What Does Barnes and Noble Do With Unsold Children's Books?
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Ever walked past the back room of a Barnes & Noble and wondered what happens to all those unsold children’s books? Maybe you’ve bought a picture book for your toddler, only to see the same title still sitting on the shelf months later. Or perhaps you’ve donated gently used books and wondered if they ever end up in a store’s unsold pile. The truth is, Barnes & Noble doesn’t just throw away unsold children’s books - but what they do with them isn’t always obvious.
How Books End Up Unsold
Children’s books have a short sales window. A new picture book tied to a popular cartoon might sell out in weeks. But if the show fades, or if the book doesn’t connect with parents, it lingers. Publishers send books to stores like Barnes & Noble on consignment. That means the store doesn’t pay for them upfront. If they don’t sell, the publisher takes them back. But not all books go back.
Some titles get stuck because the publisher went out of business, or the print run was too big. Others are remaindered - sold to stores at deep discounts - and never moved. These are the books that pile up in storage bins behind the register or in warehouse basements across the country.
What Barnes & Noble Does With Unsold Books
Barnes & Noble has a clear, multi-step process for handling unsold inventory, especially children’s books. First, they try to sell them at a discount. You’ve probably seen those $1 or $2 bins near the front of the store. Those are often last-chance children’s books - board books with chewed corners, picture books with faded covers, or titles that didn’t catch on.
If they still don’t sell after a few months, the store sends them back to the publisher. But here’s the catch: not every publisher wants them back. Some publishers only take back books within 90 days. Others don’t accept returns at all. When that happens, Barnes & Noble has to find another way.
That’s when donations come in. Barnes & Noble partners with local schools, libraries, and nonprofits like Books for Kids and First Book. In 2023, they donated over 2.1 million books to educational programs across the U.S. Many of those were children’s books - classics like The Very Hungry Caterpillar or newer titles like Goodnight Moon that still have value, even if they didn’t sell in stores.
For books that are damaged, outdated, or too worn to donate, Barnes & Noble recycles them. The paper goes to mills that turn it into new cardboard or packaging. The ink and glue are removed during the recycling process. Hardcover books get their covers removed before recycling - the cardboard binding is reused, while the pages are pulped. They don’t burn them. They don’t landfill them. Recycling is the standard for unusable stock.
Why Children’s Books Are Different
Children’s books are handled differently than adult fiction or textbooks. They’re smaller, lighter, and more fragile. A board book with a bent corner might be worthless to a bookstore, but perfect for a daycare center. A picture book with a torn cover might not make it onto a new shelf, but it’s still great for storytime.
Parents often buy these books in bulk - for birthdays, baby showers, or classroom gifts. That means publishers print way more than they think will sell. And when kids outgrow books fast, returns pile up. A book that sells 50,000 copies in its first month might sell 500 the next year. That’s normal. But it creates a lot of leftover inventory.
Barnes & Noble knows this. That’s why their donation network is strongest in areas with high concentrations of families - places like suburban Chicago, Atlanta, and the Bay Area. They work with Head Start programs, public libraries, and literacy nonprofits that need books more than they need new ones.
What You Can Do With Unsold Books
If you’ve got a stack of children’s books you no longer need, you don’t have to wait for Barnes & Noble to recycle them. You can help.
- Donate to your local library’s book sale - many resell them to fund programs.
- Give them to a preschool or daycare center - they’re always short on books.
- Check out First Book’s website - they accept book donations and ship them to low-income schools.
- Use Bookoo or Little Free Library to drop books in your neighborhood.
Even books with bent spines or missing dust jackets can be loved. A child doesn’t care if the cover is faded. They care if the story makes them laugh or cry.
Myths About Book Recycling
Some people think Barnes & Noble burns unsold books to protect copyrights. That’s false. Publishers don’t require destruction - they want to recover value. Others believe stores sell unsold books overseas. That happens sometimes, but rarely with children’s books. The shipping cost for heavy board books isn’t worth it.
Another myth: if a book isn’t sold, it’s worthless. Not true. A 2022 study by the Book Industry Study Group found that 68% of unsold children’s books were reused - either donated, recycled, or resold. Only 12% ended up in landfills. The rest were kept in circulation.
What’s Changing in 2026
More publishers are asking Barnes & Noble to reduce print runs. With digital story apps and audiobooks growing, fewer families buy physical books. That means fewer unsold copies. Barnes & Noble has cut children’s book orders by 18% since 2023.
They’re also testing a new program: BookSwap. Parents can bring in used children’s books and trade them for store credit. The store then donates the ones that don’t fit their inventory. It’s a win: less waste, more access, and a little reward for parents.
It’s not perfect. But it’s better than it was. And for families who need books - whether they’re reading to a toddler at 7 a.m. or helping a child learn to read in a classroom - that matters.
Do Barnes & Noble stores burn unsold children’s books?
No, Barnes & Noble does not burn unsold children’s books. They recycle unusable books through paper recycling programs and donate readable ones to schools, libraries, and nonprofits. Burning books is not part of their policy and goes against industry standards.
Can I donate my old children’s books to Barnes & Noble?
Barnes & Noble doesn’t accept personal book donations at stores. Instead, they partner with organizations like First Book and local libraries. You can drop off your gently used children’s books at those partners. Check their websites for drop-off locations near you.
Why do children’s books have higher return rates than adult books?
Children’s books are often bought as gifts, and kids outgrow them quickly. A book bought for a 2-year-old might be unreadable by age 5. Publishers print large quantities to meet holiday demand, but sales drop fast. This leads to more unsold copies compared to adult fiction, which has longer shelf life and repeat readers.
Are unsold children’s books ever sold overseas?
Rarely. Shipping heavy board books or hardcovers internationally costs more than the books are worth. Barnes & Noble focuses on domestic recycling and donation programs instead. Some titles may be sold to discount resellers in the U.S., but export is not common for children’s books.
What happens to damaged children’s books at Barnes & Noble?
Damaged books - torn covers, water stains, missing pages - are separated from saleable stock. Their covers are removed and recycled as cardboard. The pages are pulped into new paper products. The glue and ink are filtered out during recycling. Nothing goes to landfill if it can be reused.
Final Thoughts
The next time you see a pile of old children’s books at Barnes & Noble, don’t assume they’re trash. They’re probably waiting to be donated to a classroom, recycled into new packaging, or traded in through a BookSwap program. The system isn’t flawless - but it’s designed to keep books in use, not in the trash. And for kids who need stories, that’s what matters most.