Raingutter Bookshelf

Tonight I made a bookshelf out of a raingutter! Woohooo, it was sooo easy.

I got the idea from Jim Trelease's website on reading. Here is his article on why using raingutters to hold books is a fab idea. Side note: One of the absolute, hands-down best things you can do for your kids' education is help them to love reading. I have his book The Read Aloud Handbook, and I recommend it.
Here is the before picture. We just had the carpet replaced, and I am in the process of putting everything away. I was just too lazy to pretend like my house is clean tonight.

Another shot of the finished product. Aren't books so much more inviting when you can see the beautiful covers? My little one doesn't read the spines. But these books almost call to you when you walk by.

I bought the hooks that are designed for the raingutters, but they go over the top and not under the bottom and I didn't like the way it looked. So I just screwed the thing right into the wall. I could only find one wood stud, so i started there, I put another screw into a drywall anchor, and 2 more screws right into the wall. I think it will hold up nicely, unless a kid tries to stand on it or something. I also bought 2 endcaps.

And for your reading pleasure, here are some of my favorite books:

Dav Pilkey is the best author. Not just because he wrote a book about Captain Underpants, stupid bunnies, dirty diapers and Corgis (which are the dogs I have) . . .

. . . but the Ricky Ricotta's Mighty Robot series is one of the absolute best for young readers who are in that transition time between picture books and chapter books. They can decode the words, but they still aren't mature enough to read a book without pictures on every page. Ricky Ricotta is a chapter book, but the chapters are fast and there are pictures everywhere. My son LOVES that. It is important for a young reader to believe that he or she can read, and they can get a big sense of accomplishment from reading a book like this. It propels them into reading the more difficult chapter books.

At the end of the Ricky Ricotta books, it shows the reader, step-by-step, how to draw two characters in the book. My son has a lot of difficulty with fine motor skills, so I was really shocked when he broke out the pencil and drew the pictures. I love you Dav.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss and Bonnie Timmons, and Skippyjon Jones by Judy Schachner. Now, when you read Skippyjon, you have to go for it and read it in a fun way.

An All-Time favorite by Berkeley Breathed, Mars Needs Moms!

If you want to go check out a raingutter bookshelf tutorial, here's one at Raising Olives. But I say, bolt that thing to the wall.