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Every free way we have found to get books for your kids, from your library card to books in the mail.
Ages 0 to 5: Imagination Library (books by mail)
A library card is the easiest way to borrow books, and it also unlocks the digital apps below and the passes for this area.
Getting a card: Omaha Public Library Discovery Passes are for Douglas County residents with an OPL card. Council Bluffs passes need an adult card from Council Bluffs or rural Pottawattamie County.
What: Borrow ebooks, audiobooks and kids' read-alongs on a phone or tablet. Loans return themselves on the due date, so there are no late fees.
For: All ages. Works if your library offers Libby, so check yours.
Cost: Free
How: Open Libby, search for your library, then enter your library card number.
What: Borrow ebooks, audiobooks and comics instantly, with no waiting list. Kids Mode limits browsing to family-friendly titles.
For: All ages. Only works if your library offers hoopla, and your library sets how many items you can borrow each month.
Cost: Free
How: Make a free hoopla account with your email and library card number.
What: One free, age-appropriate book mailed to your child every month, with their name on it, until age 5.
For: Children from birth to age 5. It only works where a local program covers your area, so availability depends on your ZIP code.
Cost: Free
How: Check availability for your ZIP code. If a local program covers you, register your child online.
Not available everywhere. If your area is not covered yet, the program's page says you can ask to be told when it is.
What: Free book-sharing boxes in neighborhoods. Take a book, leave a book if you can.
For: All ages.
Cost: Free
How: Open the map to find a box near you.
What: Actors read picture books aloud, with the pictures on screen.
For: All ages. Picture books are a great fit for little ones, and older kids enjoy them too (our planning note).
Cost: Free
How: Open the site and pick a book.
What: More than 600 picture books to read on a phone, tablet or computer, in English, Spanish and other languages, with narration in 50+ languages. No login or ads.
For: All ages, and families reading in a home language.
Cost: Free
How: Open the library and pick a book.
What: More than 75,000 free ebooks, mostly older classics whose copyright has expired. No fees and no sign-up.
For: Older kids who are ready for classic books.
Cost: Free
How: Open the site, search or browse, and read online or download.
What: Free to enter, US only, you enter yourself. It is a drawing, so you might not win.
For: Parents enter for their kids; the children's list changes all the time, so we do not list titles.
Cost: Free
How: Open the children's list and enter the ones you like. You need a free Goodreads account.
Goodreads has no email or RSS alerts for giveaways that we could find. The main list is mostly adult books: all giveaways.
Nothing saved yet. Tap the heart on a listing to keep it here. Saved items stay on this phone only.
Three quick taps. Then it opens like an app.
Don’t see it? Open this page in Safari, then try again.