August House
August House is a US children's book publisher specializing in multicultural folktales, picture books, and resource books, serving K-2 classrooms, libraries, parents, and educators via the trade catalog, LittleFolk sub-brand, and Story Cove digital Common Core subscription, now operating as an imprint of Reading Is Fundamental.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1990
- HeadquartersAtlanta, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What August House does
August House is a US-based children's book publisher specializing in multicultural folktales, oral-tradition stories, and culturally diverse picture books aimed at K-2 readers, parents, librarians, and educators. Founded around 1990 in Atlanta, Georgia, it operates a curated trade catalog — picture books, story collections, and resource books — together with the LittleFolk sub-brand for ages 4–8 and the wholly-owned Story Cove subsidiary, which delivers a Common Core-aligned digital subscription with 22+ interactive folktale stories, animated narration, read-aloud/read-to-me features, and differentiated lesson plans used in more than 200,000 schools.
The business combines a traditional publishing model (one-time retail and institutional book sales through Amazon, direct website, and school/library wholesale) with a recurring-revenue digital classroom subscription via Story Cove, and earns licensing/royalty income by retaining subsidiary rights across its titles. Go-to-market is hybrid: direct-to-consumer ecommerce for parents and individual buyers, direct school subscriptions through Story Cove for K-2 classrooms, and channel partnerships — most notably with Lumas Learning, ILT Polylino, Booka (digital distribution), Resilience Inc. (SEL integration), and Discovery Learning Alliance (Africa) — that extend reach into education technology platforms and international markets.
In December 2025, August House was gifted to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), the national children's literacy nonprofit founded in 1966, and now operates as a literary publishing imprint of RIF, with its headquarters relocated to Washington, DC. Its scale is small (1–10 employees), and its value proposition rests on 30+ years of award-recognized editorial quality and culturally authentic storytelling rather than technology differentiation.
August House firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- August House
- Legal name
- August House Inc.
- Website
- https://augusthouse.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1990
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- August House is a US children's book publisher specializing in multicultural folktales, picture books, and resource books, serving K-2 classrooms, libraries, parents, and educators via the trade catalog, LittleFolk sub-brand, and Story Cove digital Common Core subscription, now operating as an imprint of Reading Is Fundamental.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
August House industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Children's Book Publishing
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Picture Book Publishing (MPAJAFAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Literature & Book Clubs / Guided Reading Groups (EDAMAJAG), Children’s Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAFAE)
Keywords
Where August House is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Atlanta
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
August House business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Book Sales (Trade): Traditional book publishing revenue through sale of picture books, story collections, and resource books. Revenue generated from direct retail sales via Amazon and website links, as well as institutional sales to schools and libraries.
- Story Cove Digital Subscription: Online classroom subscription service providing access to 22+ interactive folktales with animated versions, read-along audio, read-to-me features, and differentiated lesson plans for K-2nd grade aligned with Common Core Standards.
- Royalty Revenue: August House pays authors royalties based on gross sales for volumes accepted for publication on their trade list. The publisher typically retains subsidiary rights including book club, film, paperback, ebook, digital, and audio rights.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Trade books sold individually through retail channels |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
August House product offering
Product offeringCore offering
August House publishes multicultural children's picture books, story collections, and resource books drawn from world oral traditions and folktales, supported by Common Core-aligned lesson plans and complementary learning resources. The publisher also operates Story Cove, a wholly owned digital subscription platform offering 22+ interactive folktales with animated versions, read-along audio, and differentiated K–2 lesson plans. Distribution spans consumer retail via Amazon, institutional sales to schools and libraries, and digital subscription access for classrooms.
Product overview
August House Publishers is a children's book publisher offering a multi-product portfolio anchored by its general trade publishing line (picture books, story collections, and resource books focused on folktales, oral traditions, diverse cultures, scary stories, and classroom storytelling resources) and the LittleFolk picture-book sub-brand for children ages 4-8 featuring traditional folktales. In December 2025, August House was gifted to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF), continuing as a literary publishing imprint of RIF. The publisher also supports its books with complementary learning resources including lesson plans, reading lists, and Common Core Standards-aligned materials.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Story Cove: A digital supplemental reading platform offering animated and narrated folktales for K-2nd grade, featuring lesson plans aligned to Common Core Standards with differentiated instruction tools.
- LittleFolk
Products and services
- August House Publishers (picture books, story collections, and resource books) Trade publishing line offering an award-winning selection of picture books, story collections, and resource books drawn from world oral traditions, including folktales, multicultural stories, scary stories, and storytelling classroom resources, sold via Amazon, the August House website, and wholesale to schools and libraries.
- LittleFolk picture-book line August House sub-brand line of children's picture books featuring traditional folktales from diverse cultures for ages 4–8, with manuscripts capped at 1,100 words per title and targeted at classroom library diversity collections.
- Story Cove digital classroom subscription Online classroom subscription platform offering 22+ interactive folktales with animated versions, read-along audio, read-to-me features, and differentiated lesson plans aligned to Common Core Standards for Kindergarten through 2nd grade; stories are leveled using Fountas & Pinnell and Lexile systems for prescriptive assignment.
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 200,000 Story Cove books in use in schools
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use August House
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
August House technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
August House partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Reading Is Fundamental (RIF)coreIn December 2025, August House was gifted to Reading Is Fundamental (RIF) to ensure long-term preservation and sustainability. Today, August House continues its publishing mission as a literary publishing imprint of RIF, preserving the past while supporting the future of global storytelling.
- Resilience Inc.coreStrategic alliance with Resilience Inc., an innovative learning company based in Tampa, Florida. Resilience makes August House folktales available to schools using their Social Emotional Learning (SEL) tools, combining focused learning with timeless folktales.
- Discovery Learning Alliance (DLA)corePartnership to share animated folktales with young, emerging readers in Africa. Discovery Learning Alliance distributes August House content to schools across Africa.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
August House competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lee & Low Books: Independent publisher specializing in multicultural and multilingual children's books. Highly comparable to August House given its shared diversity-first mission, folktale focus, and direct overlap in multicultural picture book titles.
- Barefoot Books: Independent children's publisher focused on multicultural folktales and stories from around the world, with both print and digital offerings. Direct competitor in folktale/multicultural children's picture books with similar author/illustrator style.
- Albert Whitman & Company: Independent children's book publisher with a long history (founded 1919) focused on diverse stories and social-emotional themes. Comparable as a small-to-mid independent children's publisher with mission-driven content and school/library distribution.
- Groundwood Books: Independent children's publisher (House of Anansi imprint) publishing multicultural and international picture books and folktales. Closely comparable as a like-sized independent multicultural children's publisher with folktale content overlap.
Broad incumbents
- Candlewick Press: Independent children's book publisher with broad picture book, middle grade, and YA catalog. Comparable as an established indie children's publisher with overlap in picture books but broader genre scope than August House.
- Chronicle Books: Independent publisher with a strong children's book and gift line. Comparable as an established independent publisher with overlap in illustrated children's picture books, though broader in category scope.
- Scholastic: Largest US children's book publisher and school-book-club distributor with deep K-12 classroom reach. Comparable through overlapping school-channel distribution and competition for K-2 supplemental reading budgets.
- Lerner Publishing Group: Independent children's book publisher with a strong educational/library focus across many imprints. Comparable through overlap in school and library distribution of multicultural titles and educational supplementary content.
- Penguin Young Readers: Major children's imprint of Penguin Random House publishing picture books through YA. Comparable through direct competition in picture book retail and school/library channels, though vastly larger in scale and catalog breadth.
Emerging players
- StarWalk Kids Media: Digital children's book subscription platform for schools and libraries offering streaming access to trade and educational titles. Comparable as an emerging player in digital children's literacy distribution that overlaps with Story Cove's school subscription model.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
August House social profiles
Digital presenceAugust House financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
August House leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
August House subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
August House funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
August House M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about August House
What does August House do?
August House publishes multicultural children's picture books, story collections, and resource books drawn from world oral traditions and folktales, supported by Common Core-aligned lesson plans and complementary learning resources. The publisher also operates Story Cove, a wholly owned digital subscription platform offering 22+ interactive folktales with animated versions, read-along audio, and differentiated K–2 lesson plans. Distribution spans consumer retail via Amazon, institutional sales to schools and libraries, and digital subscription access for classrooms.
Is August House a public or private company?
August House is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was August House founded?
August House was founded in 1990. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is August House based?
August House is headquartered in Atlanta, United States, in the North America region.
How does August House make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Book Sales (Trade) is the primary driver. The others are story Cove Digital Subscription and royalty Revenue.
Who are August House's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lee & Low Books, Barefoot Books, Albert Whitman & Company and Groundwood Books. Broad incumbents are Candlewick Press, Chronicle Books, Scholastic, Lerner Publishing Group and Penguin Young Readers. StarWalk Kids Media is listed as an emerging player.
Does August House have an API?
No public API is recorded for August House.
What industry is August House in?
August House's product category is Children's Book Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAFAA, Picture Book Publishing, with a secondary code of EDAMAJAG, Literature & Book Clubs / Guided Reading Groups. Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.