I love the idea of a book-of-the-month club for young children. Books make awesome gifts! I’ve used a book-of-the-month club for my two little nephews for the past year and a half. Both the boys and their parents love to receive a brand new book every month, right on their doorstep. And it’s always wrapped, so it feels like each new book is truly a gift. And as an added benefit, I feel good having helped build my nephews’ book collection which I hope will help them both to become strong readers as they get older. 

When I researched book-of-the-month clubs for children a year and a half ago, there weren’t many to choose from, though I did, eventually, find one that suits my needs. But now there’s a new company I’ll be keeping in mind for the future with a mission I can really get behind. Bookroo‘s mission “is to enable and empower parents to build their children’s book collections in an affordable and exciting way through curated monthly book deliveries. We believe in the power and impact of the written word in the life of a child, and believe it’s never too early to start reading to children!”

I asked Jane Tanner, who co-founded Bookroo with her husband Kesler, Kesler’s two brothers, and their wives, to tell me a bit more about the passion and vision behind Bookroo.

There’s something magical about getting a package in the mail, addressed to you, and containing several wrapped presents. Especially when you’re a child. And especially when the wrapped presents contain books–new and exciting stories for you to read in your favorite nook or sprawled across the couch upside down.

At Bookroo, our mission is to empower parents to build their children’s book collections easily and affordably in a way that enhances the excitement of reading for children. We believe, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did, that, “It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own,” and we want to help make that ideal a reality for children across the country and then the world.

Why? Because reading to children is powerful. It’s like magic or fairy dust, except actually accessible to us grown-ups. For example, did you know that for every year you read with your child from infancy to preschool, his average lifetime earnings increase by $50,000? [1] Or that reading to your baby increases not only her vocabulary, but also her math skills? [2] Reading to your children is a powerful force for good.  As Albert Einstein said: “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

Rather than having the experience of individually wrapped books and a handwritten note to the parents and child come at a premium, in order to ensure that the maximum number of households can benefit from Bookroo, the retail value of the books in each box always exceeds the subscription price you pay. So it’s a win-win-win.

So what is Bookroo? It’s a monthly delivery of curated children’s books–either 3 board books or 2 picture books–individually wrapped and delivered to the child in your life. We invite you to help us on our mission to promote literacy from a young age, as a way to improve the future by increasing the abilities and potential of the children of the world!

[1] http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Freadingfoundation.org%2Fthe-solution%2Fprograms%2Fread-with-a-child%2F%3Fgclid%3DCj0KEQjwv6WrBRD4gbngqe7mosYBEiQAIB5oTMViEjRuT6DqxxJwYPASEsmf83yyg0yGdnuAOXWBLFwaAmHl8P8HAQ&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEDEsY-TtR0jeNxvYcoXajUE6YVkw

[2] http://www.parents.com/baby/development/intellectual/benefits-of-reading-to-your-newborn/#page=3

Besides their dedication to literacy and children, the folks at Bookroo are doing even more to help make the world a better place by using recycled and recyclable packaging in their Bookroo boxes and they also donate books to children in need through Reach Out and Read, a non-profit organization that partners with medical providers “to promote early literacy and school readiness to young children and their families in all 50 states”. Bookroo is a company with a bright future. If you’ve ever considered using a book-of-the-month service, I encourage you to check out their site.