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
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 RatingDelighted 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!
Stories that celebrate all identities!
Jun 05, 2020
Murray J.
The books we have received from OurShelves have become some of my toddler's favorites, and some of my favorites too. It is so important that all children see characters from a diversity of backgrounds and identities in their books, and OurShelves is a powerful tool for making that happen. The books they send increase representation of underrepresented and oppressed groups, fight stereotypes of oppressed groups, and celebrate identities that are so often portrayed negatively by the media and our nation's dominant narrative. An OurShelves subscription is one small thing parents can do to help raise anti-racist kids who are ready to fight oppressions of all kinds.
Verified Purchase
Murray, thank you so much for these wonderful words! We are so glad that our books support the values you're cultivating with your toddler -- and that they're some of your toddler's favorites! We are so grateful that you're a member of the OurShelves community -- both receiving our books and being counted as we prove to publishers the large audience seeking these books! Thank you again for your support!
Fantastic children's book subscription
May 13, 2020
Amaru D.
If you have a kiddo in your life, please consider gifting them an OurShelves book subscription. Our son has a subscription and has loved every book he's gotten. As a mixed race kid (who loves books!) with a Black daddy and queer mama, we try to be intentional that he is seeing not only characters and families like his, but also a variety of identities and experiences beyond his--racially and ethnically diverse characters, LGBTQ+, diverse religions and abilities, etc. The curation team is majority people of color and majority LGBTQ+ and they prioritize #OwnVoices stories (meaning stories that center characters with identities that the author/illustrator also share) when possible.
#recommendation #representationmatters #childrensliterature
Verified Purchase
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful feedback! We're glad that you and your son are enjoying our books as much as we love them. Thank you for also mentioning our Curation Team who thoughtfully review our books -- they are a very special group and bring both professional and personal expertise and experience to the curation process. Mostly, thanks to you for being such a special Founding Member of OurShelves -- we're so glad you're part of our community and partnering with us to pursue our vision of ALL kids and ALL families having a place on OurShelves!
So GREAT!
Apr 29, 2020
Michelle T.
I've encouraged all my friends to order a subscription -- I love the dual mission, and the quality of the books is great!
We just got our first box of 3 yesterday, and our 6-year-old triplets were so excited to read! I always felt like I had to work too hard to FIND books like this -- showcasing the diversity of human experience -- and now someone is doing the work for me...one thing off my plate!
Verified Purchase
Thank you so much for these kind words about our dual mission and our book selections! We know how hard it can be to find high-quality children's books centering diverse characters. In fact, that's why we are here -- to share the expertise of our Curation Team with all of the incredibly busy grown-ups out there who are committed to cultivating inclusive values with the special children in their world. We want to make it easier to find these books. In turn, these books' sales will grow, which will encourage publishers to produce more and more of them. Thank you for your incredible support and being part of the OurShelves community!
Love these books!
Apr 21, 2020
Lily G.
Our family has been loving OurShelves book boxes! The selected books have been fun, engaging stories with diverse characters that have helped broaden my children's understanding of the world they live in and all the beautiful people and families that we share it with. I also love that OurShelves is working to make diverse books more accessible with their dual mission of working with publishing companies to advocate for these stories to be put out into the world. Thank you for all of your hard work!
Verified Purchase
Lily and Owen, we are so excited that you are loving your OurShelves books as much as we do! We also love that you appreciate -- and partner with us in -- our advocacy mission to advocate for the many more diverse kids' books still needed! Thanks again for being such special members of the OurShelves community!
OurShelves
Mar 27, 2020
Larissa F.
OurShelves is AMAZING! I love that they are really making more diverse books available for kiddos. My son and I are SO excited whenever the package comes in the mail. The books they chose will really open his eyes to the world and influence his learning. The books are also really entertaining! He LOVES reading them and always requests them:). Keep up the FABULOUS work and we can't wait for our next arrival!
Verified Purchase
Thank you so much for this fabulous review! We are so happy that you and your son are loving our books as much we do! We try to find the books that are both highly engaging and entertaining and that also center traditionally under-represented characters and families. So we love hearing that our community -- especially the children in our community -- love to read them again and again! Thanks for your wonderful support -- it means so much to us!
Favorite Books!
Mar 10, 2020
Cedar B.
I love OurShelves! The books they send have fun, creative, loving, and inclusive stories. I appreciate the how strong and diverse the characters are. I believe these books will play a vital role in helping my child to feel fully free and loved in being herself - whomever that may turn out to be, and to support others in doing the same.
Verified Purchase
Thank you so much for these kind words and being such a special part of our OurShelves community committed to ensuring ALL kids and ALL families have a place on OurShelves!
Happy Three Year Old!
7 days ago
Emily C.
My three year old loves her diverse book boxes! They are consistently her favorite books and the ones that she goes for in her bookshelf. It's been so great to take the pressure off of me to research at length and find diverse books (I still do this, but not with such urgency!) We look forward to our books arriving regularly every few months. I can't say enough about OurShelves. If you're thinking about purchasing a subscription I'd highly recommend it!
Thank you so much, Emily, for these kind words! We're so glad to hear that OurShelves is valuable to both you and your three-year-old! We aim to send books that children love -- so they enjoy reading them, and we aim to support grown-ups (parents, teachers, librarians, healthcare providers, religious institutions) in making it easier to find these excellent books! And hopefully together, at the same time, we'll prove to publishers the incredible demand for these books so they perceive opportunity, rather than risk, in creating the many more still needed. Thanks again for your commitment to ensuring all kids and all families have a place on OurShelves! We're thrilled that you're part of our community!
The very best book subscription for kids
May 26, 2020
Ær Q.
I've been getting this subscription for my now two year old since they started and I absolutely love it. I'm a non-binary single parent, and my child's other parent is a transgender woman, so that is not a family structure that you can't find hardly anywhere in children's literature. Fortunately though we have gotten so many books that show so many different families from as many different backgrounds that you can imagine that it is easy for me to show my child that just because a family looks different from ours, it is no less of a family.
I also love that my AMAB, blond haired blue eyed child sees so many children that DO NOT look just like them in these books. I am so glad that I can use these books as a starting point to normalize the humanness of everyone, and not just people who might look like us, or just speak our language.
This is truly amazing and definitely worth it
Wow, thank you so much for these kind words and for being such a special member of the OurShelves community! We are so happy to know your two-year-old is loving our books! Thank you for describing so well what we're trying to do -- affirming the "humanness of everyone." Mostly, thank you for joining us in our work to ensure ALL kids and ALL families have a place on OurShelves. We are so grateful that you're part of our community!
Doing Good For Our World
Nov 20, 2019
Katy A.
We love OurShelves because we think it does good in the world.
The OurShelves team consistently asks for subscriber feedback; so if there are families or kids you are not seeing enough of in the boxes you receive, you have a direct line to the company-and they actually listen!
OurShelves is good for people who want to see themselves and their children reflected in the books they read and it is good for those who want to ensure their children are exposed to the many different ways human beings and families live and love.
Verified Purchase
Past boxes from OurShelves…
Fall 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!
Winter 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!
Spring 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!
