OurShelves
- The perfect gift to ignite imagination, wonder and the giggles too while affirming your values of inclusion, equity, social justice, love and fun!
- Books that proudly feature racially and ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+, feminist, and other traditionally under-represented identities 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
- Curation Team that chooses books includes experts from librarianship, teaching, early childhood development, psychology, racial and other identity bias, and parenting. All Curation Team members -- and their children -- share the experience of having aspects of their identities under-represented in children's books.
Questions
Q: Do you get to keep the books that are sent or do you have to buy them?Asked by Aisha P., January 2021
Great question! The price you pay to subscribe includes the price of the books sent to you so you keep the books. In other words, they've been mindfully curated for your age group and when we send them to you, they're all yours! Please let us know if you have any other questions. Thanks for your wonderful support of diverse children's books and your consideration of OurShelves!
Q: If you are sent a book that you already have do you replace it or give a credit toward the next box? Thanks Asked by Sara E., December 2020
Sara Elizabeth, thanks for your support of diverse children's books and OurShelves! Would you be willing to reach out to us via the contact form on our web site so we can speak to you directly via email or phone about for which books you may have concern about overlap and then we can let you know some options to avoid book duplication? Thanks so much again for reaching out!
Q: Can I change the age? For the first order I want to order the 0-2, but for the next order I was 2-5. If I buy a subscription will I be able to change the age? Asked by Chandler H., December 2020
Chandler, thanks for your support of diverse children's books and interest in OurShelves! Of course we can help with this! You can definitely sign up for a Sunshine (ages 0-2) subscription now, and whenever you're ready to move to Rainbow (ages 2-5) boxes, just reach out to us via the contact form on our web site, and we can upgrade your membership. Please note that Rainbow boxes are priced higher than Sunshine boxes because picture books cost more than board books. So when you upgrade, we would adjust the pricing at that time. Please let us know if you have any other questions at all! Thanks so much again for your wonderful support, Alli and the OurShelves Team
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!
OurShelves reviewsReviews
Write a Review5
Average Subscriber RatingDiverse Literature for All!
Dec 16, 2020
Amber B.
Hello fellow Reviewers...I read ALL the reviews I can before I make a purchase, even innocuous ones, so I must pay it forward. You must subscribe to Ourshelves if you want your children to be exposed to literature you may not find in mainstream stores! So far my family has received 3 boxes and we are very satisfied. My 8 month old daughter has now been exposed to LGBTQIA, Native American, and Spanish language books. In addition to that, she is able to see herself in the characters in books we have received. We are Black and we are not often represented in books that fly off the shelf. Ourshelves makes my family and I feel mainstream. Do your family a favor and subscribe to this affordable book subscription service!!!!
Verified Purchase
Wonderful Books!
May 18, 2021
Lauren W.
We love this subscription! The books are age appropriate and so unique! Excellent customer service, too.
Verified Purchase
Lauren, thank you so much for being such a special part of the OurShelves community! Thank you for partnering with us to ensure all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves!
Kindness, Quality, and Hope
May 18, 2021
Melissa P.
My children and I receive so much joy from our OurShelves subscription, discovering artists and stories we might not otherwise have found. My children ask to read these titles over and over again. OurShelves has given us hope and connection during a difficult, isolated year. The owners and customer service team provide kind, personal service. They really care about their readers and the artists behind each book, which sets OurShelves apart from other subscription services we've tried. Just phenomenal.
Verified Purchase
Melissa, thank you for these incredibly kind words! We love hearing about the joy, hope and connection these books have brought to your family. We also love to hear that your children ask to read the books again and again! Thank you also for your kind words about our team and our mission. We're so grateful to have members like you who join us in working toward a world in which all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves!
Beautiful books, great value
Apr 10, 2021
Madeleine E.
Outstanding subscription service for children's books. All new titles that our library doesn't have (yet), and nearly every one of them a winner :) Our kid comes back to these books again and again. Very fairly priced, as well. We bought a gift subscription for a friend and we expect we'll buy more soon.
Verified Purchase
Madeleine, thank you so much for your kind words! We are thrilled to learn your child comes back to your OurShelves books again and again! And thank you so much for sharing our curated books with both your child as well as friends through gifting! Mostly, thank you for partnering with us to ensure all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves!
The BEST children's book subscription!
Apr 01, 2021
Margaret C.
My son has been receiving OurShelves boxes for a year now, and we both absolutely love them. I really appreciate how much care the curation team puts into choosing books that not only feature diverse characters and inclusive stories, but that are also always really GOOD books. We've tried other book boxes, but the hit rate for this one is so much higher, and I have really loved the conversations that we have about the books we read. With this last box, I switched from a 3-book box to a 5-book box because we have loved everything we've received so far, and we were not disappointed. My son has insisted on reading all 5 books every night since we got them. The other day he came home from school with a creation he had made that he said was "the wrap that Sis wears in "Bedtime Bonnet."" He insisted on wearing it while we got ready for bed. And every time we read "I Am Every Good Thing" he asks me to tell him what "worthy to be loved" means. Even if your child, like mine, has no problem finding books with characters that look like him or families that look like his in them, there is enormous value in this subscription. It is helping prompt the kinds of conversations that I want to have with my child but don't always know how to start, and helping him grow into a thoughtful, curious, and...
Verified Purchase
Wow, thank you so much for sharing the role OurShelves books have played in your family and why diverse books matter to you and your son! We love hearing how these books are resonating with your son. We are grateful to have such a dedicated and thoughtful Curation Team who review and select the books for our boxes. And we're so glad to hear you're loving our book selections as much as we do! Thank you so much for partnering with us to ensure all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves! We're so glad you're part of our community!
Stunningly Awesome!
Mar 29, 2021
Andrew B.
I never find the time to post reviews, frankly. It's a rare product that will make me excited or disappointed enough to motivate me to actually do it. But OurShelves is more than awesome enough to motivate me.
Families are so much more diverse in real life than in the (current) world of children's literature. Kids deserve to grow up seeing themselves and their loving families reflected in the stories they love. Conversely, the more a story reflects the diverse world they really live in, the more likely they are to love it, and learn great lessons from it. Moreover, I want my kids to grow up *expecting* their world to always be a diverse, loving place. This OurShelves subscription is going to make that job so much easier.
We've received one box, and my kids are already in love with the books (ny youngest even tells me, in a somewhat surprised tone, that I do a good voice for the penguins who feature in one of our stories). One of the titles was such a joy to read I got a little choked up reading it the first time (I was glad I read it once by myself so I didn't cry during bedtime!) What's so very clear is that the staff who run OurShelves are very, very in tune with their customers. When you sign up, you're encouraged to reach out and let them know if there's anything in particular you'd like to share about your family, so...
Verified Purchase
Wow, thank you so much for sharing why you signed up for OurShelves and how your OurShelves books -- and the conversations and possibilities they bring -- matter to you and your children. We would also love to hear your penguin voice:). Thank you so much for sharing so beautifully why we all do this work together. Thank you for being part of our community -- we're so glad you're here. And thank you for partnering with us to ensure all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves!
The best book subscription!
Mar 29, 2021
Amanda K.
We love OurShelves so much that it’s become our go-to gift for anyone with kids. Thoughtfully curated books, with a wide cast of characters and varying levels of identity as the main theme, that are MY favorite to read as well as the kids.’
My rhyme & fact-obsessed 7yo loves My Mommy, My Mama, My Brother, and Me. My anxious 8yo must have requested Saturday every night for at least two months, and it totally helped him process things not going to expectation, and my 5yo still sleeps with The Bread Pet. And of course we had to resume keeping a sourdough starter and baking bread on the regular.
We’ll be customers until we age out—but we hope you keep adding levels so that never happens!
Verified Purchase
Amanda, thank you for this incredibly special feedback! There's nothing better than thinking about each of your kids enjoying their OurShelves books in their own very special ways. Thank you so much for sharing OurShelves-curated books with your own children and other children through gifting as well. And yes, we do hope to grow our book offerings to reach older aged children as well - stay tuned! Mostly, thank you for partnering with us to ensure all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves! We're so grateful you're part of our community!
Bedtime Bonnet, OurShelves
Mar 19, 2021
Kristina M.
This subscription has been really great for our family. We have several favorites from prior months, and we love our new book Bedtime Bonnet! My 4 year old son has been trying desperately all week to recite the Grandpa’s joke about sticky hair and honeycomb :) It was a great story for our white two-mom family to talk about things that are the same and different between our family and routines, and those in the book. I’m really enjoying your book selections and the representation and conversations they bring into our home. Thank you!
Verified Purchase
Kristina, I love thinking of your four-year-old sharing the Grandpa's joke! This is such a fun book, isn't it? And stay tuned -- author Nancy Redd made a video for us that we'll be releasing soon! Thank you for these very kind words and this feedback that is exactly why we do what we do! Thank you for partnering with us to ensure all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves! We're so glad you're part of our community!
We love OurShelves!
Mar 15, 2021
Mikaela B.
We love OurShelves! I have a 4yo and a 1yo and their customer service was so helpful when I reached out about combining books from the different age groups. They had a solution for me and both of my kids are able to get books that work for them.
Verified Purchase
Mikaela, we are so glad that both your one-year-old and four-year-old are enjoying their OurShelves books! We're also so glad to hear that you felt appreciated and cared for in your interactions with our company -- our members like you mean the world to us! Thanks for working with us to ensure all kinds and all families have a place on OurShelves!
We love OurShelves!
Feb 18, 2021
Sarah L.
We still really love our subscription--after years of receiving books! We talk about social justice issues a lot in house and your books give us great areas to explore further. But I also love that so many of the books you include are just beautiful stories with beautiful characters—that aren’t experiencing oppression rather just finding joy in the world. I think this does so much to really set the tone for the roles that BIPOC and LGBTQ folks play in the world now and in the future. I also love that the books you send aren’t just the well known best sellers—those are great too—but they are books I wouldn’t easily find on my own.
Verified Purchase
Sarah, thank you for describing so wonderfully how we try to feature all different kinds of kids and families in all different kinds of stories! We're so grateful you're a member of our community! Thank you for your wonderful support!
Photos from reviews of OurShelves…
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!
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!
Winter 2020-21 Book Box Samples
Check out the fun and joy you'll have with OurShelves books, all the while affirming the beautiful diversity of the world around us. OurShelves books feature racially and ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+, and feminist characters and families, among other under-represented identities in children's books. Which books end up in your box depend on your child's age and available stock. Email info@OurShelve if you want to ensure one or more of these books come in your next box!
Spring 2021 Book Box Samples
Check out the fun and joy you'll have with OurShelves books, all the while affirming the beautiful diversity of the world around us. OurShelves books feature racially and ethnically diverse, LGBTQ+, and feminist characters and families, among other under-represented identities in children's books. Which books end up in your box depend on your child's age and available stock. Email info@OurShelve if you want to ensure one or more of these books come in your next box!
