We are horrible book people. We read a lot, we consume books, we love them to pieces (which drives some people we know bonkers). We are moving to Kosovo where we can't get our book fix and where, alas, it seems shipping from amazon.de/com or from friends and relatives is just not an option. (One word: customs!)

So we are buying books in advance.

We buy a lot of books but usually, we do it in small doses. If you buy books for a year, though, you may be shocked to discover just how much you actually spend on books. I won't even write the number down here. Let's just say it's A LOT. There is, of course, also the a feeling of Torschlusspanik*.

I posted this picture of the first few boxes on my Facebook page:

My friend Deborah asked to see a closeup of the image so that she could sneak a look. She has two little boys and is always looking for book inspiration.

I think a list may be better, so here it is: First come the German books, then the English books. Most of them are series because my kids like series. I have some books in there where I bought the entire series, and some where I only bought one or two to see how the kids like them.

(I also started putting links in but frankly, that's extremely labor intensive and I lack the time at the moment. So, after a few books, you'll just have to google them. Sorry!)

D, many of these are actually Swedish. We do like Scandinavian literature!

I also bought many of these at the local bookstore (well, the German ones, anyway), so some are not available to Amazon.de anymore. I am not including any reviews, partly because we haven't read them yet! But I can tell you that Jacob (7) enjoys both Kokosnuss and LasseMaja a lot. Leah (4) loves Kokosnuss, Theo Tonnentier, Tilda Apfelkern and I think the rest of the books in her age slot are new to her. Both Alan and David basically read whatever I toss at them. The age range is from 4 to, well, to young adult, really.

So, here we go:

Der kleine Drache Kokosnuss Serie (Amazon.de)
Detektivbüro LasseMaja Serie (Amazon.de)
Die drei Fragezeichen Kids Serie (Amazon.de)
Drei fürs Museum Serie (Amazon.de)
Linus Lindbergh Serie (Amazon.de)
Unter der Piratenflagge Serie (Amazon.de)
Monsteragentin Nelly Rapp Serie (Amazon.de)
Edvard. Mein Leben, meine Geheimnisse (Amazon.de)
Die Kinder aus der Krachmacherstraße (Amazon.de)
Anton und Antonia machen immer Chaos Serie (Amazon.de)
Schurken überall - Serie (Amazon.de)
Denni, Klara, und das Haus Nr. 5 (Amazon.de)
Ich, Jonas, genannt Pille, und die Sache mit der Liebe (Amazon.de)
Gulliver Serie (Tonke Dragt) (Amazon.de)
Oskar gibt Gas! (Amazon.de)
Kreuzberg 007 Serie (Amazon.de)
Die Schule der Magischen Tiere Serie (Amazon.de)
Ein einzigartiger Freund und das ganz, ganz große Glück (Amazon.de)
Tilda Apfelkern Serie (Amazon.de)
Tonne Tonnentier und die beste Geburtstagstorte der Welt (Amazon.de)
Elliot und Isabelle Serie
Das große Buch vom kleinen Erdmännchen Gustav
Kotzmotz der Zauberer
Josef Guggenmos: Groß ist die Welt

Redwall (Amazon.de/Amazon.com)
Wayside School (Amazon.de/Amazon.com)
The Indian in the Cupboard Series (Amazon.com)
The Borrowers Series (Amazon.com)
The Giver (Amazon.com)
Amelia Bedelia (Amazon.de/Amazon.com)
Nancy Drew
The Time Warp Trio
Wild Magic
Dealing with Dragons
The Sweetest Fig
Encyclopedia Brown
Among the Hidden
Big Questions from Little People
The Archer Legacy
The Story of Ferdinand
Bridge to Terabithia
Tuck Everlasting
20 Ways to draw a Cat and 20 Ways to draw a Tree

We are going to add more to this pile, for sure. But that's what we have so far. We're always happy for more suggestions!

* That horrible feeling of fear when the doors are closing on you and you know you have but little time left. It's a very useful word.