I have banned books in bedroom for this exact reason master 2 1/2 rips books and covers and destroys! It upsets me a LOT as I love books. He ruined his brothers fav Buzz book and he was so sad for days!
They still have access to books in lounge room but that is all.
I think it's sensible not mean, let them use them under supervision
FWIW my DD1 drew on the walls the other day 'because I got too excited and couldn't stop' in her words so pencils are now out of reach unless I'm supervising. I've removed the temptation to make it easier on everyone
No I wouldn't take all the books. TBH pop up books are a temptation even for kids who are much older than your two. I think the problem here might've been not keeping them separate from all the other "wear and tear" books in the first place. If you have "good" books for kids of this age, it's a good idea to keep them up and only bring them down when the kids are supervised. You can have plenty of other cheap books that they kids can access anytime that won't make you upset if they're damaged - op shop books or golden books etc are good for this.
FWIW it could be that only one child was involved in the ripping. Seems a bit like it could be a serial crime.
I took all my girls' books and put them in a cupboard out of their reach because I got sick of pages being ripped out, books all over the floor being walked on etc. Its bad enough with toys, but I'm a but OCD when it comes to book (heaven help anyone who dog ears a corner!) so their lack of care was doing my head in.
I would never keep books from them (toys yes), but for them it was punishment enough that they had to come to me and ask for what book they wanted, and that they only got one at a time. FWIW, the books are now back in their toy room and are treated with a lot more respect, but to be perfectly honest I think that is more a case of them being older than of them "learning a lesson". DD1 is reading now and so she treats books very well.
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