The Book Depository

Why haven’t I heard of The Book Depository until just recently?  This surely has to be one of the best-kept secrets.  Free shipping on books –to practically all countries worldwide!

The Book Depository was recommended to me by Josh’s school librarian when I asked where I could order certain sets of books that I’d been told were not available on Amazon.  She mentioned that that’s from where they get most of the school library books and that delivery time is usually around one week, certainly no more than two.

I decided to check it out and now that I’d received all the books from my first order with them, I know that I will be using them again and again.  They definitely do come out cheaper compared to Amazon (unless you live in the US and can avail of Amazon’s free shipping on certain products) and even to Paddyfield.  Here’s a quick comparison I did on a couple of books:

	Book Depository	Amazon.com	Paddyfield.com
Encyclopedia Brown 4-Volume Boxed Set	GBP 10.51 (HKD 127.22)*	USD 9.98 + 9.98 (shipping) (HKD 160.95)	HKD 160 + 15 (shipping) (HKD 175.00)
The Giving Tree	GBP 10.18 (HKD 123.22)*	USD 9.93 +  9.98 (shipping) (HKD 160.55)	HKD 169 + 15 (shipping) (HKD 194.00)

*Conversion done with help from xe.com

The above table was put together under the assumption that all books are to be delivered to a Hong Kong address.  Paddyfield.com does offer free shipping for orders over HKD 180, but even taking only the price of each item alone, it is still more expensive compared to The Book Depository.

I had ordered a total of 13 books from The Book Depository and I had received all 13 within two weeks of my ordering;  some I had received in just one week’s time.  The only beef I have is that each one of the books was packed and mailed separately.  It doesn’t matter to me that each was mailed separately as shipping was free, but the books were individually packed either in a bubble envelope or in corrugated cartons, --which, to me, was a bit of a waste.   I don’t understand why they could not have packed the books together to save on packing materials.

That said, they are the most cost-efficient in terms of ordering books online that I’ve come across so far.

Aussie Nibbles and Aussie Bites | Age-Appropriate Content for Proficient Early Readers

What do you do when you have a child who has learned to read early and who has gone beyond the “Look at Timmy. See Timmy. See Timmy run.” books?  Josh loves Star Wars and would devour any material related to Star Wars.  I am okay with that, even though I find the material a tad violent. Josh assures me that “It’s all just pretend, Mommy!”  My problem with the Star Wars books is that they are meant for older readers, readers with more understanding and with more life experiences from which they could draw to be able to put what they read in context.

One time, Josh asked me what an assassin was.  I told him.  He then followed up by asking if there are assassins in Hong Kong.  Umm, I don’t want to be talking about assassins with my 5-year old.

At a recent parent-teacher conference, his teacher suggested Aussie Nibbles and Aussie Bites.  She voiced out exactly what I was concerned about –i.e., that there’s a dearth of materials that are age-appropriate and suitable for very young proficient readers out there.  She then recommended Aussie Nibbles and Aussie Bites.

The series of short chapter books are written by different Australian authors.  Aussie Nibbles books are for readers just beginning and Aussie Bites cater to the 7-10 age group.  The books have “bites” on them –a smaller bite for Nibbles and a slightly bigger bite for Bites.  And then you progress on to Chomps for more advanced readers.  There is larger print on the Nibbles and the print gets smaller on the Bites.

The Aussie Nibbles were quick reads for Josh.  He really loves them and could finish two in one afternoon (yes, reading through dinner!).  Once he starts on one, he’s deaf to the world.  The house could be on fire 

and he wouldn’t even notice.

  

I plan to get Josh to read as many of the Aussie Nibbles as I could get from the library before introducing Aussie Bites to him.

As far as I could tell, the books are not available in the local bookstores, but I was able to borrow quite a number of them from the public library.  The Hong Kong Central Library (in Causeway Bay) has a very good collection.  If you want to order online, you’d find a better collection through Puffin Books Australia.

 

Image: Stephen Michael King, Illustrator.

CSN Winner!

 

Congratulations to Casey from Bumpin’ Along the Road Less Travelled for winning the US$40 CSN Giveaway!

Caseybumpinalong said...

I voted for you on Top Mommy Blogger

 

Please email me at buckeroomama (at) gmail (dot) com so that I could email you the promo code.  Congratulations again!

A big thank you to all who entered the giveaway. I hope to have more for you soon!

Our Very First Giveaway - US$40 CSN Promo Code!

CSN Stores is sponsoring a giveaway on Kiddie Treasures –yay!  It’s fun doing giveaways and it’s doubly fun when it’s sponsored by CSN Stores.  I’ve done a number of giveaways with CSN on my other blog, Mamahood, Among Other Things… and each time it’s been really fun.  It’s just so exciting to browse through CSN site and go through their many online stores (they have over 200!).  You can find pretty much everything there –

from a pretty briefcase like this one, Who says briefcases need to be boring?

to arts and crafts materials, Just look at that --arts and crafts heaven!

to Dr. Seuss 3-piece storage bin sets! How cute are these?!

One lucky reader gets to win a US$40 promo code to apply to his/her shopping spree at CSN Stores!  Here’s how to earn chances to win:

Mandatory entry:
Visit CSN Stores and leave a comment with the link to the item/s that you would get if you win the US$40 promo code.

Extra entries (separate comment for each, please):

• One extra entry if you are a public Google Friends Connect (GFC) follower. 
• Tweet about this giveaway and leave me the link. You could simply copy and paste this:  Win $40 CSN promo code at Kiddie Treasures @Buckeroomama #Giveaway http://bit.ly/ddwSWU– 1 extra entry.
• You can get an 1 extra entry per day if you vote for Buckeroomama by clicking on the Top Mommy Blogger button below –and then click their “Click Here to Enter” button at the top of their page.  Easy-peasy!  Leave me a separate comment each time you do (you can do it only once every 24 hours). 

One winner with a valid entry will be selected on 16th November using random.org. The winner will be announced and must respond with a current email address within 48 hours to claim. Otherwise, another eligible entry will be chosen.

Have fun and good luck!

*Giveaway open to readers with US and Canada addresses only.
Note: I have not received anything from CSN Stores for this post other than the opportunity to do a giveaway for the readers of Kiddie Treasures…