Barefoot Books is an independent children’s book publisher. Founded in England on 9 September 1992.[3] The company in now based in Concord, Massachusetts, United States[4][5] as of 2021.[3]

Barefoot Books
Logo for Barefoot Books
StatusActive
Founded9 September 1992; 31 years ago (1992-09-09)
FounderNancy Traversy and Tessa Strickland[1]
Country of originUnited Kingdom but headquarters in the United States
Headquarters locationConcord, Massachusetts
Distributionself-distributed (North America)
Littlehampton Book Services (Europe)
Peribo (Australia)[2]
Fiction genresChildren's literature
Official websitehttp://www.barefootbooks.com/

History edit

 
Barefoot Books Studio in Concord, Massachusetts

The company began as a home business in 1992 and was founded in England by Nancy Traversy[5] and Tessa Strickland.[1][3] Barefoot Books are sold via several outlets, including through the company's "Barefoot Books Community Book Seller" program. Book Sellers are individuals who sell Barefoot Books products through home parties, community, and school events.[citation needed]

Barefoot Books creates picture books, activity decks, board books, animated singalongs and educational content for children aged 0-12, covering themes including early learning & concept building, social-emotional learning, global awareness, health & wellness, and sustainability & STEAM. Their popular singalong videos available on YouTube have garnered nearly half a billion views. Barefoot’s highly-anticipated Autumn 2023 Catalog consists of over 20 new titles including the Kirkus starred reviewed and graphic-novel-adjacent picture book, Stranded!, as well as five new additions to their critically-acclaimed Our World series that follows days in the lives of children around the world. This series will also be included in the collection of dual-language editions Barefoot plans to release in Spring 2024, with each book translated into the language native to the country it features.[citation needed]

By 2006, Barefoot Books had released more than 400 books.[6] In March 2012, the company released The Barefoot World Atlas app.[7] In 2017, they were named by Forbes as one of the 25 Best Small Companies in America.[8]

Barefoot was the first children’s book publisher on Faire, the B2B online marketplace that launched in 2017.[3]

In 2018, Barefoot partnered with Little Passports and Kiwi which made it the first children's publisher to participate in subscription boxes. With the subscription boxes, sales grew over 350% before 2020.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Buchanan, Leigh (2006-11-01). "How I Did It: Nancy Traversy, Founder and CEO, Barefoot Books". Inc.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-20. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  2. ^ Trade, international and rights inquiries
  3. ^ a b c d e Rosen |, Judith. "Barefoot Books Turns 30, Re-Embraces Traditional Markets". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2023-04-05.
  4. ^ "Toy Directory Monthly". Archived from the original on 2006-12-31. Retrieved 2006-09-16.
  5. ^ a b "Barefoot Books opens new flagship store in Concord". Boston.com. NY Times Co. 2010-06-03. Retrieved 2013-08-20.
  6. ^ Buchanan, Leigh (2006-11-01). "How I Did It: Nancy Traversy, founder and CEO, Barefoot Books". Inc.com. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  7. ^ Rosen, Judith (2012-03-16). "Barefoot Launches First iPad App—with Touch Press". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
  8. ^ "The Story Of Barefoot Books And Its Mission To Nurture Young Readers". Forbes. December 5, 2018. Retrieved 26 March 2020.

External links edit