Books N Bros Subscription Book Club

Finding your passion in life sometimes takes many years.  But Sidney Keys III, of St. Louis, Missouri, was only 10 years old when he started a subscription book club, Books N Bros.  Keys really loved to read.  But he and his mother, Winnie Caldwell, were both frustrated by the lack of diversity in available subscription services and the books in his school library.  There were books about famous civil rights leaders, but Keys wanted to read about people like him who had similar interests–books that represented the lives of “everyday” African-American youth and adults working in science, technology and the arts.

Caldwell had heard about EyeSeeMe, a bookstore in nearby University City that focused on African-American literature for children and young adults.  In August of 2016 she decided to take Keys there.  She had no idea the amazing ripple effect this trip would have.  “I was just being a mother,” she says, “trying to find something my child would be excited about.”  Keys sat on the floor of the store to read “Danny Dollar Millionaire Extraordinaire” by Ty Allan Jackson, while his mother looked around in awe at the abundant collection of books.  She was sure that many other people would want to know about this resource.   Getting permission from the owner, Caldwell took a video of the store and posted it on Facebook.  It went viral, gathering over 65,000 views.  That response convinced mother and son that they were really onto something.  

Keys wanted other boys to feel the same excitement he did when reading books that celebrated African-American life.  He and his mother were aware that boys in general, but African-American boys in particular, are at a lower literacy level and give up on reading at an early age.  Clearly this works against them later in life. Caldwell’s networking skills and teaching work merged with Keys’ desire to form a book club and led to the creation of Books N Bros.

The concept is simple, but extremely effective.   Designed for African-American boys in the 7-13 year age range, each boy receives a book by mail every month, along with a reading guide, reading challenges, stickers, pens or other items that will help spark their interest.  In the first package, they receive a T-shirt with the message “Cool Bros Read!” Once a month there is a “meet up” with adults (“Big Bros”) who act as mentors, facilitating discussions about the book itself, as well as life skills and other topics that will help the boys grow into successful adults.  In the three years since Books N Bros was started, it has grown to 300 members, and has expanded beyond the St. Louis area.  Subscribers also come from the East Coast, Los Angeles and the South.   For Bros who are not in the local area, the meet ups are live-streamed so they can participate.  Keys hopes to expand Books N Bros to establish chapters in different areas so that Big Bros can be recruited there and meet ups can be held in person.  

One of the missions of Books N Bros is to include boys whose families might not have the necessary financial resources.   In memory of Key’s Uncle Anthony (affectionately known as “Chub”), they created “Chub Cares: Adopt a Bro Initiative.”   Donations can be made to cover the subscription costs so those boys can still participate.  

Customized Subscription Boxes

Being a subscription service, Keys and Caldwell wanted packaging that would stand out and create excitement in the recipient even before he opened the package!  Custom box supplier  Boxup.com was recommended to them.  Books N Bros needed a box that was unique and crafty, and Keys liked the variety of  custom box options offered by BoxUp.    Because they are geared toward small businesses and able to fulfill smaller orders, BoxUp can also provide different packaging when desired—such as a Halloween or Holiday subscription box.    

Books N Bros quickly received a lot of publicity and interest.  Keys was featured in Oprah Winfrey’s Magazine in the summer of 2017, and in December that year he and his mother were guests on “The Steve Harvey Show,” followed by CNN’s “Young Wonders” program and a live CNN special in New York City, where Keys was named one of  “10 Top Heroes of 2017.”

As well as encouraging African-American boys to read through Books N Bros, Keys continues to promote literacy in other ways.   He was a keynote speaker at the annual gala of Daring Inspired Youth and participated in the St. Louis Regional Literacy Association’s Back to School meeting.  He was asked to speak at the National Sales Conference of Booksource, a business based in St. Louis that promotes classroom libraries across the US. 

Keys has big plans for his future.  He would like to write a book, although he hasn’t settled on the subject yet.  He will definitely continue being an entrepreneur, giving back to his community and providing a good example for future young leaders. 

Keys recalls one of the first meet ups, when only three boys showed up.  He was very discouraged and wanted to quit then and there.  But his mother convinced him to wait and see how things worked out, and clearly, they worked out well!  Keys advises other young people who have an idea but hesitate because they are not sure it will be successful, to “just do it,” because the big moment could be right around the corner.

In the midst of all this success, an email from Marvel arrived out of the blue one day saying they wanted to include Keys in the new series celebrating young heroes who are making positive changes in the world.  Each hero featured in the series would have a Marvel comic created about them.   Caldwell admits that at first she was skeptical because it just seemed too unbelievable.  But it turned out to be very real.  Sidney Keys is now an official Marvel hero with a comic book telling his story.  The television episode featuring him and Books N Bros aired on January 10, 2020.  

In its announcement of this new series on the Marvel website in August, Christine Dinh wrote: In life, it doesn’t take wearing a suit of iron . . . to be a real hero. Sometimes the person who can make a positive difference in the world is the person who simply sees a problem and has the passion to find a creative solution.

Sidney Keys certainly fits that description!