Book subscription boxes are a brilliant way to engage your children and the whole family in the joy of stories. This blog post will show you options for traditional book subscriptions but also some story options for even the most reluctant readers. Book subscriptions are in alphabetical order for this post – you need to make sure you get to the bottom. They’re all great. Click on logo or title of the subscription to be taken to their individual websites for lots more details.
This website contains affiliate links. As an affiliate I may earn money from qualifying purchases. Thank you if you do use one of my links – it helps keep my website going. Please see affiliate link and disclaimer page for more information.
Bear Hunt Books
- Can tailor to the age of the child
- New releases
- VIP package with activities option
Michelle at Bear Hunt Books offers a 3, 6 or 12 month book subscription as well as a VIP option. You get a surprise parcel each month, postage is included and you can pick the age range for your recipient.
Bear Hunt Books subscription says…
Choosing a book subscription has never been easier, we research each month to check out new and amazing titles for lots of different age groups. The joy is that all you have to do is wait for your book to arrive each month through the letterbox.
The VIP option will get you an amazing deal of a surprise book and activities tailored to the book each month, created by author and illustrator Lexi Rees and a brand new book in the post each month. The activities will be created to go with the book and will be age appropriate for children aged 3-11 years. For the subscriptions page head here.
Bumblebee
- 8 years and under
- Activity card with book
- Small publishing houses for unique books
- Adult book club option
By subscribing you help us to pay it forward – we run free, fun creative writing and creative thinking workshops for children from disadvantaged backgrounds who are struggling with literacy.
Bumblebee subscription says…
Bumblebee – the monthly book club that inspires your creativity!
Improving children’s access to creative activities has been proven to help support their learning in other areas. We spark imaginations, enabling children to fly!
Each month receive a beautiful and unusual hardback story book – we work with small independent publishers to make sure that you’re unlikely to already have the book on your shelves. Inside you’ll also find a cleverly designed activity card specially created for that book, with ideas for things to write, do, make or cook – all inspired by the book. Bumblebee is now launching for ages 8 and under (with more age groups to follow in the new year!)
With a younger child you can take part together, older ones might enjoy reading the book and doing the activities on their own. You don’t need special art supplies or equipment – pens, crayons, paper and objects you find around home will be just perfect.
Choose either a rolling subscription at £14 per month, or save with a gift subscription for 3, 6 or 12 months. With either option, the first month comes with your choice of a beautiful notebook or sketchbook for all your amazing creative writing and makes – because who doesn’t love new stationery?!
Bumblebee Not Just for Kids
But Bumblebee isn’t just for kids – if you love reading and would like to find more time for your own creativity, sign up for our grown ups subscription! Each month you’ll receive either a new poetry collection or a book of short stories, along with creative writing prompts and ideas to inspire your own writing, drawing or doodling. Poems and short stories can be read in bite size chunks, but they also encourage slow and mindful reading to help you find some me time during busy days.
Visit our website www.bumblebeeonline.co.uk or find us on instagram @bumblebeebooksonline.
Bumblebee Review
Imogen from Bumblebee very kindly sent me November’s subscription as a thank you for writing the blog post and I wanted to share my thoughts.
Firstly, the book choice is superb. This book is dreamy. A little girl sharing her secrets of the world with her new sibling. It’s magical and so thought provoking. I can’t wait to see what December will be.
With each book you get an activity card with different ideas to explore the book. The age range is 5-8, but the activities are cleverly designed to be quite open so you can adapt to the suit your child. Floss has only just turned 4, but we can certainly enjoy the activities together.
Finally, with your first month’s subscription, you get a lovely, quality sketch pad. This would make a wonderful, special journal to use alongside the book you get each month.
Ealing Bookworms
- 4 books each month
- Option to add on crafty activities
A monthly book subscription that will build up your bookshelves in no time!
Ealing Bookworms subscription says…
The subscription package is 4 books a month, perfect for siblings and can be customised for age. It’s £10 per month and you pay ahead for 6 or 12 months. There’s a Christmas special order option which will Include crafts as well. Do check out their Facebook here for all the latest up to date offers.
Little Hands Learning
- Book inspired sensory learning activities
- Educational focus
- Four activities per month with more ideas on the website
Bringing books to life with the joy of sensory exploration and activities tailored to a special book each month.
Little Hands Learning subscription says…
Founded by two sisters with over 20 years of teaching experience, Little Hands Learning is a monthly subscription service for parents and children. We create lovingly hand-crafted, eco-friendly activity boxes inspired by a different beautiful book every month. The activities are fun, engaging, multi-sensory and educational.
We understand as mums how hard (and exhausting!) it is to come up with activities on your own, purchase the necessary items needed and create and tidy them away! Now you don’t have to! Our Little Hands Learning activity boxes do all the hard work for you so you can enjoy more precious time with your little ones.
Little Hands Learning Activity Box
Our activity boxes have the exact items needed for four different activities, plus the accompanying book to enjoy all together. We supplement this with lots of extra activity ideas on our website which are also inspired by the book and utilise the same resources we send. Using the month’s chosen book as an anchor to the activities allows children to relate and make connections with the story, therefore helping them to learn quickly and retain the information! Plus, you ultimately end up with a library of beautiful books expertly chosen by teachers for their educational benefits.
The quality and the sustainability of the resources that we send you each month is incredibly important to us. That is why we handmake a lot of the resources and remain committed to ensuring that everything we send is either biodegradable or can be recycled, including the packaging.
Our mission is to make learning fun and memorable, whilst caring for our environment. To find out more head to the website here.
UPDATE – We’ve just had the July 2021 Subscription Box kindly sent to us by Little Hands Learning to review. Full review can be found here. Here’s a sneak peek below.
One Third Stories
- Learning a language – French, Spanish, German and/or Italian
- Great, unique stories
- Book, audio book, activities and flashcards
- From around 4 years of age
This one we subscribed to some time ago. It’s a language learning subscription based around books. Here’s a blog post that will tell you lots more about the books and activities. Using the code BUSYLEARNING will give you 15% off subscriptions.
One Third Stories subscription says…
The stories we create using the Clockwork Methodology™ are just one part of our story boxes. Each of these is designed with one goal in mind – to give children the most enjoyable start to their language learning journey possible. That means they have to be loads of fun and cover the four basic elements of learning any language: listening, reading, writing, and speaking.
Tech Will Save Us
- Stories through science and technology
- Great for reluctant readers/ storytellers
- Ideal for kinaesthetic and visual learners
- Family fun
- Start from around 4 years old with different subscriptions for different ages
We’ve just signed up to this one as a family. Initially we ordered one of their Electro Dough Story Kits. We enjoyed it so much that we decided to sign up for the monthly box for our 4 year old as a family activity. We have a total bookworm as a daughter, but I think these kits would be ideal for those who are a little more reluctant with stories. Especially, good for children who like to be really active.
We’re looking forward to receiving our first subscription in November and love the fact that the projects are based around a story. They do subscriptions for a variety of ages.
Tech Will Save Us subscription says…
Inspiring Story-led Learning
Smorph, the shape shifting explorer, will keep your child engaged through educational adventures. Each new chapter expands Smorph’s story, revealing more of their world and enriching your child’s learning experience.
Engaging Hands-on Activities
We all know children learn by playing & creating, but we also know that involves finding time, resources and space… We’ve got you covered! Included in your handy kit each month is everything you’ll need for the next chapter’s projects.
Supportive Online Resources
Teaching your child about tech can be daunting. Whilst the Electro Explorers Club is full of fun activities, we also aim to provide you with the resources to confidently guide your child through the projects and learning outcomes.
Yes Bébé Books
- Lots of choice to tailor to your child
- Birth to 14 years + options
- Non-fiction and activity book subscriptions
- Early chapter books
- Waldorf inspired books
- Option to add on toys and crafts to your subscription package
This was one of the first book subscriptions I actually signed up to. You can tailor your subscription to make your own personalised package which can include toys, books and crafts – only paying one postage charge. You get lots of options and age ranges to choose from. If you’re looking for a more specialist book then their Waldorf inspired or early chapter books might be just the thing you are looking for. To see a couple of books we received do check out this blog post here.
Yes Bebe Books subscription says…
We would love to introduce you to and invite you to be a member of Yes Bébé Book Club! Books you AND your children will both enjoy as much as each other while you make those magical memories together.
We all know how important reading with children is for their cognitive and emotional development, vocabulary and language skills and crucially their IMAGINATION! When we enjoy books WITH our children we bond, share experiences and create memories to treasure.
Studies show that the more books children have in the home, the more likely they are to love reading and feel confident. When we as parents and caregivers LOVE the books too it makes the reading of the same beloved books again and again and AGAIN……. not so bad!
So What is it?
A new book delivered to your door every month. A Book Club isn’t a Book Club without a good chat! We will have ongoing discussions in an exclusive members only Facebook Group so you can share with other members your thoughts, your children’s joy and all the fun you have had enjoying your new books!
For just a small amount a month you can be a member of the best Book Club for children! If the value of the book chose comes up less than this figure (some fantastic books which we love to include in Book Club sometimes do) you will receive Book Credit to spend on other books from Yes Bébé.
Here’s a link to their dedicated subscription site.
