Sol Book Box Review

¡Feliz otoño! I wanted to post my thoughts about a Spanish book subscription we have been enjoying all year called Sol Book Box! I signed up with them for a christmas gift last December and it has truly been una emoción abrir sus cajas.

I spent $314.90 in two picture book box gift sets for an average of $16.57 per picture book. The christmas gift was a 6-month set and cost $223.78 with discount (including $30 shipping) . After its expiration we bought another 3 month gift set for $91.12 with discount (including $15 shipping). I bought it in gift sets instead of monthly subscriptions because it does save a bit of money.

Each book box comes with two books every month. We received three in our first 6 month subscription one. Now that we have gotten the price out of the way, I’m here to say that this is a worthy subscription/gift set idea! Let’s get into the fun part of Sol Book Box!

Variety & Serendipity

As opposed to the High Five Bilingüe subcription, which feels repetetive. Sol Book Box curates their collections for babies, toddlers, and preschool to second graders! The titles are varied within each collection: Browse here. I saw many board books I wouldn’t mind reading. Because mine are 4 and 8, I chose the Picture Book Box (for ages 4-8). As you can see above, however, you can choose the Familia Book Box which could include board books. If you have a baby or toddler, the Board Book Box would be perfect.

What especially sold me on Sol was that they offer Spanish titles from latinamerica and Spain for a reasonable prize. If you look into buying English translations in Spanish on Amazon or straight from foreign publishers sometimes you are paying $30 a picture book. Sometimes they do not ship to the U.S. at all. Unless you know of foreign Spanish publishers by name, you will not even know what titles are available!

If you dislike the surprise element, the company does offer the option to send back books that absolutely do not resonate with your family. I never felt inclined to do so. If you think about it, browsing library or book store shelves also has a serendipitious element that could introduce you to a title you love.

Personalization

Once you choose your box set/subscription you immediately answer a survey (screenshot below) to cater to your likes and needs. You can choose from bilingual or only Spanish books. We opted for Spanish only because of what I mentioned about getting foreign published books. They also ask about your interests. You can choose all or narrow it down to one or two options. I personally usually dislike books about feelings, for example. I find those are usually ones I do not enjoy reading again and again so I opted out of those.

As you peeked in the photo above, one of the books in the box always comes with a personalized sticker with your kiddos names with a greeting or wish for the month. Más que un lindo detalle this really shows the level of marketing they have done to make their customers feel special once their books arrive!

Inside each wrapped book is also a card that tells you why they added this book to their collection & think you will enjoy it, which I think shows the mark of a polished and intentional curation.

Community

Sol Book Box strikes me as people who know what it means and what it takes to raise “bilingual bookworms” the founder’s terms. If the careful curation above has not convinced you that they know their market… Let me tell you that their emails and blogs posts will. They are in the work of supporting parents in raising bilingual kids! They are one of the few websites that use the term biliteracy which means being literate in two languages.

Example blogs titles:

• 1. Why Start Spanish Early? The Surprising Benefits of Raising Bilingual Children
• 2. How Reading Spanish to Your Toddler Can Boost Your Own Fluency
• 3. 10 Amazing Benefits of Biliteracy in Kids

Sol Book Box gives you tools to embark on a dual language journey while not feeling so lonely while doing so. It definitely aligns with my mission & vision at yagoymila.com!

FUN!

Receiving a Sol Book Box is exciting. My children call the box ¡una sorpresa! The packaging is definitely celebratory, and why shouldn’t books be!? When a box arrives, we make the moment of unboxing special and ceremonious each time, appreciating the surprise & message catered to us.

We impulse buy when we are out with our kids on things they’ll forget by the end of the month. Sol Book Box is a gift that keeps on giving. Every time they re-read a book or… as we do: share our books with family and friends who are in their bilingual & biliterate journey!

I’ll leave you with the last unboxing we did. Enjoy Yago’s stunt to feature his favorite Sol read this year.