Usborne
Usborne is the UK’s leading specialist children’s book publisher: an independent, family business which creates engaging, innovative, accessible books for children of all ages.
How it all began
When Peter got a call from his wife saying he was going to be a father, he immediately decided to move into children’s book publishing so that he could create colourful, exciting, captivating books for a new generation of kids – including his own.
More than four decades later, Usborne children's books are known and loved by families all around the world.
Peter is now in his eighties but is still working – and loving it. The baby he received that phone call about – Nicola Usborne – is now Deputy MD, working alongside her dad and a longstanding senior team.
Usborne has a great heritage but is also committed to moving forwards.
The people behind the books
Usborne children's books are almost all created by a super-talented team of 35+ editor/writers and over 50 designers who work in-house for Usborne in London, UK. This makes the brand different from most other publishers (who usually commission outside authors to write books for them) and allows us to have complete creative control.
The team spends as much time as they have to, to get things right. An Usborne book takes as long as it takes – it doesn’t leave the building until it’s just right. Sometimes that’s a long time, but they believe that quality comes from time, care, attention, skill and passion.
Usborne employs the brightest, most creative people and ask them to put kids at the centre of everything they do and to think like kids and experience things like kids, with curiosity and wonder.
Brand's motto: Do It Better
Usborne's aim is to create the very best books for children – books they read again and again, that they carry with them everywhere, read under the bedcovers by torchlight and that they remember into adulthood. They want children to think books are amazing, exciting, entertaining, fascinating and full of wonder. And they know kids are smart, so we never talk down to them.
For parents, they strive to be there every step of the way, helping new parents introduce their babies to books that will stimulate and engage them, and supporting parents as their children learn to read, grow in confidence and start reading to learn. We love to see kids grow with Usborne.
The brand's motto is ‘do it better’. Usborne always do their best to create books for children which contain accurate, reliable information, presented in an attractive and appealing way and produced in an ethical manner to the highest international standards.
