The Best Children’s Book Subscriptions, Tested by a Mom of Four

The Highlights I Can Read! Book Club: Earliest Readers earned our top spot thanks to its value for money and thoughtfully selected books for early readers. The book selection was varied and age-appropriate, including classic and modern titles with large text and simple sentence structures. My 6-year-old instantly recognized some of his favorite book characters, including Biscuit, Pete the Cat and Danny and the Dinosaur. He was excited to flip through the books and test his newly strengthened reading skills. He loved finding books that actually matched his interests and made reading more enjoyable.

While this kids’ book subscription offers limited customization compared to other options, I selected a subscription that matched my child’s reading ability, which I appreciated. Once your child progresses, you can adjust the subscription as needed. One thing to note is that all of the books were paperback. This wasn’t an issue for my older child, but it probably wouldn’t be ideal for infants and toddlers.

The Highlights I Can Read! Book Club arrived in the smallest box, which was also the easiest to open. Others came in large fancy boxes filled with decorative packaging, making for a fun unboxing experience. That said, after having several of these bulky packages sitting around my home all month, I ultimately appreciated the simple packaging of the Highlights subscription. Overall, I was a fan of its simplicity and would definitely recommend it to parents looking for age-appropriate books that will encourage their little ones to start reading independently.

Sign-up and cancellation process

While Highlights offers various products (from kids’ magazines to activity kits), their website is still one of the most straightforward to navigate out of the book subscription services we tested. Samples of each I Can Read! Book Club are displayed and distinguished by reading level, so you can easily choose the best fit for your child. When signing up, you’ll receive a substantial discount of 80 percent off your first order, from there, you’ll be charged the full monthly price. There’s only one delivery frequency option, which may be a downside for some families. However, you can cancel anytime, and we found it very easy to do so. You can do this by logging into your account and clicking a simple “cancel” button or by calling Highlights. These details are outlined in the website’s FAQ section in case you run into issues. Overall, this process was simple and didn’t cause any frustration.

Age rating: N/A (classified as “early readers”) | Minimum sign-up time: One month | Delivery frequency: Monthly | Number of books per bundle: 5 | Shipping fee: Free

If you have a mixed age group in your home and are looking for a subscription that siblings can enjoy together, Story Captain’s Mixed Book Club is the right choice for your family. I was really excited about this box, and it didn’t disappoint. Every aspect was thoughtful, from the packaging to the activity to the book selection. I appreciated that although the box came with books aimed at different ages, all the contents were tied to seasonal themes related to autumn and Halloween. This was a simple and thoughtful way to connect siblings at different reading levels, even as they enjoyed separate elements of the subscription box.

The Story Captain Mixed Book Club box came with three books: Two picture books geared towards older children (ages 3 to 6) and a board book (ages 0 to 3). The board book had high-quality touch-and-feel pages that my toddler (and even my older kids!) enjoyed interacting with as they read. One of the picture books had gorgeous illustrations and a pleasing rhyming narrative describing the changing seasons. The other picture book had a more playful feel that prompted the reader and listener to “pop bubbles” and “clear the page” with their hands.

Materials for the suggested activities were not included, but the instructions were simple and clear. Each activity had a difficulty rating with options for siblings of different ages. These suggestions paired perfectly with the book selections, expanding on topics and themes presented in each book. They reminded me of arts-and-crafts projects that my preschooler does in his Montessori-style classroom. All in all, I felt like I could have found these books at a local bookstore myself, but the convenience of having three seasonally appropriate stories and activity suggestions packaged and sent to your door will likely appeal to many busy parents.

Sign-up and cancellation process

Story Captain’s website clearly displays its three book subscription options on its homepage. Here, you’ll find brief descriptions of what’s typically included in each monthly package, but there could be more information about the type of books you can expect. Signing up is pretty straightforward, but again, there’s minimal information about the subscription's contents. At this point, parents can choose between four subscription plans ranging from monthly to annually. When it comes time to cancel, you can do so via email before the next renewal date. Story Captain is the only service we tested that offers a money-back guarantee if you cancel a pre-paid subscription, which is a big positive.

Age rating: 0 to 7 years | Minimum sign-up time: One month | Delivery frequency: Monthly, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months | Number of books per bundle: 2 to 3 | Shipping fee: $4.95

Bookroo takes extra care to curate their monthly boxes specifically for children ages 0 to 3, making it a wonderful option for infants and toddlers. The three books I received focused on nature and wildlife themes, and the language, illustrations and topics were perfectly age-appropriate for my 2-year-old. Each used enriching vocabulary words, featured colorful and detailed illustrations and presented complex topics in an approachable way. My toddler paid attention to all of the books the whole way through. She liked identifying the animals and inspecting each of the bugs in one of the stories. Likewise, I thought that these books were very sweet and simple to read with my 7-month-old and had pretty illustrations for her to look at. Even though she wasn’t fully aware of what I was reading, it was still a nice opportunity to connect and familiarize her with books.

Each book in the Bookroo Board Book Club package has a decorative spine. As your Bookroo collection grows, the stories on your shelf will have a coordinating look. This unique detail stood out during testing; it added a lovely, cohesive look to the subscription’s contents. I think that this box would make an excellent baby shower gift. The books came neatly wrapped in a decorative box and the custom binding made it feel extra special.

I think the price is a little high for what you get with this subscription—three board books and no extra activities—but the quality of the books made this an attractive option. Convenience and curation were the most appealing features of the Bookroo subscription. Plus, if you keep up the subscription for a whole year (which offers the best value), you’ll eventually have shelves full of board books with decorative spines.

Sign-up and cancellation process

We’d be remiss not to mention some difficulties with the sign-up and cancellation process. On Bookroo’s website, it’s unclear what types of books you’ll receive when ordering, and there aren’t any customization options. When signing up, you have to enter your child’s first and last name, which some parents may not appreciate. From there, you can choose between four delivery frequency options, ranging from monthly to annually. We also couldn’t find complete cancellation details on the site; the explanation was hidden in a long terms and conditions document just before ordering. After some research, we discovered that you can cancel your subscription for the next month if you email Bookroo by the 15th of the current month. All of this is worth keeping in mind before ordering.

Age rating: 0 to 3 years | Minimum sign-up time: One month | Delivery frequency: Monthly, 3 months, 6 months or 12 months | Number of books per bundle: 3 | Shipping fee: $4.99

For the price, the number of books included and the story quality, the Literati Stargazer Level Box earned our pick for the best affordable children’s book subscription. At $10 a month (with free shipping!), it’s the cheapest option on our list and comes with more books than its counterparts. Although, it’s worth noting that this subscription works as a borrowing system. You keep the books for a month and purchase any that you want to keep (on top of the monthly subscription fee). Otherwise, it’s free to return them. I really liked this concept as it allowed me to keep my home book collection tightly curated to my children’s interests without quickly becoming bombarded with books that my family has outgrown.

Literati prompts parents to customize their box by preselecting themes their children are interested in so they can send you an appealing selection of stories. While this initially impressed me, the execution didn’t pan out as hoped. None of the books I received matched the preferences I indicated when signing up—but this could be an outlier. Still, as far as personalization and customization go, Literati has more avenues to curate what you want from a kids’ book subscription.

During testing, a few books from this box stood out as favorites. Four of the five had hands-on interactive elements, like button illustrations to push, flaps to lift and puzzles to build, that my younger children enjoyed. With the generous return policy, this subscription is a pretty low-stakes option if you want to try out many books and see what sticks with your kid. However, if you miss the return date, you run the risk of ending up with several unwanted books, and you pay the monthly fee regardless of whether you keep books or return them all.

Sign-up and cancellation process

Compared to other kids’ book subscription websites, Literati offers parents a highly customized experience, which some may love and others may not. When signing up, you have to fill in questions about the intended reader’s age, gender and interests—plus, you have to provide your child’s first and last name. Monthly and annual subscription options are available, but there isn’t a difference in price between the two. It was a bit tricky to find details on how to cancel subscriptions. However, we eventually found out that monthly subscribers can cancel at any time by logging into their account and following a series of prompts. On the other hand, annual subscribers must cancel within 30 days of subscribing to avoid paying for the whole year. Needless to say, the process wasn’t straightforward and the website was confusing at points.

Age rating: 12 months to 3 years | Minimum sign-up time: One month | Delivery frequency: Monthly | Number of books per bundle: 5 | Shipping fee: None