library, and there is a donation box as you enter. I try to slip a few bucks in if I feel like I haven't already taken out a second mortgage on my home to pay my overdue fees for the year. 

Inside, the kid's materials are at the veeeerrrrrry opposite end of the room from where you enter. They're right in front of the stage. They're sorted really nicely: chapter books, craft books, picture books, biographies, holidays, etc. Most are $1. Granted, you can get books for littles much cheaper than $1 elsewhere in town, but I figure this is for a good cause. They also have a special section with books that are practically brand new, or rare, or super popular, and those are priced a little higher. I found a Disney "Cars" Search and Find book last year that was $2 and oh my word have we gotten our money's worth out of that one. So many fun finds! 

The items for sale are mixed up: some are discarded library books, and others have been donated to the library for the sale. Some of them will have library stamps or barcode labels or whatever, but that just adds character, amiright? 

The line moves pretty quickly, but it is also very long. This is not an event where you can pop in and out in 20 minutes. It is very, very crowded, and there are soooooo many boxes of materials to sort through. I would also really recommend against taking your kiddos with you, unless you've got a big kiddo who you can count on staying close by you and putting things back where they find them. 

So there you go. The library book sale. It's really very fun, and I promise you will leave with a ton of treasures to revive your home reading rotation. And books for grownups! So many! I always leave with a giant stack to add to my already giant stack of "to read" books on my bedside table. One of these days it's going to crush me in my sleep. 

The Essentials:

Eugene Public Library Annual Book Sale
http://www.friendseugenelibrary.org/book-sales/
Eugene Fairgrounds in the Performance Hall
April 11-12, 2015

Hours: Saturday 9-6, Sunday, 10-4

Parking: plenty of free parking

Payment: Visa and MasterCard credit/debit cards, checks with ID, and there's an ATM in the lobby. Cash is fastest in my experience. 

Food: I am pretty sure there are vending machines, but who has time to eat where there are books to be bought? So...maybe? 

Cost: Free entry, most items cost a buck or two

Bathrooms: Yes

Resting/Nursing Spots: The volunteers can probably scrounge up a folding chair for you to sit in. There are also benches in the lobby of the building, outside the room where the sale takes place. 

Time Frame: Depends on how long you want to linger. I would be super surprised if you could make it in and out in under an hour. (Maybe there's someone out there who can do it? Let me know how?!) If you can, leave the kiddos with someone at home and plan on browsing for two hours or so. 

Happy Adventuring! 

Do your kiddos love trucks? Construction? Heavy equipment? Anything with wheels that moves? Mine does. I think we have checked out every book about trucks that the library owns. Probably at least twice. I have learned enough about trucks in the past four years to constitute an honorary college degree in truck-ology. Honestly, some days I would pay my kid actual money if we could read a book about something other than trucks. Well, here's a list of some of our favorite truck titles.

(click the book cover or title for details on each book)

Everything Goes On Land
by Brian Biggs
Similar to a Where's Waldo? in that it has really busy pictures with lots of fun details. Brian Biggs also has an Everything Goes for air and water. 

Little Blue Truck Board Book
Very sweet rhyming text that teaches a lesson on kindness and helping friends. There are several other fun Little Blue Truck titles. 

Demolition
Sally Sutton has several books (Roadwork, Construction) that share Demolition's catchy text that will stick in your head for days. At our house we set all sorts of things to this bouncy, happy beat. Read them to see what I mean- they're really fun.

Good Night Construction Site
Love this book. Buy it immediately.

Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go
Richard Scarry is one of our very favorite authors. While I don't often love the text of his books, his pictures keep my preschooler occupied FOR-EV-ER.

ABC Drive
ABCDrive is an older book with a simple ABC theme. Very fun.

Tip Tip Dig Dig
Honestly, I don't love reading Emma Garcia's books aloud - she also has Tap Tap Bang Bang and Toot Toot Beep Beep - because the rhythm sort of bugs me. But the pictures are super bright and goofy, and the subject material is a winner.

Dig Dig Digging
This one is nice because it ends with the trucks going to sleep. Turn off your motors and goodnight!

Job Site
Another one with sort of weird words,  but a very cool view of visiting a job site. 

Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street
This one is sort of new to us. It has a fun, wide variety of trucks with the added bonus of a counting theme.

Big Book of Transportation
Any of the DK books are always awesome, especially for kiddos who are content to sit on their own and look at pictures. This is a very text heavy book, and we never read everything on the page, because I already know WAAAAY more about trucks than I ever wanted to, but the pictures are very cool. :)

Heavy Equipment: Up Close
Close up pictures of heavy equipment. Also lots of text. 

My Race Car
If your kiddo is a Lightning McQueen fan, this is a must read. 

Mighty Dads
Truck dads teaching their truck kids. Very sweet. This is by the author of the Pete the Cat books, which if you haven't read, you should check out, because they're hilarious.

My Big Truck Book
Roger Priddy has written a ton of super bright, high contrast beginner books. This is meant for the very young reader, as it's just a picture with a label, although my preschooler still loves it. I love the clean lay out of his books.

Big Rig Bugs
Trucks that are bugs. Brilliant.

B Is for Bulldozer: A Construction ABC
A fun ABC book that walks you through the building of an amusement park.

Machines at Work Board Book
I love Byron Barton's bold pictures, simple text, and high interest topics. Check out his other titles on trains, planes, dinosaurs and more.

The Truck Book
One of our all time favorites. So fun.

On the Go
I love Ann Morris' books because they present a really great multicultural world view. This one is not just about trucks, but about other ways that people get around, such as camels, rickshaws, and trolleys. Morris has books on bread, families, tools, homes, and other really awesome nonfiction topics. Check them out.

Lift-the-Flap Tab: On the Go
You guys! I didn't even know this existed, but found it while I was googling the Ann Morris title above. I don't know what it's like inside, but the fact that it's a Roger Priddy with flaps seems like it's got to be a winner.

Tonka: Working Hard With The Mighty Dump Truck
If I have to read these Tonka books one more time I might scream. But! My kids LOVES them. So...what can you do? We have found the dump truck, front loader, and fire truck all at St Vinnie's for $0.50 each. They are older, but fantastic read alouds for young truck lovers.

Here's a fun link to some truck books that have craft ideas to go along with them.

Speaking of St Vinnie's: do you guys shop there? It is my favorite store. I have enjoyed scouring thrift stores and garage sales since I was in middle school, and have worked for years to perfect a system of thrifty shopping that is really successful for my family. Next week I'll be posting about how to find the best deals at thrift stores. Hopefully you'll check it out and find some handy tips. 

Please let me know in the comments of your favorites! I would LOVE some new reading material! :)

Happy Adventuring (and reading!)