We also loved BFIAR and FIAR. We bought it at a time when $$ was very limited (ha! was?…)and used it with good success and limited resources. I bought it used from a gal on craigslist for no more than $10. I see FIAR and FIAR book titles at almost every used curriculum sale I go to. This isn’t because people don’t use them, it’s because they use them when their children are younger, then pass them on later.
Remember interlibrary loans. You only need each book for a week or so, so this should give you plenty of time to use and return the book to your library. Also, keep an eye out at antique stores! We’ve seen a few titles there. I even came across a couple of the titles (The Story About Ping, Blueberries for Sal, and Mike Mulligan and His Steam Engine) at used book sales hosted by libraries.
I’ve recommended FIAR and BFIAR several times to people interested in using CM, but “not yet”. That’s what we did; it’s a good intro, as you can customize the ideas to a CM philosophy. Heck, you can customize it to almost any thing! We’ve used it in conjuction with lapbooking among other things. It helps that you don’t have to go in any order as far as the books are concerned; much like CM, you work with what you have. I would even say that once you read the FIAR guide, you can apply the idea to almost any worthy (read CM-type-living-not-twaddly) children’s book. I’ve caught myself doing that many times.
OH! One good book to look for is Harper Collins Treasure of Picture Book Classics. My FIL gave it to us several years ago, and it has several of the FIAR titles included. (Caps for Sale, Harold and the Purple Crayon, Goodnight Moon, among other lovely titles.)
Hope that helps a bit.
LilllyLou
PS, I should also mention that you can get the lists of the books from their web-site to keep with you when book browsing-my mom kept one in her wallet for 2 years! Bless her heart…