Just Us Books

What Just Us Books does

Just Us Books, Inc. is a Black-owned, independent children's book publisher founded in 1988 by husband-and-wife team Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson and headquartered at 395 Pleasant Valley Way in West Orange, New Jersey. The company publishes multicultural literature for children and young adults focused on Black characters, history, and culture, spanning board and Pre-K books through young adult titles, plus poetry and Black history/nonfiction. The catalog is organized under multiple imprints, including the flagship Just Us Books brand, Sankofa Books (history/biography), Marimba Books (board and picture books), and Just Us Poetry, alongside the foundational AFRO-BETS Kids series and the Book of Black Heroes series. Select titles are co-published with Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House, including Brave. Black. First. developed with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The company operates a direct-to-consumer e-commerce business on a BigCommerce-powered storefront (justusbooks.com), selling individual books at $5.95 to $26.99, apparel under the Just Us Merch line ($24.99 to $49.99), digital gift certificates from $10 to $1,000, and curated book bundles such as the Be the Change Book Bundle at $40. Free U.S. shipping is offered on orders of $75 or more, and international shipping extends to Canada. Marketing runs through the website, a blog, email newsletter, and organic social channels (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter), supplemented by earned media via starred reviews in Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Booklist, plus NYT Best Children's Book and NPR Concierge Pick designations.

Revenue is generated entirely through one-time product sales to a fragmented base of individual consumers, parents, educators, and institutional library buyers, with no subscription, licensing, or enterprise contract model. The company is privately held with no disclosed institutional investment, no parent company, and no subsidiaries. Headcount is reported in the 11-50 range, consistent with the operational scale of a small independent publisher that has maintained an active publishing program for over 35 years.

Name

Just Us Books

Legal name

Just Us Books, Inc.

Website

https://justusbooks.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Just Us Books is a Black-owned independent children's book publisher founded in 1988 by Wade and Cheryl Willis Hudson, publishing multicultural literature for young readers through a direct-to-consumer e-commerce store and select co-publishing with Penguin Random House.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Retailers and News Dealers (459210)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Picture Book Publishing (MPAJAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Nonfiction Educational (Science, History, Nature) (EDAGAIAC), Children’s Books & Educational Readers Retail (CRALAAAD)

Keywords

• Children's book publishing
• Multicultural literature
• Black interest books
• African American publishing
• Educational picture books

Headquarters

HQ city

West Orange

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Book and Merchandise Sales: One-time product sales of books (picture books, chapter books, middle grade, young adult, poetry, Black history/nonfiction, inspirational) and branded merchandise (apparel including t-shirts, hoodies). Customers purchase individual items or bundled packages at set prices.
2. Gift Certificates: Digital gift certificates sold in denominations between $10 and $1,000, emailed to recipients after payment. Gift certificates provide flexible,预付费 revenue and encourage future purchases.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Just Us Books is a Black-owned independent children's book publisher founded in 1988 that produces and sells multicultural literature featuring Black characters, history, and culture. The company publishes books for children and young adults across multiple imprints and series, and operates a direct-to-consumer online storefront selling books, apparel, and gift certificates.

Product overview

Just Us Books is a Black-owned independent children's book publisher and online bookstore with multiple imprints. The core offerings include the main Just Us Books brand plus specialized imprints: Sankofa Books (history/biography), Marimba Books (board/picture books), Just Us Poetry Books, Just Us Picture Books, Just Us Chapter Books, Just Us Young Adult Books, and Just Us Black History/Non-Fiction. The company also publishes the AFRO-BETS Kids series and the Book of Black Heroes series as flagship educational titles. Additionally, the company sells merchandise including apparel with inspirational messaging through Just Us Merch. Products are available for purchase through their BigCommerce-powered e-commerce platform with options for autographed copies and gift certificates.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Marimba Books: Book imprint featuring children's picture books.
• Sankofa Books
• AFRO-BETS

Products and services

• Children's Books Collection Published books for children and young adults featuring Black characters, stories, history, and cultural content. Targeted at parents, educators, librarians, and gift buyers seeking diverse children's literature.
• Picture Books for Early Readers

Quantifiable outcome

• Book of Black Heroes from A to Z has sold over 400,000 copies
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Crown Books for Young Readers (Penguin Random House)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublished 'Brave. Black. First.' in partnership with Crown Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin Random House. The book was developed in partnership with curators from the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, combining Just Us Books' expertise in diverse children's literature with major publishing house distribution capabilities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Scholastic: Largest U.S. publisher and distributor of children's books, with dominant reach into schools and libraries - precisely the channels Just Us Books targets. Scholastic's Book Fairs and book clubs represent a structural competitor for educator/library share.
• Penguin Random House (Children's Division): World's largest trade publisher with multiple children's imprints including Crown, Kokila, and Putnam. Represents both a partner and competitive threat through its scale in author advances, retail distribution, and library marketing.
• HarperCollins Children's Books: Major children's publisher including Heartdrum, an imprint dedicated to diverse-own-voices stories by Indigenous and people of color creators. Competes for the same multicultural author pool and institutional buyers.
• Disney Publishing Worldwide: Major children's book publisher with Hyperion and other imprints publishing diverse picture books and middle grade. Competes in multicultural titles with global retail reach and franchise-driven merchandising extensions.
• Crown Books for Young Readers: Children's imprint of Penguin Random House and Just Us Books' actual co-publishing partner on Brave. Black. First. A scaled incumbent whose distribution and marketing capacity dwarfs Just Us Books and which competes in adjacent multicultural titles.

Direct peers

• Lee & Low Books: Independent multicultural children's book publisher with a comparable mission-driven focus on diverse voices and historically underrepresented authors, including the now-merged children of Color imprint. Closest direct analog to Just Us Books' niche specialization.
• Albert Whitman & Company: Independent children's book publisher focused on diverse stories and characters, with overlapping picture book, middle grade, and young adult categories and a comparable mid-sized independent press profile.
• ABDO Publishing: Mid-sized independent children's publisher with strong K-12 and library distribution including ABDO Kids and Magic Wagon imprints. Comparable scaled-independent profile across picture book, chapter, and nonfiction categories.
• Boyds Mills Press: Independent children's publisher with strong picture book and nonfiction lists aimed at school and library markets, comparable in size, mission emphasis, and institutional channel focus to Just Us Books.

Emerging players

• Kokila (Penguin Random House): PRH's diversity-focused children's imprint publishing picture and middle grade books by creators of color. Overlaps substantively with Just Us Books' multicultural picture-book niche but operates with the backing of a major publisher.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/justusbooks
• Facebookfacebook.com/JustUsBooks
• Instagraminstagram.com/JustUsBooks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Just Us Books