Make It (Your Bookshelf) Cute With OurShelves
At the beginning of this month, our friends at LGBTQ+-owned OurShelves will make a special delivery directly to one of our adorable playhouses to kick off Pride Month! We are delighted to reveal these expertly curated diverse children’s books that will arrive in our mailbox and share them with our community!
We recently connected with the fabulous folks behind OurShelves, and they have quickly become one of our favorite companies. We are thrilled to spotlight them in this post and share what they do to drive inclusivity in the KidLit (Kid Literature) sphere. OurShelves curates diverse children's book boxes, available by subscription and in one-time boxes, with the belief that “all children and all families belong on our shelves.”
OurShelves is revolutionizing the subscription book box market by creating quarterly diverse boxes that feature characters and families traditionally underrepresented in children’s books. We are thrilled to partner with them to kick off Pride Month by sharing three amazing books delivered straight to one of our indoor playhouses!
About The Founder
Alli, the founder of OurShelves, wants her children, eleven-year-old Anna and five-year-old Isaac, to be able to see themselves and beyond themselves in the stories they read. Isaac and Anna have two moms. OurShelves was launched as one way to find the books they sought as a family. They found they were not alone when chatting with friends and networks locally and abroad. So many families were looking to expand their bookshelves to reflect their families and the values of equity, anti-racism, social justice, inclusion, love, and fun but were finding it nearly impossible.
High-quality, diverse books are hard to find. They are few and far between and can be difficult to access. Even caregivers with the best intentions find it tricky and time-consuming to track down.
OurShelves was born out of necessity and works to connect high-quality and difficult-to-find books directly to you. They are especially committed to finding diverse books that our kids want to read again and again – including those that are silly, fun, playful, and joyful, too! Their incredible Curation Team lives and breathes diverse kids' books and takes on the heavy lift of researching, staying up-to-date with new releases, and then delivering the very best of today's diverse children's books to your doorstep.
OurShelves Commitment
Not only is OurShelves closing the gap in connecting families with high-quality, diverse books, but they also advocate for accelerating and expanding the picture book industry's production and distribution of more of these types of stories.
As President of the Maryland ACLU during that state's marriage equality victory, Executive Director of the Cleveland NAACP's Vote Big, Vote Early 2008 program, and Parent Voices Statewide Organizer organizing parents across the state of California to protect the childcare subsidies of 59,000 children, their founder Alli has repeatedly experienced how committed groups of people can come together and create significant change. OurShelves is committed to changing the picture book industry.
To read more about the launch of OurShelves, check out Alli's blog post.
Why Bookshelves?
With all the problems the world is facing today, you may be wondering: why are we focused on bookshelves? The reason is simple. Representation matters. Inclusion matters. It matters on television, it matters in advertisements, it matters in the workforce, it matters in classrooms, it matters on playgrounds, and it matters in our homes and on our bookshelves. Bookshelves are one tangible way to make a difference in the world of inclusivity. We know that reading is a critical factor in children's future success and that the stories they are exposed to from a young age help them shape their viewpoints of the world around them. Ensuring children have access and exposure to books that affirm our values of representation, diversity, inclusion, equity, and social justice – and joy and fun! – will help to shape their sense of self, their sense of others, and their overall values.
Make It Cute
At Make It Cute, we are serious about inclusivity. Our consciousness extends beyond our commitment to the environment and to humanity. We value diversity and inclusion in our communities and understand the value representation has in the media, including children's books. With this in mind, we aim to share companies, like OurShelves, that reflect our values with you so that you can join in and support their mission while enjoying some stellar books. Have we mentioned the perfect place to cozy up with these books is in one of our playhouses when it's set up as a reading nook?!
Connect With Us
Connect with Make It Cute on Instagram @makeitcutekids to check out the book delivery reveal and share some of your favorite inclusive books with us!