What if I told you you could teach your little ones about acceptance, love, and kindness at a very young age, that too for a very good cause? Even if you were convinced with my proposition, where would you seek this?
Look no further! You are just at the right place. I am here to walk you through an amazing book subscription box, The Equal Opportunity Book Box, that I have come across just recently.
The children's book industry has always been bugging me for quite a long time now because of its generalization and lack of inclusiveness and my quest to find something that gave a more proper representation of the real world got me introduced to this particular subscription box.
Without any further ado, let me get into the details along with my thoughts regarding their subscription and service.
The Equal Opportunity Book Box Review
Key points on The Equal Opportunity Book Box
- Subscription box of the United States
- Subscription starts at $24.99/monthly for 0-2 years and $29/monthly for 3-7 years at the lowest
- Ships worldwide from the US
- Founded in March 2020
- At least a discount of 45% compared to the retail prices
What is Equal Opportunity Box?
The company was started by a very young entrepreneur, Jacob Jordan, in March 2020. The monthly subscription service of the Equal Opportunity Book Box comes with books with diverse characters that are specially crafted for children. Jacob Jordan came up with this big idea when he took a class where he discussed the problems that the children's book industry had. They all were very entertaining but generalized and did not mirror the real-life scenarios.
He was well aware of research that revealed that biases of both subconscious and unconscious kinds are the result of what children are exposed to at the initial stages of their lives. The children’s book industry showcased a socioeconomic inequality and that gave birth to the idea of selling subscription boxes of books with a diverse collection that were more inclusive and portrayed multicultural content so that the children grow up reading quality books at home.
For any further details regarding their company or services, you can always visit their very well equipped website which is very informative and helpful. Not only that but they also have a great social media presence and are available on Facebook, Instagram as well as LinkedIn.
What’s inside the Equal Opportunity Box?
Being a book lover, this subscription box was naturally more appealing to me as this was something very unique that I have come across. Even though the service is for children, I was quite excited. So, I did my research on them and ruined the surprise for me because I already knew what I was expecting in the box.
So here’s the drill, every subscriber will receive a box with three high-quality picture/board books every month. The books will have characters that are diverse in terms of color and sexuality. Not only LGBTQIA+ characters but characters with disabilities are also an integral part of the books.
You have the liberty to choose between two subscription options as they have segmented their service in terms of age. The subscription options are for either children between 0-2 ages who are offered a board book box or children between 3-7 ages who are offered a picture book box.
They also give you the luxury to choose from four subscription plans or in simple words four payment methods for each of the Book Box options.
For 0-2 years
- One month prepay is at $29.99/box
- 3 monthly prepay is at $28.99/box
- 6 monthly prepay is at $27.99/box
- 12 monthly prepay is at $24.99/box
For 3-7 years
- One month prepay is at $35.00/box
- 3 monthly prepay is at $33.00/box
- 6 monthly prepay is at $31.00/box
- 12 monthly prepay is at $29.00/box
What Makes Equal Opportunity Box Different?
What I found unique in this book subscription is that it promotes a very good cause. For every book you purchase from them, they donate a brand new book to an underprivileged child in the Chicagoland area against your purchase. They ensure their donation through their partnership with Bernie’s Book Bank, a non-profit organization, which gives underserved children access to new reads.
Moreover, they work with schools established in low-income communities where access to new books is almost impossible. Students studying in those schools each receive at least 12 books per year. The students become the owner of those books and keep them for life. These services are performed by Bernie's Book Bank on behalf of the company.
In addition to these, the company is also environmentally sound as they follow sustainable packaging. The packaging of their products including the delivery box is made from recycled materials.
Unboxing the Equal Opportunity Book Box
The 3 books that promote inclusivity and diversity from their amazing collection are sent following a certain monthly theme. The subscription renews automatically and the box is shipped worldwide which requires a shipping fee. The boxes are shipped on the 20th of every month and if you wish to get your hands on these boxes, you must place your order within the 15th of each month!
Let us now take a look at what I received in The Equal Opportunity Book Box - Spirit Box!
This particular “Spirit Box” is from their 3-7 year subscription option and is a picture book box.
The box that includes the books is brown in color as you can already see from the picture and was pretty sturdy so that the books are delivered unharmed. It comes with a sticker that says “The Equal Opportunity Book Box” pasted on top of the box.
As soon as you open the box you will get a sneak peek at the things inside. The goodies are covered with a thin white translucent sheet of paper.
Even though the deal included 3 books, a little brochure also came in the box. The front of the brochure had the name “spirit”, the theme of the box for that month. It gives the literal meaning of spirit- “living life with passion, energy, and care for others”. The three books that come in this particular box include characters that are the embodiment of spirit. The spirit of the characters is reflected in the books through their teamwork, values, and different perspectives.
The other side of the brochure gives an idea and insight into what the company does in brief detail.
The first book that I got my hands on in the box is “My First Ramadan” by Karen Katz. The book is a narration about how a young boy celebrates and observes the holy month of Ramadan along with his family. The characters are all very friendly looking and reflect all the important customs and practices that Muslims follow during Ramadan.
The book shows clear and neat illustrations that portray the story of a young boy who is old enough to fast for the first time and is elated to do so to spend his holiday in this manner. What I loved about this book is that it is very effective in giving you an understanding of the Islamic culture and teaching your little one about trust and respect.
Next up I got “Building Books” by Megan Wagner Lloyd which is illustrated by Brianne Farley. The book portrays a story about two siblings, Katie and Owen, who are poles apart in nature from each other.
Katie is the sister who is not into books at all! She loves to build new stuff and abhors reading! On the other hand, her brother, Owen, is a very bookish person. He loves the rustling of the pages when you flip the pages while reading and dislikes building, unlike his sister.
The dispute between the siblings is settled by a librarian who advises them to switch roles. The librarian asks Katie to read books and Owen to organize books on the shelves. This way they can appreciate each others’ hobbies and bond over these experiences.
I believe that the children reading this book can learn to accept differences in opinion and choices. They can understand that every individual is different in their own way and we all need to be kind to one another regardless of our differences.
Lastly, I have got “Between the Lines” by Sandra Neil Wallace which is illustrated by Bryan Collier. The book features a character called Ernie Barnes who follows two of his dreams. Being an adult, most of us part ways with our childhood dreams but Ernie Barnes goes for his dreams of being an artist and playing in the NFL.
Based on the true story the ex ESPN sportscaster, the writer himself, portrays the story of NFL star Ernie Barnes who has been a famous and significant artist in his generation.
He made two very different worlds collide (art and sport) and set an outstanding example of how childhood dreams can drive your life and you can achieve them regardless of how bizarre they are. Your little ones can gain inspiration from this story and know that the sky's the limit. There are no boundaries while you dream and anything is possible if you actually want it.
FAQ
Q. Do they charge any shipping fee?
Yes, unfortunately, they do. The charge for a board book box and a picture book box is $6.35 and $4.95 respectively, inside the United States. Since they also ship globally you could order from them but in that case, your shipping rate will vary as per your location.
Q. How am I charged for the subscription?
To make things easy for you, especially for international purchases, they accept payment through credit cards from all major providers. Not only that but you can also make payments through Google pay or Apple pay.
Q. Can I cancel my subscription?
Yes, of course, you can. You can cancel your subscription anytime you want by logging in to your customer dashboard but make sure you do it before or within the 15th of each month since they dispatch their shipments by the 20th.
And if you have already chosen any of the prepay payment methods and cancel before the box is shipped out in any month, you will be given a full refund. They will not charge you for the books that you will not be receiving or reading.
Q. Do I need to renew my subscription every month?
The good news is- No! The subscription renews on its own by the 15th of every month.
Q. What kind of covers do the books have?
Most of the books that they offer are hardcover books and you can expect your box to have at least one hardcover book. However, some may have paperback covers as well.
Q. Can I subscribe to more than subscription options at a time?
Yes, you absolutely could. You just need to log in and go to your “Get Your Box” page and place the necessary orders.
Q. Could I request or suggest ideas for a particular book to be included in my box or add to their collection?
Customer desires and satisfactions are well taken care of by them which is why you are welcomed for any sort of suggestions. You can email them your ideas at hello@equalopportunitybookbox.com and they will take them into account.
Verdict
Now you may ask me whether I would recommend this to you or not? In all honesty, I definitely would recommend it. Personally, I think it is a very good subscription option that allows you to get engaged in a good cause. You are actually taking part in spreading joy among little underserved children who barely get access to new reads.
Apart from the conscience factor, to me, I think it gives you a bang for your buck. Not only that, the overall experience astounded me in terms of the messages that the books tried to convey through their illustrations and small texts.
This is an ideal box for all those parents who are awoken and want to give a real and proper idea of the outside to their children at a very young age. The kids will learn about the differences around them and will embrace the real world around them wholeheartedly.
This service could help us raise kids who are kind, responsible, and culturally aware as the subscription comes with a variety of books following a different theme every month that covers many different grounds. You will not receive the same book twice and can collect them to make your children a library of their own, that too at a very early age!
Moreover, the box makes a very perfect and thoughtful gift as well! You can view their gift option at the time of checkout and check their options out.
If you are interested and want to explore more, don't forget to check out our best book subscription boxes.