An Inclusive Children's Book Club
Miles to Row is a unique children’s book club that features diverse stories, authors, and illustrators. We aim to spark important conversations and expand your library to reflect our diverse world. Help us build a community that represents us all. With every purchase, we donate one of our diverse book selections to local schools, libraries, and nonprofits.
How Our Book Club Works
1. Buy One, Gift One
When you purchase a monthly subscription or make a one-time purchase, Miles to Row will donate a diverse and inclusive book to a child through one of our partner organizations throughout the US. Schools, libraries, and other nonprofits will all benefit each month from your purchase!
2. Carefully Selected
We curate our monthly book collections with all families in mind. We choose stories, authors, and illustrators that celebrate diversity and embrace inclusion. Children need to see themselves, their family, and their friends in books. Miles to Row provides all kinds of books for all kinds of families!
3. Talking Tips
Books are a natural way to begin discussions. When families read together, children can explore their observations and questions with people they trust. Let's acknowledge and name differences in race, religion, ethnicity, gender, identity, families, and abilities. Our Talking Tips can help you feel more confident with these important conversations.
Family & Women-Owned Sisters-in-law Colleen and Betsy want to help spark those important conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion as well as make diverse books more accessible to all children.
Why Diverse Books? Origin Of Miles To Row
One of our founders, Betsy, has been challenged in finding high quality books that represent her family. After Betsy’s older son was born Deaf, her family looked for books that had Deaf characters and stories, and books that could mirror what he was experiencing. She also sought out books that were a window for other children to understand how he experienced the world. When her son saw himself in books, he was more engaged and interested in reading. When Betsy’s younger son was diagnosed with Autism, she searched again for books that would help her son feel valued and represented, featuring neurodiverse characters. She also wanted stories that could help friends, family, and classmates understand her son better.
As an educator, Colleen saw the impact diverse books had on students. Children are aware of differences and books helped support conversations in the classroom. Not only was it important for a child to see someone who they related to – in appearance, beliefs, choices – “seeing a friend in the pages of books helped make our classroom a community.” With Betsy and Colleen’s experiences, they decided they could do more in 2020. Societal disadvantages challenged them to find ways to better support families and children. Miles to Row was established so we can all do better – in our homes and in our communities. Let Miles to Row help your family with important conversations led naturally through incredible books. We find the books, you provide the community! Let’s start a new narrative of inclusion, together. Differences make us, us.