One of the things I like about Twitter is how it helps me to discover. I mean, a tweet can lead me straight to something new, and I love that.
This was exactly how I came across Imagination Adventures, a book club service created by Caroline Moore. I saw a tweet, thought I'd take a closer look, and mere days later my very first Book Club book arrived!
Imagination Adventures is a wonderful thing. Caroline cherry-picks books to send out to her customers. The carefully-chosen books arrive beautifully-wrapped and feeling very much like the special gifts they are.
I loved the idea of Imagination Adventures so much that I got in touch with Caroline to chat about the inspiration behind her business, and find out more about how it works. This doesn't surprise you, does it. You know I'm a nosy parker.
So how did Imagination Adventures come into being? Well, in 2013 Caroline became a representative for Barefoot Books, so she could make some extra money over the Christmas period. The Barefoot Books events seem to have given her a great idea of what she and her customers are looking for. Caroline points out that books can be "like marmite" and choosing the wrong book for your customer can mean "alienating a proportion of the market". I hear that!
Caroline's original Baby Book Club was born out of her search for "highly visual and interactive books to appeal to [a child's] constantly changing senses". She decided to offer a subscription so that it would be possible to buy a child books for a whole year. I mean . . . What a wonderful gift. From there, things seemed to evolve quite organically, and Caroline says "suddenly I entered a world of beautiful illustrations and my love of picture books came flooding back . . . The Baby Book Club soon turned into the Picture Book Club and more."
"Books must be beautifully illustrated and have an interesting story which is fun for a person to read."
That's Caroline talking. I really wanted to know how she makes her selections - I mean, there are so many brilliant books out there! Picking out just one a month for someone is surely a hefty task?! But, I reckon Caroline's method is good. She does her research, and goes with her gut feeling. She meets regularly with sales reps (and even has them over for a cup of tea!) and tries hard to keep up to date with each publishers' frontlist as well as keeping an eye on their backlist.
The Imagination Adventures clubs include Baby and Todder, Hardback and Paperback, with an Extra Special Baby and Toddler option if you're willing to spend a few more pennies. Any one of them would make a great gift for a child, but, I have to admit, my subscription was for me and me alone! Of course, I'm not the only grown-up who loves picture books. Caroline describes the books included in her clubs as "books which are aimed at children, enjoyed by all. They are so beautiful that you want to present them on a coffee table when you have visitors, not throw them into a book case or hide them away . . ."
"It’s always been children’s books for me . . . I love that the majority of my customers are adults who want to enjoy a beautiful book each month. And why not?"
Why not, indeed.
When my delivery arrived, I loved the excitement of opening the package. And my first book? As you can see, it was Laika by Owen Davey. A smashing choice and one which I'll be reviewing very soon. Caroline's book clubs are the perfect gift. I love picture books - I love buying them for myself and I love buying them for others - so something tells me that this is the first Imagination Adventures subscription of many . . .
*If you're a sales rep and think you have books fitting Caroline's requirements of "beautiful and aimed at children, but enjoyed by all" then feel free to contact her on imaginationadventuresforall@gmail.com
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