Press & Awards
For nearly 30 years, we’ve harnessed the power of stories to spark curiosity and compassion in children around the world. Today, the Barefoot movement is growing — and getting noticed! Forbes named us one of the 25 Best Small Companies in America in 2017, and we’ve been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and more. Please find our latest media mentions below.
Members of the press, bloggers and influencers, please contact [email protected] with your questions or requests and a member of our team will be in touch with you shortly.
Featured in
 |
Publisher's Weekly, November 2024 First Book Ups Bilingual Offerings with Barefoot Books |
|
Women-Run Publishers |
 |
Barefoot Books is TD Bank’s Small Business Hero! |
 |
Award-winning children’s publisher, set up by two young mothers in Bath, celebrates 30 years. |
 |
"Barefoot Books today remains a rarity in the industry: a fiercely independent publisher offering a deep and diverse collection, published in multiple languages and distributed globally." |
|
We have been selected as one of PW's fast-growing publishers for 2023. |
 |
The Boston Globe, September 2022 "In West Concord, Barefoot Books celebrates 30 years of diversity, inclusion, and fearless reading for kids." |
|
Publishers Weekly, November 2022 Our CEO and Co-Founder Nancy Traversy is interviewed about her 30 years as a woman in the publishing industry. “I do think that women approach things differently than men. I feel there’s maybe more empathy, compassion, and flexibility here at Barefoot.” |
|
Publishers Weekly, September 2022 Barefoot Books Turns 30, Re-Embraces Traditional Markets. "Over the past three decades, Barefoot has published close to 1,000 titles and shipped more than 30 million copies." |
 |
Independent Book Publishers Association, October 2022 Nancy Traversy and Tessa Strickland founded Barefoot Books because they wanted to create books that introduced children to diverse cultures and promoted understanding and tolerance. |
 |
"In England in 1992, two young moms, Nancy Traversy and Tessa Strickland, couldn’t find the kinds of books they wanted for their kids: visually captivating stories that celebrated global awareness and sparked curiosity." |
|
We have been selected as one of PW's fast-growing publishers for 2022. |
 |
The Wall Street Journal, March 2022 Nour’s Secret Library was featured in an article on The Wall Street Journal titled ‘Children’s Books: The Salve of Stories in a Time of War.’ |
 |
Bologna Children's Book Fair, March 2022 We are beyond thrilled to have been shortlisted for the Best Children’s Publisher of the Year in North America by the Bologna Children’s Book Fair. |
 |
Family Reunion and Dinner on Domingos are featured in The New York Times Book Review's article "8 Picture Books About Food and Fellowship." |
 |
Wholesale marketplace Abound features Barefoot Books CEO, Nancy Traversy in their maker spotlight! |
 |
Our guudguuds team got the amazing opportunity to interview Nancy, a co-founder of Barefoot Books. |
 |
The Independent Publishing Guild Awards, September 2020 Barefoot Books receives the Alison Morrison Diversity Award for the second time. Award judges said, “Barefoot don’t have to work hard at inclusivity or make a big deal of it—it’s just part and parcel of the way they work and what they publish.” Listen here to Co-Founder Nancy Traversy discuss diversity in publishing on the IPG Podcast. |
 |
Director of Education & Content Stefanie Paige Weider shares her expertise about helping kids manage anxiety in this article featured on the Brit + Co website. |
|
Publishers Weekly, December 2019 A spotlight on Boston-area Children's Publishers featuring Barefoot Books and CEO and Co-Founder Nancy Traversy's mission for the future. |
 |
IBPA member and independent publisher Barefoot Books partnered with Books For Africa to ship 300,000 copies of their bestselling titles to orphans with AIDS and their caregivers in Mozambique. |
|
Books for Africa sends 300,000 Barefoot Books to Mozambique. The books will be distributed to AIDS orphans and their caregivers. |
 |
After naming Barefoot Books in their 2017 list of 25 Best Small Companies in America, Forbes has released a video featuring Barefoot and its CEO and Co-Founder, Nancy Traversy, in partnership with American Express. Watch Pivotal Moments: The Making of a Small Giant here. |
 |
For International Literacy Day, CEO and Co-Founder Nancy Traversy shares tips for reading with your kids, and reminds us that there is no better way to spark the imaginations of children than through the power of storytelling |
 |
HuffPost features 5 Ways to Find Diverse Books Your Kids Will Love This Summer from CEO and Co-Founder Nancy Traversy. |
|
CEO and Co-Founder Nancy Traversy speaks with Publishers Weekly about Barefoot's ongoing commitment to its 25-year mission, her innovative business practices and her plans for Barefoot's future. |
 |
In an interview with Boston Voyager, CEO and Co-Founder Nancy Traversy reflects on her Barefoot journey: [O]ver the last 25 years, our community has put more than 20 million books into the hands of children. I can’t wait to see what the next 25 Barefoot years will bring! |
 |
Choose To Be Nice's blog features a guest post from Stefanie P. Wieder, Barefoot Books' Early Childhood Education expert and Senior Director of Product, on five ways books can build empathy in children. |
 |
Barefoot Books Early Childhood Education expert and Senior Director of Product, Stefanie P. Wieder, has been published on Education Week. Her fascinating guest blog discusses the role of empathy in global education. |
|
The Boston Globe, September 2016 Barefoot Books Senior Editor Lisa Rosinsky is the woman of the hour at the Boston Public Library! In this fabulous interview with The Boston Globe, Lisa shares about her novel-in-progress and her experience thus far as the Associates of the Boston Public Library's 13th Writer-In-Residence. |
|
Co-Founder and CEO Nancy Traversy spoke to Forbes about Barefoot Books’ model of running a publishing company without the big distributors. |
 |
Fortune Magazine, November 2013 Barefoot Books is featured in this month’s David and Goliath series, which pits a small business against a larger business. This article focuses on our commitment to the Ambassador program and our decision to sever ties with Amazon and other conventional publishing practices. |
 |
The Independent names Nancy Traversy, Co-Founder and CEO of Barefoot Books, Small Businesswoman of the Week. |
|
Publishers Weekly covers two book-based apps that have been chosen for Apple’s Top 10 Apps, including Barefoot's World Atlas App. They were chosen from among 900,000 apps currently available in the App Store. |
 |
This article from the Los Angeles Times calls Barefoot Books The Mouse that Roared in regards to ending its relationship with Amazon. |
 |
This article in The Guardian discusses Barefoot Books’ decision to end its relationship with Amazon. |
|
This article in Publishers Weekly discusses Barefoot Books’ decision to end its relationship with Amazon. |
 |
Independent Publisher, February 2013 Barefoot Books is featured as a creative and unique publisher. The feature story notes that Living Barefoot is a way of life... [and] They are certainly inspiring others to see the good in living Barefoot |
 |
Publishing Perspectives, December 2012 A profile on Barefoot Books reveals the Barefoot journey and lifestyle. |
|
Publishers Weekly, January 2012 This feature story discusses why our focus on selling books through trade, bookstores and direct sellers known as Ambassadors, has helped Barefoot succeed in today’s challenging publishing industry. |
 |
Entrepreneur mom Nancy Traversy doesn’t believe that books can only be sold in big chain stores, or, for that matter, that feet belong in shoes. Here's how she grew a business along with her family on two sides of the Atlantic |
|
CEO Nancy Traversy often refers to her company as promoting a lifestyle, The Barefoot Lifestyle, which at the heart has a child |
 |
The Boston Business Journal, June 2010 Barefoot Books is the focus of the Entrepreneur spotlight in this feature story about the growth of the company. |
|
CEO Nancy Traversy: We always followed a slightly different path. I’m trying to create this community of people that care about kids |
|
Barefoot Books Reborn features the new Barefoot Books Flagship Store and Community Center in Concord, Massachusetts. |
 |
Co-Founder Tessa Strickland discusses the story of Barefoot Books. Juno Magazine also shares their favorite Barefoot selections. |
 |
We have a grassroots philosophy for ... making beautiful books and directly reaching the community that wants them |
 |
Now [Barefoot Books] is bringing the bookstore element back ... to the forefront [at FAO Schwarz] |
|
Barefoot Books in Manhattan! |
 |
Christian Science Monitor, March 2008 In an era when ... independent bookstores are being vanquished by the big, bad book chains, Nancy Traversy has so far been victorious |
 |
Barefoot Books is named an Inc. 5000 Honoree as one of the top companies in media. |
 |
Barefoot Books [is] a company that publishes books to inspire and educate our children as the caretakers of tomorrow |
|
In an industry dominated by Barnes & Noble and Borders, Barefoot Books has thrived by saying no to the major chains |
|
Publishers Weekly, November 2006 For Traversy, growth is ... about finding more customers and being more creative |
|
Barefoot Books is what entrepreneurial moms want their businesses to be when they grow up |
 |
Barefoot's success has been due in part to a steadfast commitment to its core values and mission, to create beautifully illustrated books with quality content |
 |
Better Homes & Gardens, September 2005 [Nancy Traversy's] use of art and story to cultivate children's tolerance, curiosity and imagination guides her company, Barefoot Books |
|
Using Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point as its guide to finding ways to make a big impact with a minimum outlay of cash, Barefoot launched its Stallholders home-selling program. |
|
The Wall Street Journal, September 2004 [Barefoot Books is] not corporate, [they] are a children's publisher |
|
Despite fierce competition in the children's publishing world, Barefoot has carved out a niche by focusing on stories drawn from cultures around the world |
