Amazon Unveils Children’s Book Subscriptions

As a first for its Prime membership service, Amazon has unveiled a subscription service for children’s books. Through the program, customers will be able to purchase age-appropriate boxes of books picked out by Amazon’s team of editors, TechCrunch reported.

“These books include classics that have stood the test of time, as well as hidden gems that our editors couldn’t put down — stories that your reader can enjoy again and again,” Amazon wrote on its website. “We will also use your recent purchase history to avoid including a book you have already purchased on Amazon.com.”

Customers will be able to subscribe to books at one, two or three months at a time. And each box of books will come at a cost of $22.99 — a savings of about 35 percent over the list price of the books, Amazon said. The eCommerce retailer will offer boxes targeted to several age groups, from baby to two years and all the way up to nine to 12 years. Titles in the program will include books such as The Willoughbys and Arlo Finch in the Valley of Fire.

The news comes after Amazon introduced Prime Reading, a reading benefit available for U.S.-based Prime members, in 2016. With the benefit, Prime members can get access to unlimited reading from a rotating selection of books, magazines, comics and more without paying an additional cost. Amazon had said that Prime Reading joins the list of “all-you-can-eat” benefits for Prime members, such as free Prime shipping and unlimited access to Prime Video, among other features.

In a press release announcing the feature, VP of Amazon Prime Greg Greeley said, “Prime is the best deal in the history of shopping, and today, it got even better. Prime members can now enjoy an awesome selection of books, including The Hobbit, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, The Man in the High Castle, plus magazines and more with Prime Reading — all for free on any device.”