Dear Friends,
And that’s a wrap on 2023! We are incredibly grateful for each and every person and organization that shared in our mission to open children’s hearts, minds and worlds through books this year. We are delighted to see Barefoot Books displayed in so many libraries, indie bookstores and gift stores around the world. One of our biggest achievements was launching new partnerships with incredible literacy organizations. Together with the Diverse Books For All Coalition and Reach Out and Read of Greater New York we provided nearly half a million books to kids who need them the most.
As always, our Community Booksellers were hard at work this year sharing our books at school book fairs, farmers markets and teacher conferences. Year after year, we are amazed at the passion and commitment of these individuals who make the world a better place through children’s books.
Finally, a HUGE thank you to our readers for inspiring us everyday to make more books that celebrate diversity and capture imaginations. Thank you to the longtime Barefoot fans, those who have just discovered us, and everyone else in between. We are grateful you are a part of our joyful community and we hope your upcoming year is full of happiness and — of course — lots of wonderful books.
Make sure to take a peek below to read more about the incredible happenings at Barefoot this year!
Cheers,
CEO & Co-Founder
We’re back at trade shows and conferences!
Barefoot team members took to the road this year to attend trade shows and conferences around the world. Here are some of the highlights!
Ontario Library Association
We kicked 2023 off with two shows in Toronto. We attended the Toronto Gift + Home Market and then followed it up with the Ontario Library Association’s annual conference. Barefoot Books Community Booksellers Heidi Pritchard Payne and Jodie Delgado stopped by to say hello!
London Book Fair
It was great to be back in London after a few years, making new connections and meeting up in person with friends from around the world in our colorful stand. Pictured is Helen Kissler (VP, Publishing) and Nancy Traversy (CEO & Co-Founder) holding meetings in our stand.
Children’s Institute
Maya Rovniak (Trade Sales Associate) at the American Booksellers' Children's Institute in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We had a great time meeting up with independent bookstores from around the country and chatting about our new titles.
American Library Association
It’s always wonderful when we get to go to a library show and see the outpouring of love librarians have for our books. We had not one, not two, but THREE authors at our booth this year! Pictured from left to right is Nancy Traversy (CEO & Co-founder), Shirin Shamsi (Zahra's Blessing), Mia Wenjen (Food for the Future), Baptiste Paul (To Carnival!) and Jeanne Stafford (Marketing Director).
Frankfurt Book Fair
As always, we walked away from this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair feeling inspired and energized! Thank you to all who stopped by our colorful stand, and thank you to the UK Publishers Association for your support as part of the UK collective.
Barefoot in magazines around the world
In 2022, we began a wonderful partnership with Edible Communities, supplying them with quality kids content to include in their quarterly magazines across the US and Canada. This year, we were so proud to create four new beautiful inserts with Edible. Check out the covers above, and browse our most recent insert in Edible Boston on pages 67-70!
This type of content partnership was something we wanted to explore and expand in 2023. This year, our content was featured in publications such as Discover Concord, The Family Grapevine and The Eco News. We can’t wait to see where these content partnerships take us in 2024.
Thank you to our Community Booksellers!
Marsha Miles, Connecticut
Melissa East, Oregon
Sarah Lewis, Arkansas
As always, our Community Booksellers were hard at work this year sharing our books at school book fairs, farmers markets and teacher conferences. Year after year, we are amazed at the passion and commitment of these individuals who make the world a better place through children’s books.
Why we do what we do
The best feeling in the world is watching kids’ eyes light up as they flip through the pages of our books. It’s why we do what we do! Here’s to another year of creating books that celebrate diversity and capture imaginations.
