Estimated reading time: 6 mins
2021, what a year! In 2020 we were having a casual conversation about how difficult it is to find wide-ranging books for young children with main character representation of black people specifically. As people of action, we quickly determined that between us, we possessed the skillset to begin to chip-away at this problem. Fast-forward and Little Scholars Playground was born in February 2021. The business has grown so fast and we have to thank all of the people who has bought from us, shared and liked our content on social media, so THANK YOU!
We create EVERYTHING ourselves, Denhue is the author of all our books and I’m the illustrator of all our books and content. It’s been hard work (especially while juggling a one-year-old daughter, our inspiration behind the business), but has also been so worth it. We started the business with a vision board and we can safely say that we have pretty much stuck to all the images we put on it. Vision boards are a great way to visualise your goals and can definitely help you to meet them. So we highly recommend creating one when you start your business.
Our products
This year we published 3 board books, which have been very well received. We’re so proud of Zara’s Caribbean Adventure, a lift-the-flap board book, Emmanuel’s African Adventure, a lift-the-flap board book and ABC First words board book. We have received no help creating these books and have financed everything ourselves.
We also created a bundle of 6 educational posters. Young children are visual learners. Their brains absorb visual information MUCH faster than text. Educational posters shouldn’t just be confined to the classroom, but should also be displayed in the home. Therefore we feel that our posters are great for both parents and teachers.
As seen, press and interviews
In such a short space of time, to be recognised for our hard work has been heart-warming. We have been seen on ITV, BBC Radio London, Sade Magazine, The Voice Newspaper, UK Black Writers Forum, Dope Black Mums and more!
Awards
In November, I became a finalist for the Precious Awards, in their Start Up Business of The Year category. An awards ceremony celebrating women of colour in business and leadership. Although I did not win, it was still an honour to be a finalist.
What’s coming in 2022
We have lots planned for 2022, we’re currently working on 2 children’s books (for children aged 5+) as well as our first STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) learning resource. Also due to the popularity of our Christmas gift bundles, we will be bringing our gift bundles back in January. They will be available all year round, suitable for any occasions with our new generic gift wrap. These gift bundles will be suitable for all occasions, including; Birthday’s, Christening’s, Baptisms, Baby Showers, Easter, Thanks Giving, Eid…..all occasions!
It’s been a great year for us here at Little Scholars Playground! Thanks for being on the journey with us. Here’s to 2021 and Happy New Year when it comes!
Natalie
Little Scholars Playground
info@littlescholarsplayground.com
About the author
Natalie is the co-founder and illustrator at Little Scholars Playground. She is passionate about literacy, learning, illustrating, black women in STEM and Montessori.