In the kitchen, we have a series of low bookshelves full of cookbooks. Our baby finds anything organized irresistible, and loves to pull the books out of the shelf. Beyond creating unnecessary entropy as she unpacks the books, some of them are quite large, and might smash a finger. So, I child-proofed the books in place with old bicycle innertubes.

See how I built the bookshelves!

Step 1: The Problem - Child Grabs and Pulls Books

Here's the problem in action. She's going to try cooking something from the French Laundry!

Step 2: Innertubes Hold the Books in Place

With bicycle innertubes tied around each shelf, we can still access the books, but baby cannot. This solution has now endured two months of attacks, and she hasn't managed to get a single book out. In fact, she likes pulling on the innertubes so much that she now usually ignores the books in favor of twanging the giant rubber bands.