Teachers everywhere are bemoaning the demise of the perennially favorite holiday gifts for students: Scholastic dollar books. Because what more perfect gift from a teacher, naturally, than a good read? Yet just as important, we all know teachers aren’t made of money (obvi). Well no worries, your tradition doesn’t have to come to a halt. We’ve done the research and pulled together this list of alternatives to Scholastic dollar books for you to check out.
(Note: WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!)
1. Dollar Days
Dollar Days offers wholesale children’s books for as little as 95 cents per book. Buy books individually or in sets that you can divvy up, like the one pictured above.
Shop for books like these here: Dollar Days
2. Oriental Trading
Oriental Trading doesn’t sell individual books. But they have quite a few book sets that you can divide up, like this set of word family readers, which includes 20 books for $19.99. Look for more ideas in their “Customers Also Bought” section.
Shop for books like these here: Oriental Trading
3. Dollar Tree
If you shop in person, Dollar Tree stores offers books for $1.25 each. However, if you buy a set of 24, you can get them online. There are a few book sets you can snag for just $30.
Shop for books like these here: Dollar Tree
4. The Reading Warehouse
On the Reading Warehouse website, you’ll find a Bargain Bin with dollar books, fiction, and nonfiction for kids of all ages, including many Spanish titles.
Shop for books like these here: Reading Warehouse
5. Books by the Bushel
Books by the Bushel also has a good number of books for only $1. To find them, go to the “$2 and Under” section and sort by price. This site features lots of fun kids’ titles from authors kids love like Todd Parr, Charles Schultz, Disney, and Scholastic.
Shop for books like these here: Books by the Bushel
6. Kid Books
Kidbooks.com offers “Cheap Bestselling Books for Kids” starting at $1.26. Find classic series favorites, from Danny and the Dinosaur and Little Critter to the Berenstain Bears and more. Also check out their clearance titles.
Shop for books like these here: Kidbooks.com
7. Book Outlet
Book Outlet, boasting “read-iculously low prices,” features books, flash cards, activity books, and more for kids and young adults. Choose your age group, then sort by price to find something for every individual in your class. There are plenty of options starting at around $1.50 per book.
Shop for books like these here: Book Outlet
8. Half Price Books
Half Price Books offers a huge selection of gently used books, many starting at under $2. Find titles for kids of all ages and across genres.
Shop for books like these here: Half Price Books
9. Books-a-Million
Books-a-Million offers bargain books for as low as $2.97. Choose from juvenile fiction by authors like Judy Blume, Tomie dePaola, Margaret Peterson Haddix, and more. Or check out juvenile nonfiction, including titles from the popular “Who Was” series, puzzles, jokes, animals, and more.
Shop for books like these here: Books-a-Million
10. Amazon
Did you know that Amazon started out as a book-selling site? Today they offer a huge inventory. Though usually time-consuming and difficult to navigate, we searched for “Children’s Books” and “clearance” and found a wide variety of lower-priced books from $2 to $10.
Shop for books like these here: Amazon
11. Scholastic
And if you’re partial to the OG, you can still find a healthy collection of books at Scholastic for under $5 (the lowest we could find was $2.63). Also, check out their value packs. For example, you can get a pack of 10 Snowy Day–themed readers for $20, which works out to $2 per book.
Shop for books like these here: Scholastic Book Club
