Letterbox Library Children's Books Ltd

Why shop at Letterbox Library?

All books are preselected by our advisory group.
We review books from the best publishers worldwide.
Our expert selection process means only books of the highest quality are chosen.
Every title you see is available and in stock.

Special Issue:
Inclusion Classics!

If you would rather not order online:
Download our ORDER FORM to fax or post, or phone your order through - Tel. 020 7503 4801 Fax. 020 7503 4800

Book of the week - Up and Down the Andes

by Laurie Krebs
illustrated by Aurélia Fronty

Bouncy rhyming couplets describe children from across southern Peru travelling to Cusco to celebrate the spectacular Festival of the Sun. Extensive back notes on Peruvian culture. ‘A multicultural rhyming delight!’ (Early Years Adviser, LL reviewer). Age 4-7
Hardback 29pp

To celebrate our 100th catalogue our theme for Spring 2010 is:
Inclusion Classics!
Click here for more details.

Activity Books - With plenty of pop-ups and flaps to open these four books celebrate diversity and provide a wonderful way to explore different faiths, feelings, homes, identity and human physical diversity.

After numerous requests, we are now providing preselected packs for Sure Starts, Nurseries & Children's Centres.
Nursery Starter Packs: £132 (Members Price) for 31 books.
Call, fax or email us for more details.

Best Sellers -
1. The Spider Weaver
2. Animal Boogie
3. The Village That Vanished
4. But Martin
5. My Mothers Sari
6. Happy Birthday!: A Beginner's Book of Signs
7. All My Friends
8. Families
9. All Kinds of Feelings
10. Look at You!

Ordering & Buying
Click on the pic if you would like help searching for and ordering books.
Also information on how schools can register with us.

About Us
Letterbox Library is a non-profit driven workers co-operative. It was started twenty four years ago by two single mothers operating from home, who wished to provide multicultural and non-sexist books to children - offering essential topics and titles which were sadly neglected by mainstream booksellers. Over the years we have expanded but still hold firm to our co-operative values of self-help, self-responsibility, democracy, equality, equity and solidarity. Our books can be found within educational institutions, libraries and homes throughout the UK and abroad. Customers come to us primarily for our unique book selection service.

Our Contact details: Letterbox Library, 71-73 Allen Road, Stoke Newington, London N16 8RY, UK.
Phone: 0207 503 4801 Fax: 0207 503 4800 Email: info@letterboxlibrary.com

Information for Teachers

Special Issue: 100 Catalogues - Inclusion Classics!

100 Letterbox Library Catalogues

Yes, here we are! 27 years on, we have reached our 100th issue of the catalogue. And what a journey we've been on. Our very first catalogue, published in 1983 listed just 16 books. At the time, Letterbox Library was focused on sourcing non-sexist and multicultural children's books…and the result was just those 16, 4 of which went out of print soon afterwards… These days, things do look a little brighter. The Letterbox Library catalogue now features between 350-400 titles, including 60-70 new titles with each issue. We have stayed true to our non-sexist and multicultural roots but have also extended our remit to look at particular under-represented groups such as children with disabilities, new arrivals and diverse families. The availability of inclusive titles has certainly improved but we still feel there is a long way to travel…Just to cite some examples: books showing Gypsy Roma Traveller children, dual heritage families and lesbian/gay parents are far too few; where are the books covering mental health?; where are the transgender titles?; will the publishing industry ever stop using terms such as "books for girls" and "books for boys" and instead produce books simply "for children"; when will multicultural books be in ample supply? We will continue to search and lobby and search and lobby…. Because we're not quite there yet! When we are, we will be delighted to announce that we are out of business!

Until the journey ends, thank you for your support, your interest and your commitment. Our loyal customers are our absolute backbone and the reason that Letterbox Library lives, breathes and thrives.

Inclusion Classics

To commemorate this special issue, we have searched high and low to bring you back some of the marvellous bestsellers we have had over the 100 issues of our catalogue. We have re-visited plenty of your old favourites and have been careful to bring back those which we feel are still as relevant and as contemporary as ever. Turn to pages 4-5.

SPECIAL CENTENARY OFFER

Buy 100 titles Get £100 off! OFFER ENDS SEPTMBER 1ST 2010.

An absolute bargain of an offer. Simply use our order form or your own purchase order forms to list 100 titles from THIS catalogue or our website and we will deduct £100 from the total! Multiple copies of titles allowed. £100 will be taken off the full retail price. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers/Letterbox Library discounts.

Co-operative Fortnight

19th June-3rd July marks a wonderful opportunity for cooperatives across the UK to show the country that there is an alternative. As a cooperative ourselves, we would like to join this rallying call for "people to be co-operative- smile, share, buy co-operatively, work co-operatively, live co-operatively- from everyday sharing to amazing acts of collaboration". see www.thereisanalternative.coop

Gypsy Roma Traveller Month

June 2010 marks the 3rd Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month. Go to www.grthm.co.uk for details of events. Meantime, as advertised in the last catalogue, do get your FREE copy of Romano Bumburumbum, a Traveller Boardbook based on a traditional Roma story, produced by The Children's Society and Akadmia Pstryk. For more details contact Jake on jgk@childsoc.org.uk. In this Letterbox Library catalogue, see Toffee and Pie (p. 27) (First Time Nursery on p. 6 includes a toy Traveller caravan image!).

Would You Like To Join Our Review Team? …And get a regular supply of books!

Letterbox Library is famous for its stringent book selection process. Dedicated Volunteer Readers give us their time reviewing books. We usually have a team of 25 and currently we have 7 Volunteer Reader vacancies. If you:

are passionate about books

believe that children's literature should be truly inclusive

want to make your opinion count

then we would love you to apply to join our team of readers. On this round of recruitment, we are especially interested in hearing from people who have a professional or personal commitment to Black & Asian (/BME) representations in children's books.

You might be a teacher, librarian, early years worker or a parent. You may want to read on your own or share the books with children. Children & young people (under 16) can also apply, via a relative or carer.

We will give you clear guidelines on how our selection process works. You can read as many or as few books as you have time for. We send books out to you by post and give you a freepost address to return them.
If you would like to be a Volunteer Reader, call Fen on 020 7503 4801 for an informal application form.
CLOSING DATE FOR REQUESTING APPLICATIONS: JULY 1ST 2010.
Another resource is our links page.

Making A Purchase
Making a purchase could not be easier. Just browse our Catalog, click on any items that you wish to buy and put them into the shopping cart. After you have finished your selection, click on "Order" and you will be asked for a few details that we need to be able to satisfy the order.
We accept credit card payment. If you are shopping from North America or anywhere else, place your order and your credit card company will convert the transaction to US Dollars or your own currency.
We accept Visa and Mastercard. You may send your credit card information via phone, fax, snail mail or over the Internet.

Official purchase Orders

We accept official purchase orders from Local Authorities, Schools, Nurseries and other educational organisations. You can pay for your order by a cheque made payable to 'Children's Books Ltd', credit card or bank transfer.

We also offer a very competitive discount on large orders of £500 plus. Please contact the office to discuss discount on tel: 0207 503 4801.

Delivery Schedule We deliver your order right away. We will normally send your order to you in 4 business days . International orders are generally received in under 14 days.

Back Orders If your item is not in stock, we will back order for you. You will always be emailed with the option to cancel your order if you would rather not wait.

Credit Card Security All credit card numbers are encrypted in the software when the order is placed using 128 bit encryption. They are only decrypted after they reach our computer. They are not held in clear text on any web site.

Reaching Us
If you need to reach us, please email us on info@letterboxlibrary.com. Alternatively, you can call on International +44 207 503 4801 or fax us on 207 503 4800 or write to us at 71-73 Allen Road, Stoke Newington, London N16 8RY UK

Privacy Policy Letterbox Library do not disclose buyers' information to third parties. Cookies are used on this shopping site to keep track of the contents of your shopping cart once you have selected an item, to store delivery addresses if the address book is used and to store your details if you select the 'Remember Me' Option.

Returns Policy
If for any reason you are unhappy with any or all of the goods received, you can return any of them to Letterbox Library for an exchange or refund, providing each is returned to Letterbox Library within 7 working days from the day after you receive the goods. You shall be responsible for the cost of returning goods for refund or exchange, except in cases of faulty, damaged or wrongly supplied goods. Returned goods must be unused and in the condition they were supplied including the original packaging where applicable. Please return goods to us at:
Letterbox Library, 71-73 Allen Road, London, N16 8RY


multicultural books