A Fun Way To Share Your Books--Release Them Into The Wild

I am having a fun time cleaning off my bookshelves since joining www.bookcrossing.com last week.  Basically, the idea is to share your read books with other people by just placing them in places for them to be found.  Here's how it works: 

This is a book we received to review that we didn't want--our first release.

REGISTER:  Print out free labels to put inside the cover of your book (or you can purchase fancier labels if you want).  Then register your book at www.bookcrossing.com and write the BookCrossing ID ("BCID") number on the label.  The inside label says:

HOWDY!  HOLA!  BONJOUR!  GUTEN TAG!
I'm a very special book.   You see, I'm traveling around the world making new friends.  I hope I've met another friend in you.  Please go to www.BookCrossing.com and enter my BCID number (shown below).  You'll discover where I've been and who has read me, and can let them know I'm safe here in your hands.  Then...READ and RELEASE me!  BCID: ___________ (you fill this in)

RELEASE:  Then decide where you will leave it which is called "releasing it into the wild."  Add your release notes so people can actually go hunting for it if they want.

This is my first BookCrossing zone,  I left it on the bus stop bench, crossed the street to get a picture of the book waiting to be found, and when the buses went by that were blocking my view, the book was already gone!  That made me feel good!  Sometimes people will follow-through and actually report they found the book and enter the BCID number so you can follow the book around to see where it's been.

So far I've left books on benches at bus stops, benches at the zoo, benches or picnic tables at parks, and in my lunch room at work.  So far, I've released 7 books and all were picked up but three that I know of, two I just released at the park today.

FOLLOW:  So far, no one has reported any of the found ones on the website, but I hope they will.  Even if they don't though, it's a fun way to get rid of books you no longer want and let someone else read them.

My user name on the website is BookDumper so if you join, please use me as the referral and look me up.  There are BookCrossers worldwide and you can look up how many have joined in your area.  What do you do with books you are finished reading?  Wouldn't you like to join too?

"How They Grow: Owl" and "The Miracle of Easter" (Reading online)

Did you know you can help organizations get more books in the hands of children for free just by reading children's books online at We Give Books?  These are the two I read this morning:

Ages 0-3 (science)

How They Grow:  Owl by DK Publishing is a cute picture book that shows how the owl looks and what it does from the time it is hatched until it's full grown in 12 weeks.  See, even reading these children's books, you can learn things quickly.  For example, I didn't know it takes 12 weeks for an owl to be full grown.

Ages 4-7 (history)

The Miracle of Easter by J. M. Malone is a nicely illustrated book that quickly tells the story about Jesus beginning with his wondrous works through his resurrection.  I was disappointed though with the ending because the book did not tell how after He rose from the dead, he was actually still on Earth for awhile before ascending to heaven and seen by many people.  I feel this book is a bit misleading and would not recommend it for that reason.

(Karen's reviews)

I do recommend that you check out this site to help kids get books.  It's all free!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!