Wandering Books

I love books. If you read this blog regularly you know I’m constantly trying to find great books that go along with our adventures. Queue a brilliant program I accidentally discovered here in the Netherlands – Wandering Books!

We were sitting in a cafe in Breda when H found a whole stack of fun kids books with a special sticker label on the front. The kids sat in the corner looking at the books while Jeff and I enjoyed our coffee, tea and cake. I noticed the stickers and snapped a picture of them with my phone.

I thought it might be something like the Dutch version of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.  Turns out it is a program called “Zwerfboek” in Dutch, meaning “stray book.” I however am going to call them Wandering Books here. 

You can request the labels online. You put them on some books and leave the books for others to enjoy. They suggest leaving them in neighborhood little libraries or at coffee shops. You can take these books home and enjoy them and then leave them somewhere else. If you see a book with the label you can log online and see where the book has been.

Our labels arrived in just a few days. We chose a few books we were ready to set free. I logged on and registered each book. You fill out a simple form with the title and a picture of the book. Then we went around the neighborhood leaving the books in the Little Libraries around our neighborhood.

The kids are always on the lookout for these books around town. When we find them we bring them home, enjoy them for a few days, register them online and then set them free again.

Another bonus for Expats is that I was able to order a set of Dutch books (~€15) through this program. We were sent a variety of books. We can enjoy them and then label them and set them free to wander as well. I love how fun this makes sharing great books!

Request your labels here and start your search for wandering books. Also check out Book Crossing, as they have a similar program that runs worldwide including the Netherlands and the U.S.