About Bookelicious

What We Do

Bookelicious is a discovery tool that helps children build strong reading identities by leveraging innovative technology, expert curation, and fun to match kids with books they truly want to read. 

We offer books, programs, and events for students, educators and families to engage and energize readers. Our approach is research-based, and we've curated a diverse collection of more than 40,000 titles. To date, our cutting-edge platform has been used in more than 4,500 schools nationwide.

Founding Story

Bookelicious founder Lea Anne Borders is a lifelong book lover and former “library kid” who grew up to marry a bookstore entrepreneur. She has long been an advocate for childhood literacy, serving for over a decade on the boards of two literacy nonprofits, where she learned first-hand the impact of connecting kids with books they love.

“The research on children’s literacy is very compelling: when kids have access to books they love, they’re more motivated to read, spend more time reading, and become better readers," explains Borders.  

As a parent, Borders saw her kids developing their own identities as readers, and discovered that just because she loved Anne of Green Gables and Harry Potter, it didn’t necessarily mean her kids would too.

Taking inspiration from Borders Books, the company founded by her husband and brother-in-law, she began exploring how to leverage new technology to make it fun for kids to find books they actually want to read, culminating in the launch of Bookelicious in 2021.

Unlike other literacy platforms, Bookelicious begins with the reader – learning what each child is excited about and helping them discover books that match. 

Since it was founded, Bookelicious has been adopted by more than 4,500 schools nationwide, offering free, gamified book discovery that matches kids with books they’ll love from a collection of more than 40,000 titles – all curated by a team of expert teachers and librarians.

Based on Research

Bookelicious was specifically designed to aggregate, streamline and actualize the following principles, based on decades of research: 

• Reading volume develops vocabulary, fluency, comprehension and achievement;
• Reader-centric experiences drive reading motivation, engagement and volume;
• Books should be (in the words of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop) “mirrors and windows for all our children.” 

Read the research here.

The Bookmoji Builder: A Better Book Discovery Tool

Children visually articulate what they love through this engaging game, and when they're connected to books related to those well-loved things, they develop strong reading identities and become more engaged readers. 

Kids can build up to four personalized avatars that reflect their interests and enthusiasms, adding costumes, pets, and favorite accessories like sporting equipment and musical instruments. As they build their Bookmojis, in real time, personalized, grade-appropriate book recommendations appear – all based on each child's individual interests. And every book has been curated by our expert network of teachers and librarians!

The Cherry On Top: It Works

According to educators surveyed: before using Bookelicious, only 1/3 of students found it easy to find books they were motivated to read; while using Bookelicious, more than 3/4 of students found it easy to find books they were motivated to read.