My girls LOVE to read at night. They bring piles of picture books to bed. Previously, most of the books would end up behind the bed, crushed on the bed or on the floor in front of the bed and stepped-on. I appreciate their love of reading, but I needed to do something to protect the books.

Enter DIY Book Holders

I found instructions for DIY Pallet Book Holders online. If you have access to basic woodworking tools, these shelves are pretty easy to build, sturdy and inexpensive (you can often get your hands on a pallet for $5 or less).

Here are a couple short, easy to follow tutorials. I am including two because they show different finishing options. They also show different options for the wood on the bottom of the shelf. I just used one of the extra pieces of wood from the pallet for the bottom of my shelves, like the 2nd video. (Wish I had watched a tutorial before entirely disassembling my pallets first 🙂 )

Not into DIY? No problem

If you do not own power tools or have a desire to make your own shelves, there are great options on Etsy. Just search “pallet book rack”. Amazon has several decent options as well, although they do look a bit smaller and will probably not be as sturdy (but they would get the job done).

Photos of My Girls’ Book Holders

Light for Reading Picture Books at Night

In addition to protecting books and making night-time reading books accessible, these shelves provide a great place to attach a reading light. Here is our favorite choice:

These lights are bright and have lasted well. This makes it easy for kids to turn out their own light after they read. Also, if your kids share a room, the lights are small enough one child can still go to sleep if the other is reading late.

I would love to see what works for you.

If you have made your own pallet book shelves, I would love to see a picture! Also, if you have a different bedside reading solution that has worked well for you, I would love to hear about it.

Jamie Bills