Summerbook Company

What Summerbook Company does

Summerbook Company is a privately held educational publishing company founded in 1989 and headquartered in Hartsville, South Carolina, that produces print and digital learning materials for kindergarten through 8th-grade students. Its flagship offering is the Summer Book series — grade-specific workbooks structured as one page per day for ten weeks covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, with upper grades adding science, history, health, and social studies. The catalog extends well beyond Summer Books into English/ELA grammar and writing workbooks, math resources from basic counting through pre-calculus, reading comprehension materials, Thinking Skills products (Mind Benders, Think-A-Minutes), science kits and equipment, Games & STEM Activities, Magnetic manipulatives, Educational Dice, Spanish-language materials, and downloadable E-books.

The company sells exclusively direct-to-consumer through its own e-commerce website (summerbookcompany.com) with phone and email support; no third-party retail, wholesale, or institutional distribution channels are documented. Pricing is positioned as a cost advantage versus subject-by-subject alternatives — Summer Books are listed at $14.95–$20.95, with Bargain Bundles offering roughly 10% discounts when combining a Summer Book with supplementary materials. The underlying technology stack is a standard e-commerce storefront with no proprietary platform, mobile app, or AI/adaptive-learning capability disclosed.

Summerbook Company is owned and operated by founder Dale Ankers, employs 11–50 people, and operates as a small, independent business with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, partnerships, or M&A activity. Customer segments are horizontal: parents seeking summer-bridge review materials for K-8 children and, secondarily, homeschool educators and teachers looking for supplementary instructional content. The business model is a one-time-purchase transaction model with no subscription, licensing, or recurring-revenue layer evident in the data.

Name

Summerbook Company

Legal name

Summerbook Company

Website

https://summerbookcompany.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Summerbook Company is a privately held K-8 educational publisher, founded 1989, that sells summer-bridge workbooks and complementary curriculum materials (math, ELA, reading, thinking skills, science, STEM, dice, Spanish) direct-to-consumer through its own e-commerce site to parents and homeschool educators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Publishing / K-8 Supplemental Workbooks

NAICS

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

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Activity & Workbook Publishing (MPAJAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Children’s Activity & Practice Books (Workbooks, Puzzles, Handwriting) (EDAGAIAE), K–12 Textbook Publishing (Core Curriculum) (MPAJABAA)

Keywords

• Educational workbooks
• Summer review materials
• K-8 supplemental publishing
• Homeschool curriculum
• Reading comprehension books

Headquarters

HQ city

Hartsville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Educational Workbooks and Materials Sales: One-time purchase revenue from selling educational workbooks, primarily Summer Books (K-8) priced at $15.95-$20.95, along with bundled packages at discounted rates. Revenue generated through direct consumer purchases via e-commerce website and phone orders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Summerbook Company designs, publishes, and sells educational workbooks and supplemental learning materials for students in kindergarten through 8th grade. The flagship offering is the Summer Book series — a grade-by-grade workbook containing ten weeks of one-page-per-day review in math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, sold to parents and homeschool/teacher customers through the company's own e-commerce storefront at unit prices of $14.95-$20.95.

Product overview

Summerbook Company is an educational publishing company offering a comprehensive portfolio of print and digital learning materials for K-8 students. The core product line is the Summer Book series (grades K-8) — daily practice workbooks providing thorough review of math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, with upper grades including science, history, health, and social studies. Complementing the Summer Books are Bargain Bundles (discounted combinations targeting catch-up or challenge learners), English/ELA materials (grammar, writing, vocabulary), Math resources (counting through pre-calculus), Reading Comprehension materials, Thinking Skills products (Mind Benders, Think-A-Minutes), Science kits and equipment, Games & STEM Activities, Magnetic manipulatives, and Dice-based learning tools. The company also offers E-books for digital delivery. All products are designed for homeschool, classroom, and individual use, with pricing ranging from $14.95 for standard Summer Books to $20.95 for the K bundle with materials.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Summer Book K (Kindergarten) Kindergarten summer review workbook covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, structured as ten weeks of work with one page per day, Monday through Friday. Intended for parents and teachers seeking summer readiness review for incoming kindergartners.
• Summer Book K and Materials Kindergarten summer workbook bundled with hands-on materials for comprehensive early-learning review, priced at $20.95. Designed for parents wanting materials beyond the print workbook.
• Summer Book 1 First-grade summer review workbook covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills; available with Spanish/English instructions.
• Summer Book 2 Second-grade summer review workbook covering core subjects with ten weeks of daily practice.
• Summer Book 3 Third-grade summer review workbook covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills.
• Summer Book 4 Fourth-grade summer review workbook covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, plus science, history, health, and social studies.
• Summer Book 5 Fifth-grade summer review workbook covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, plus science, history, health, and social studies.
• Summer Book 6 Sixth-grade summer review workbook covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, plus science, history, health, and social studies.
• Summer Book 7 Seventh-grade summer review workbook covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, plus science, history, health, and social studies.
• Summer Book 8 Eighth-grade summer review workbook covering math, language arts, reading comprehension, writing, and thinking skills, plus science, history, health, and social studies.
• Bargain Bundles Discounted bundles combining a Summer Book with one or more additional subject books. Includes Catch-up Bundles (for struggling students), Challenge Bundles (for advanced learners), Super Catch-up Bundles, and Super Challenge Bundles. Prices range from $18.75 to $41.25.
• Math Books and Materials Subject-specific math workbooks including Step-by-Step Math Series (counting, time, money, multiplication/division), Balance Math Series (algebraic thinking through balance puzzles), Algebra and Geometry Books (pre-algebra through pre-calculus), and Basic Facts Drill Books (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division).
• English (ELA) Books and Materials Grammar, writing, vocabulary, and language-arts instruction materials for PreK-12 students, including the Step-by-Step Grammar Series (basic grammar through intermediate grammar and mechanics, available with answer keys).
• Reading Comprehension Materials Structured reading comprehension exercises and vocabulary builders for K-12 students, including the Step-by-Step Reading Series (kindergarten through grade 3), Summerbook Readers (decodable readers with worksheets in sets or individual books), and Nonfiction Reading Comprehension Series (grades 1-6).
• Thinking Skills Products Award-winning products developing critical thinking, logic, and analytical skills across reading, writing, math, science, and history, including the Mind Benders Series (logical thinking and deduction puzzles in leveled books) and the Think-A-Minutes Series (quick thinking exercises in creative problem solving).
• Educational Dice and Dice Games Hands-on dice products for math, language arts, and educational games, including Numbers and Fractions Dice (numbers, fractions, Roman numerals, decimals, money — $0.75-$5.00), Function Dice (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division), English and Spanish Dice (alphabet, color words, shape words, parts of speech, Spanish), and Dice Games and Sets (Left-Center-Right, Train Dice Game, Letter Grab, Roll a Rainbow, fraction packs).
• Science Materials and Equipment Science kits, lab equipment, rock and mineral specimens, and STEM projects for hands-on science learning, including basic lab equipment (thermometers, spring scales, optical block sets, solar cells).
• Games & STEM Activities Educational games and STEM kits including robot building, microscopy, physics experiments, and logic card games.
• Magnetic Items Hands-on magnetic manipulatives for practicing reading, spelling, and math without writing, including magnetic letters, numbers, and fraction kits.
• Spanish Materials Products for English-speaking students learning Spanish and Spanish-speaking students improving their English.
• E-books Digital versions of educational workbooks available for instant download as an alternative to print.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• School Zone Publishing: Family-run K-3 children's workbook and activity-book publisher selling its full catalog DTC; closely comparable in size, channel mix, and parent-targeted positioning to Summerbook.
• Highlights Learning: Children's activity, puzzle, and educational workbook publisher with comparable age range, parent-purchaser target, and DTC + retail distribution model.
• The Critical Thinking Co. Publisher of the Mind Benders and Think-A-Minutes series — both product lines that Summerbook Company directly distributes — making it the closest direct peer in K-8 supplemental critical-thinking and practice materials.
• Teacher Created Resources: Publisher of teacher-selected K-8 learning materials covering math, language arts, reading, and critical thinking; product mix, audience (parents and teachers), and pricing tier closely track Summerbook's catalog.
• Evan-Moor Educational Publishers: Long-established K-8 supplemental educational workbook and activity-book publisher with a comparable teacher-authored catalog and DTC + school-distribution model.

Broad incumbents

• Kumon: Global supplemental math and reading program with workbook-style materials and a vast franchise footprint; competes with Summerbook for parents seeking structured K-8 practice solutions.
• Scholastic: Large-scale children's publisher whose school book clubs, classroom magazines, and educational product divisions compete broadly for the same parent and school purchasing dollars that Summerbook targets.
• Carson Dellosa Education: Much larger K-12 supplemental publisher offering workbooks, classroom decor, and teacher resources with broad retail and school-distribution — directly overlaps Summerbook's summer-workbook niche but at materially greater scale.

Emerging players

• Hand2Mind: Manufacturer of hands-on K-8 manipulatives, math tools, and STEM kits — directly comparable to Summerbook's math dice, magnetic manipulatives, and STEM activities category.
• Learning Resources: Hands-on educational manipulatives and STEM activity product company — directly comparable to Summerbook's dice, magnetic, and games/STEM product lines for the parent-purchaser segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/summerbookcompany
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/summerbook-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Summerbook Company