A Kids Company About unveiled its latest book title “A Kids Book About Imagination,” and an author who many children of the 1980s credit with sparking a love of reading: LeVar Burton.
“For many, it was LeVar’s voice who brought our favorite books to life as kids. He helped us not only love books but gave us the gift of developing our imaginations to explore where reading could take us,” said Jelani Memory, CEO and founder of A Kids Company About, in a written statement. “With this book we hope to continue that foundational work he started by adding the topic of imagination, a key component of understanding and change, to our catalogue of challenging, empowering and important books.”
A Kids Company About is a growing Portland-based media company. It creates content designed to facilitate conversations between children, teens and adults that tackle important and often challenging topics.
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The company has three product lines: children’s books under the name A Kids Book About; a podcast network and video courses called A Kids Class About. Earlier this year, the company closed on a $7 million round to fuel growth and expand the brand beyond its initial book titles.
A Kids Company About has a team of 26, all remote but with many in Portland. The new video classes are seeing steady organic growth and the podcasts have grown with Apple’s new subscription model, said Chief Operating Officer Stephen Green. The podcast network has eight shows live and another 10 slated to launch.
Burton’s book was created in the same way the company’s other 50 titles are. The company has designed a workshop process that helps authors create a story in the simple, yet, effective storytelling style of the brand. The entire process of workshop to publication is weeks instead of the traditional publishing timeline of 18 months.
The book explores themes of exploration and looking beyond the bounds of someone’s specific reality and to consider other possibilities.
“I have long believed our imagination is the superpower of all human beings. Having the opportunity to share that story with kids was simply too paramount to pass up,” Burton said in a written statement. “I was amazed by the model Jelani and team have defined as a foolproof process of extracting a book from the author. It was exhilarating.”
The book is available for pre-order on the company’s website.
