The Best Bookplates
We’ve talked before about how important it is to have books around very young children to promote literacy. I was reading an article a few days ago about how bookplates give children a sense of pride about their books. Bookplates play on children’s innate enjoyment of the word “Mine” and encourage a healthy dose of pride and respect for books of their own. My children are unable to resist anything which has their own name printed on it, if only I could have cough medicine inscribed with “Max”.
I found felix doolittle after reading a post at Apartment Therapy’s The Nursery referring to their kid’s calling cards. The calling cards were referred to as, “A bit disturbing” by my friend but the bookplates reminded me of the bookplates I’d gotten for Christmas one year as a child. The illustrations are serene and classic, my favorite is a young girl exploring maps with a magnifying glass, To See the World. This one is pretty sweet too. (See what I did there?)
These book plates at Label Your Stuff are a little more juvenile but the juvenile drawings and their custom printed name may appeal to your child. There’s also a collection called the “Fun And Fantasy”. In the small town where my husband grew up there was a small lingerie and sex toy shop called “Fun And Fantasy” and that’s all I can think of: lacy lingerie bookplates. Both collections are also quite a bit cheaper at $5.95 for 8, maybe your wallet will be pleased.
Etsy has a few offerings as well. This one stood out to me. “There are worlds to explore and books are one way to get there.”    These Snowbear bookplates are from Theresa Smythe’s book Snowbear’s Christmas Countdown are handstamped from a handcarved rubber stamp. Finally, these Gocco printed bookplates give an older child a chance to rate the book and share a little bit about what makes the book special to her. My daughter would love to do this to all her books.
The Paper Princess has a few designs to choose from in custom bookplates. These are the kind of bookplates you’d be thrilled to open a vintage Little Golden Book from a yard sale and find inside. Cute vintage designs in a Deer, Puppy or Elephant design all professionally printed with your child’s name on each one. Not into any of those choices? Check out all the different designs, you can get up to two designs in each order. I think these would make a great ‘New Baby’ gift for the bibliophile parent.
The site My Home Library offers printable bookplates in color, black and white and also three different sizes. Let your child choose which they want for any new book as they get them. Many of the choices are illustrated by well-known children’s illustrators. I’m particularly fond of this one because, well, it’s a robot.
