Today we’d like to introduce you to Rebecca, Jane, & Tiffany Tanner.
Hi Rebecca, Jane, & Tiffany, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
When my first son was born, we were living in New York City. To prepare for our baby we had picked out around five books–classics, like Goodnight Moon and the Very Hungry Caterpillar–and I remember thinking, “Five books for a newborn? That should be plenty.” But then my husband and I started reading the books to our baby every day. And reading them. And re-reading them. And it didn’t take long to realize, “Hey, we need some more books!”
But it was harder to grow our library than I thought it would be. There weren’t as many bookstores as I expected within easy walking distance, nor was a trip to a bookstore with a munchkin in tow as idyllic as anticipated. Turning to online sources, I found it time intensive to sift through the plethora of children’s books available, and even after finding something I thought my son might like, I always felt like hitting the buy button was still a bit of a gamble. I realized that there had to be a better way to build my son’s library without such hassle yet still be sure to get really great books!
Teaming up with my sisters-in-law Jane and Rebecca, the three of us set out to build Bookroo to meet exactly this need: to make it convenient for parents and magical for kids to fall in love with reading and grow their book collections!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We definitely have rose-colored glasses as we look back on the past 8 years—they have been wonderful! However, all roads have bumps and turns, and ours has been no exception. There were moments we thought we’d found a silver bullet and that everyone would know about Bookroo, but then we had to do a lot of innovating and trying new things to inspire growth.
We used to write handwritten notes on every box, and it was sad for us and some of our customers when we outgrew that. Also, since we’re a family-owned business, we’ve had to navigate differences of opinion while keeping good family relationships. That has been so worth the effort, though, as we’ve been able to share these neat experiences together. We’ve loved what Bookroo has become as we have faced our obstacles and moved past them.
Since we sent our first boxes, our offerings have expanded to include custom editions of beloved stories—which we work with publishers to release with uniform heights and coordinated spines—reading tools to support parents and educators, book registries, and book fairs.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
While we’ve been helping families discover great books for their kids for years through our award-winning book club, two years ago we noticed an alarming trend with books in homes. They were being placed in kids’ rooms and around the home because they were a certain color or with their spines turned.
Don’t get us wrong—like many of you, we think books make the best decorations.
But we don’t think books should only be decorations—the most important thing is for books to be read, and it’s hard for a kid to get into a good book if it’s an old dictionary or turned around so they can’t see the spine.
That’s why we set out to accomplish both: we’re helping families build home libraries with terrific books that also look beautiful on the shelf (or the end table or the nightstand).
We start by doing tons of research about what books to feature in our upcoming boxes. Once we’ve selected titles, we work with publishers, designers, and printers to create custom editions of the books. These can be beloved classics, modern favorites, or hidden gems. (You can see—and shop!—our full collection at https://bookroo.com/shop/collections).
These books are super inviting to read, but when you’re done, you’ll love seeing them on the shelf almost as much as you love reading them with your kids.
The right book at the right time can really influence kids and help them discover the magic of reading, and that’s what we love: we love to help kids love reading.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
Like a lot of people, we learned the importance of being prepared for the unexpected (both as individuals and as people). We were right in the middle of creating and launching our custom editions during COVID and trying to expand our supply chain during such a tricky time taught us a lot of things that we wouldn’t have learned at a more stable time.
However, with schools closing and parents and kids all trying to do school and work at home, we were in a unique position because we had a system in place by which we could send books directly to people at home and provide educational and entertaining material for families. So it was very meaningful to us that we could help so many families find comfort, relief, and joy in great stories during a trying time.
We were worried that with the financial stress COVID placed on the economy, people would cut their subscriptions, but if anything I think we learned how much families really value books, and we’re so grateful to our families for sticking with us.
Pricing:
- Board Books start at $19.95
- Picture Books starting at $21.95
- Junior Chapter Books starting at $21.95
- Middle-Grade Books start at $21.95
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bookroo.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookroo_love/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bookroo.love
