OurShelves
- Books that ignite imagination, wonder and the giggles too
- Books that proudly feature feminist, racially and ethnically diverse, and LGBTQ+ characters and families, among other under-represented identities in children's books
- Curation Team that chooses books includes expertise from librarians, teachers, academics, psychologists and parents, as well as those with lived expertise in raising children who are under-represented in children's books
- Free shipping and increased discounts for annual prepay subscriptions.
- The pride in knowing you're exercising your consumer power to be counted in support of diverse children's books -- OurShelves advocates for the many diverse books needed in part by proving the significant, yet largely untapped, audience for such books
Sneak Peek
Fall 2020 Book Box Samples
This box illustrates the fun and joy you'll have with OurShelves books, all the while affirming the beautiful diversity of the world around us. The books shown here feature LGBTQ+, racially and ethnically diverse, and feminist characters and families, among other under-represented identities in children's books. Which books actually end up in your box depend on your child's age and available stock. Enjoy!
Order by October 14th to get this box!
Questions
Q: I am interested in receiving this subscription, but I live in Europe. Will this be a possibility in the future?Asked by Erin S., June 2020
Yes, this will be an option in the future! We are working on it as we type here. Stay tuned Thank you so much for your interest!
Q: For the 5-8 year old box. Is it a one time fee of $50 for 3 books over 3 months? Or is it $50 per month for 3 months to get 3 books each month?Asked by Molly J., March 2020
Great question! The fee is for one box every three months that includes three books in each box if you choose the three-book box. Thanks for asking, and thanks for your interest in OurShelves.
Q: How much is shipping for these boxes? Looking into doing the box with 3 books and I assumed shipping was included but there's a line item in checkout. Asked by Erin M., February 2020
Hi there, thanks for raising this issue! Yes, we offer free shipping so you should not pay any additional costs for shipping. Please reach out so we can solve this issue immediately. (This platform doesn't allow us to include our email address, but you'll find it on our web site.) Thanks for your interest and your commitment to ensuring ALL kids and ALL families have a place on OurShelves!
OurShelves reviewsReviews
Write a Review5
Average Subscriber RatingBest Gift from G'ma and G'pa!!!
3 days ago
Anne S.
My husband and I subscribe to OurShelves, and have the books sent to our beautiful granddaughters, ages 7 and 3. We heard about this great service on a podcast, and thought it was a super idea. The books are curated and grouped by age. While we like the diversity part, we also like the fact that the stories aren’t about the disability/diversity, but rather those differences are just part of the story. The 7 year old especially can detect (and rejects) books that preach/moralize, so this is an important piece. We want to pass on our love of books and reading to them, as well as expose them to values such as love, empathy and compassion. This is an easy and effective way to do this. Our daughter and son-in-law love the books, too! The six of us give OurShelves 5 out of 5 stars!!!
Verified Purchase
Anne, thank you for these very kind words and being such awesome grandparents sharing your love of books and reading with your grandkids! We love having all six of you as special members of our OurShelves community. We're glad you're here!
Love this subscription!
Sep 09, 2020
Cilicia W.
Our family has really enjoyed this book subscription. The books are very well chosen and are full of beautiful stories and illustrations that bring our children into the worlds of kids and families from so many diverse backgrounds. The books from these boxes are consistently at the top of the pile for bedtime stores that are read over and over. Thank you for making sure these stories are shared, OurShelves!
Verified Purchase
Cilicia, we are so glad to hear that your OurShelves books are at the top of your bedtime pile! It is important to us that children love the books we send that are filled with characters and families that are traditionally under-represented. Thank you so much for being a special member of the OurShelves community from our start!
Wonderful books
Sep 09, 2020
Hannah B.
I received OurShelves box as a gift. Both my children have really enjoyed reading the books and love the our library is now including a more diverse representation of characters and families, We enjoyed it so much we signed up for the subscription.
Verified Purchase
Hannah, we are so glad you enjoyed your gifted OurShelves books so much that you signed up for a subscription yourself! We also just reached out to you to learn what shipping issue you encountered so we can ensure we address it if it impacted your current book box at all and correct it for the future. We're also aware that USPS is facing some shipping delays due to the pandemic that we hope will improve sooner rather than later. Thanks again for your wonderful support of diverse children's books!
toddler book taught *me* mindfulness
Sep 06, 2020
Ruth W.
I subscribe to 3 books a quarter for my toddler, and it's everything I wanted and more. I'm so glad we can get high quality books featuring people from different backgrounds, without me having to spend any time doing research. My favorite pick so far is Ninos Mindful Rest & Relax, where you wiggle your toes, bend them tight, and relax, and repeat with different parts of your body. It makes *me* feel more relaxed when I read it to my toddler and do the actions. Thank you Ourshelves team.
Verified Purchase
Ruth, ha! We love this review! We as grown-ups deserve some calm every now and then too, don't we?:) We are so glad you and your toddler are loving your OurShelves books! We are so grateful for the expertise on our Curation Team; they are an incredible group that share so much mind and heart in reviewing the books selected to go in our boxes. We also love this new bilingual and age-appropriate mindfulness book that is perfect for toddlers and features all different kinds of kids relaxing their bodies. Thanks again for being part of our community -- we're so glad you're here!
Delighted customer
Jun 10, 2020
Alison D.
We could not be more thrilled with this subscription. Customer service responded to us right away : we have kids aged 1-9 in our house and they quickly built us a custom box with books for all three age groups. Our first box included a bilingual book, several books featuring main characters who are black or children of color, a book featuring a LGTB family and a board book about PRIDE. Our kids LOVED the books and wanted to read them over and over. They are already asking when the next box will arrive. We wish there was a monthly option : we would sign up right away !
Verified Purchase
We are so thrilled that you and your children loved our book selections! We also love to hear that you'd like to receive our boxes even more frequently -- an option we are considering offering in the future! Thanks for being such a special member of the OurShelves community committed to ensuring ALL kids and ALL families have a place on OurShelves!
Sunshine Box Fans
Aug 15, 2020
Yvonne T.
We've been happy customers for over a year. We started with the Sunshine Box and are moving up to the Rainbow Box for our 3 year old. OurShelves does a wonderful job at picking out diverse, age-appropriate books. The board books have been great quality and really interesting reads. The book subjects vary - some are bilingual (we've received several books in Spanish and some Native American languages), some focus on body positivity, some showcase other cultures, some feature different types of families - but all are easy, fun reads.
Verified Purchase
Yvonne, thank you for growing with us over our first year and a half! Thank you for describing and appreciating the quality of the books we select for our boxes and sharing the varied representation we work to feature in our book boxes. Mostly, thank you for your wonderful support of our vision that all children and all families deserve a place on OurShelves -- we're so grateful that you're part of our community!
Excellent service and books
Aug 13, 2020
Jennifer P.
I was looking for a way to add diversity to my children's home library and this curated subscription fit the bill. I love that my children read stories that just happen to have two dads, or that explore mom's closet filled with khimars. I also love that my dollars are going towards supporting authors and publishers of these stories, proving that there IS an audience. The gift subscriptions and customer service responsiveness are also fantastic.
Verified Purchase
Jennifer, thanks so much for being part of our community from the start as both an OurShelves books recipient yourself and as a giftor to others! Thanks for sharing that you're enjoying our stories, and thanks for honoring our larger mission too -- of supporting traditionally under-represented authors and illustrators whose voices need to be shared and for proving to publishers the significant, though currently underestimated, audience for diverse kids' books. Together, as an OurShelves community, we are advancing and advocating for a world in which all children and all families have a place on OurShelves -- and are affirmed in being who they are. Thank you again for your wonderful support!
Excellent books and customer service
Aug 13, 2020
Elis C.
I got to know OurShelves at the bookriot website with a long list of very good book subscription for kids. OurShelves caught my attention through their statement of purpose and originality. I first signed up for Rainbow/3 books/quarter payment just to try it out. I LOVED IT! My daughter picked up the books they sent every.single.night for a month (yes, we do have plenty of other options). I am an anthropologist, immigrant, and Latina, and presenting diversity to my daughter at a very early age is really important to me as I believe that this is one of the ways to social justice! Due to the pandemic, we had to cancel our subscription and Alli sent a personalized message addressing that issue and trying to help. The message was so moving that we re-evaluated our budget and decided for the yearly subscription. They have the best customer service ever. I cannot wait for the next box!
Verified Purchase
Thank you for this very special review. We are so thrilled to hear that you and your daughter are loving your OurShelves books as much as we love them. Thank you for also sharing why diverse books matter to you, why you signed up for OurShelves, and why you're continuing with OurShelves even during this very challenging time. Your support means a great deal to us. We hope to continue to serve you well. Thanks again to you for your incredible support of OurShelves, diverse children's books, and raising a generation with ever-opening minds and hearts. Onward and upward we advance together.
Highly Recommend
Aug 11, 2020
Grace L.
I've been a member of Ourshelves from the first box and I think they have only grown in strength. This recent summer box was fantastic. We loved every book. We got Jabari Jumps first and I think the kids had it read to them 6x in the first 24hours. The other books that followed have been read many, many times so far. Each has been a joy and we even bought "A Crow of his own" after getting "A Kid of their own". I am sure coordinating all of this in the time of covid is exceptionally hard and I wanted to let you know how much we appreciate Ourshelves.
Verified Purchase
Grace, thank you so much for growing with us over this last year and a half! We are so glad that you are loving your books and reading them again and again. Thank you also for your support during these challenging times. Mostly, thanks for your commitment to ensuring all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves. Together, we hope we can prove to publishers just how many people are craving more of these books so they produce the many more diverse books still needed. Thank you again for being with us from the start and your continued support!
High Quality Books and Skilled Curation
Aug 04, 2020
Sarah O.
Sometimes books that focus on representation lose a little in dimension and writing style (Anyone else remember the super dry mental health/counseling affirmation books or the "all these different kids" books that still didn't have queer kids in them?). The books curated for us were interesting, multidimensional, and we saw our family and community members reflected in them. "When Aidan Became A Brother" was the first book I have read featuring a trans kid and the story was not 100% about transitioning. It gives context and then moves on to Aidan becoming a big brother, and his complex emotions about it. Our other books were also well written and interesting. Absolutely recommend. Good quality, and truly thoughtful curation.
Verified Purchase
Thank you, Sarah, for this review. Our Curation Team -- sharing their expertise from academia, psychology, the library, the classroom, early childhood development, early childhood development of bias, and 100% of whom have the lived experience of seeking more, higher quality and "multi-dimensional" (as you say) representation of themselves, their children and others in kids' books -- works very hard at curating our books. Thank you for affirming this work. The Curation Team, and all of us, are also deeply committed to advocating for the many diverse children's books of the quality you describe that do not yet exist, but are greatly needed. We're grateful that you're part of our community as we prove to publishers the significant audience for these books so that they...
Past boxes from OurShelves…
Past OurShelves Box
This box is full of fun -- and diverse characters and families! Here are three examples of the books you may receive with this fall box. These books center imagination, wonder, joy, and playfulness -- and LGBTQ+, racially and ethnically diverse, and feminist characters and families, among other under-represented identities in today's children's books. Enjoy!
Past OurShelves Box
This box illustrates the fun and joy you'll have with OurShelves books, all the while affirming the beautiful diversity of the world around us. The books shown here feature LGBTQ+, racially and ethnically diverse, and feminist characters and families, among other under-represented identities in children's books. Enjoy!
Past OurShelves Box
This is a picture of Chance, one of our newest members, and the three board books he received with his winter Sunshine (ages 0-2) book box!
Past Box
This box illustrates the fun and joy you'll have with OurShelves books, all the while affirming the beautiful diversity of the world around us. The books shown here feature LGBTQ+, racially and ethnically diverse, and feminist characters and families, among other under-represented identities in children's books. Enjoy!
