The Young Dreamers’ Bookstore is a mobile book retail startup founded in 2022 for young children and their families. They provide a broad array of inspiring children book titles to “meet kids at their dreams.” They proudly feature books that herald protagonists of African descent from across the globe and/or are written by talented and culturally diverse writers. They do this to normalize cultural inclusion, while also sparking children’s imagination and self-efficacy. They appeal to the growing community of teachers, parents, and community leaders who wish to ignite young people’s ability to create dreams that are personally fulfilling and socially relevant.

The Young Dreamers’ Bookstore connects children with books that meet them at their dreams and literacy needs. As parents and passionate educators, they recognized the power of books throughout their lives. The turning point of their journey took place upon acknowledging the need for meaningful and inclusive stories that would invoke the confidence and dreams of their own sons. Raising two Black sons in a racialized society invoked their sense of urgency to prioritize books that shaped how they saw themselves and how they saw the world. As they struggled to find fictional and non-fictional books with Black protagonist characters, they realized that this was a challenge that many parents faced who desired stories that promoted diverse heroes, creativity and imaginative thinking, innovative problem solving, and socio-emotional wellness. This reality frustrated them, but they turned their frustration into motivation to search for these books. This pursuit led them to great authors and illustrators who created unique stories that had the power to inspire their boys to dream.

Located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, The Young Dreamers’ Bookstore is excited to join the active community of readers and leaders who are committed to connecting children with books that feed their hearts and minds. The Young Dreamers’ Bookstore is a new part of the Dreamocracy Collective. The Bookstore is a spin off of the Dreamocracy Learning Lab, which is an early childhood literacy social enterprise focusing on providing innovative learning experiences that are book-enabled and dream-centered. They also draw inspiration for their Bookstore from the generous insights from their global community of more than 1000 passionate members in their Facebook group The Young Dreamers Book Club.