Many kids are back in school already or are headed there soon, and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) is celebrating the back-to-school season with a new offering – Prime Book Box Now for kids. With a Prime Book Box Now subscription, kids receive a curated selection of children’s books every one, two or three months for $22.99 per box, after a 30-day free trial. The subscription program is available to U.S. Prime members and, by subscribing, members save up to 35 percent off the list price of each book. The program was initially launched in May as a test, and it was available by invitation only.
When a Prime member subscribes to Prime Book Box Now, they tell Amazon about the reader and choose the frequency they’d like to receive books. Amazon’s team of book editors selects hardcover books including new releases, classics and highly rated books by Amazon customers, including books like Amazing Airplanes, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, Malala’s Magic Pencil and A Sick Day for Amos McGee. Subscribers have the option to preview and customize the books from a list of choices or they can let the selection for the month be a surprise.
“As a mom who’s spent over 20 years reading and reviewing children’s books, the best part of my job is sharing a love of reading with kids and their families,” said Seira Wilson, senior editor for Amazon Books in a news release. “Over the past few months, it’s been both exciting and rewarding to hear that Prime Book Box is encouraging kids to spend more time reading. Now that Prime Book Box is available to all U.S. Prime members, I hope we can inspire even more children to discover a love of reading that will last a lifetime.”
The subscription service is broken out by age group:
- Infants to age two receive four board books per month, including books like I Love You Beary Much and Mr. Brown Can Moo! Can You?
- Children ages three to five receive two hardcover books like A Sick Day for Amos McGee and Little Excavator.
- Children ages six to eight receive two hardcover books such as The Willoughbys and Those Darn Squirrels!
- Children ages nine to 12 also receive two hardcover books including books like Walk Two Moons and Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire.
“We curate highly rated books our customers love and our Amazon Books editors couldn’t forget,” says Amazon on the sign-up page. “Our editors read thousands of books every year to find selections your reader will enjoy again and again. You’ll discover new releases, classics and hidden gems tailored to your reader’s age.”
Insider Take:
Amazon’s new kids’ book subscription service isn’t the only kids’ book club in town. In fact, this April, Cratejoy profiled 10 of their favorites which range in price from $9.99 to $34.99, each with its own twist. Bookroo, for example, sends children 0 to 6 two to three books per month that are non-gender specific and that includes encouraging messages, starting at $17.99 a month. Starting at $14.99 a month, The Story Box includes two books and a guide written by speech pathologists to help parents communicate with their children from babies to six-year-olds.
Amazon has two big advantages over other book subscriptions: (1) it does subscriptions well, maybe better than any other company; and (2) it has a huge customer base to market to and it has the data to know who buys kids’ books already. Though Amazon has competition, we imagine that Amazon will be as successful with this as it is with most other ventures, and if it isn’t, the experiment won’t last long. Jeff Bezos is known for cutting his losses when something isn’t working.