Ourshelves sends wonderful, engaging, diverse books in each box that my three children consistently love and come back to again and again. As a parent, I appreciate the thoughtfully curated mix of books and fantastic customer service. (Have a special request? They’re on it. For example, I have twins, and the founder, Alli, suggested a sweet book that features twins). As an educator (literacy specialist) I love the focus on getting books into kids hands that represent a wide range of identities and life experiences. Kids need both “windows” and “mirrors” in their reading, and OurShelves helps me to provide both for my kids. Especially during Covid, when I’m not doing any in-person bookstore browsing, this is an amazing resource. I highly recommend OurShelves!

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.

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 they can try to seek out and find the perfect books for you. All I can say is-- do it! I wasn't sure what to expect but the founder reached out to me quickly and had all kinds of great ideas for things, she basically made a custom box for us, which in my opinion is going way above and beyond. We then ordered a box for some friends of ours and she did the same for them!
We prepaid for a year subscription, and we're so glad we did. If you are looking for a lovingly curated box of books that reflect and celebrate a diverse, loving world, then you will be too.

We love OurShelves! We get a mixed box every quarter...one book for my 6 year old, one for my 4 year old, one for our baby. It's of course always fun for the kids to receive mail, and we almost always sit down and read all 3 right away. I also love how OurShelves are simply GOOD STORIES that happen to have underrepresented protagonists and side characters in them. I really think I see a difference in my kids' behavior after reading them. For example, we just got a book called *Clive and His Babies* (about a little boy who loves to push two baby dolls around). Since reading it, I see my 18 month old and my 4 year old have been seeking out baby dolls to play with. Highly, highly recommend this either for your own family, for a personal gift, or even for a gift to a local or school library.

OurShelves is changing the way publishers think about children's books with characters from diverse backgrounds and with diverse experiences by proving that the market exists, in plenty, for these books. By subscribing to OurShelves, we are sending a clear message to publishers that we want more stories that show (but don't problematize) the incredible diversity of this country's children and families. This is a brilliant, beautiful business, run by an amazing woman (Alli Harper) who has experience creating large-scale systems change, passing laws, and lovingly parenting small children. My children, ages 6, 4, and 1, adore their OurShelves books, and I love reading the books with them!