Portland children’s book series A Kids Book About has been acquired by London-based book publisher DK.
AKBA founder Jelani Memory announced the deal Tuesday on LinkedIn. He noted that his new role at the larger company will be vice president and publisher at DK.
“This is truly a dream come true, as DK is the world's leading nonfiction children’s publisher, having built an iconic brand across the last 50 years explaining big ideas to kids,” Memory said on LinkedIn. “Truly, I couldn't think of a better home for the A Kids Book About series.”
With this deal, DK’s children’s publishing will be creating its first U.S. team, according to the publication The Bookseller.
“I’m delighted to welcome Jelani, a truly inspirational and creative publisher, to the DK family,” Paul Kelly, CEO of DK, told The Bookseller. “A Kids Book About has found the perfect home in DK — both companies are mission-driven innovators, with a strong belief in sharing knowledge and education through engaging and accessible ways.”
Memory started A Kids Book About in 2019 to publish children’s books that tackle hard and important subjects such as racism, war and gratitude. The first book was written by Memory and called “A Kids Book About Racism.”
The books are designed to facilitate conversations between children and the adults in their lives. The idea is that children are faced with these issues and should have the tools necessary to address them and to talk to adults.
The company developed a process to create books quickly. Each book is written by a subject matter expert. The company has worked with high-profile figures such as tennis great Billie Jean King on “A Kids Book About Equality,” actress Jessica Biel for “A Kids Book About Periods,” and actor and reading advocate LeVar Burton for “A Kids Book About Imagination.”
By 2021, the startup had expanded beyond books to include projects in podcasts and video. AKBA became part of A Kids Company About that year.
Memory said A Kids Company will continue on and will continue to produce podcasts and seek other projects outside of books. He will be founder and executive chair at A Kids Company.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to The Bookseller, two other AKBA team members will join DK with Memory.
