Our Children's Book Subscription Box

Hi, I’m Gemma the face behind Tales by Mail, mum, wife, teacher and veritable bookworm.

Reading has fuelled me since I was a young girl, inspired by my Dad – who is a prolific reader – my love of books has always been my passport to explore new worlds, sparked my imagination, widened my vocabulary and introduced me to characters I would never meet in real life.

Tales by Mail is a simple initiative to immerse our children in the mysterious, perilous, adventurous, hilarious, witty and wonderful world of books, to spark the joy of reading for pleasure in our children. My mission is to inspire the next generation of bookworms whose imaginations are ignited when a box of books lands on their doorstep: who count down the days to their monthly book club meeting, who sob on The Underground at Chapter 17, who laugh out loud on aeroplanes and who mourn characters when the story ends. It’s a simple mission and I’m glad that you are here to help us on our way.

As an English Literature graduate, with over 15 years of experience as an English teacher and as a mum to two little bookworms I’ve got tonnes of book knowledge, making me the perfect person to create exciting surprise parcels for your young readers.

When I’m not nose deep in a novel I am usually knees deep in mud running my forest school, Wild Childhood, where some of the adventures that are weaved into your children’s imaginations come to life. I’m happiest surrounded by my family and when I’m outside in nature with a cup of tea and a book.

Here are some silly snippets about me; I’m addicted to woolly jumpers, I am positively reptilian when it is sunny, my favourite sweets are Liquorice Allsorts, and when I’m not searching for the next best stories for your little readers, I can be found reading Still Life by Sarah Winman. I can’t wait to get to know you.

A Short History of Tales by Mail

Tales by Mail was founded by best friends, Kate and Libby, their friendship was born when they met working in a bookshop. Finding themselves inspired by the many BRILLIANT books written for younger readers they launched Tales by Mail with the mission to instil the same sense of curiosity and wonder of books that brought them together to the next generation of book-lovers.

A new chapter has started for them and I am now at the helm of Tales by Mail with the mission to get fantastic new titles into the hands of your budding bookworms.

The first Tales by Mail boxes were sent out in June 2021 and the theme was Mansion House Mysteries. Since then, we’ve sent out thousands of boxes to members all around the globe and created fun theme such as Off the Map, Magic Menageries, Whimsical Worlds and Historical Heroes (to name a few)!

In May 2021, Tales by Mail was awarded a silver gong in the MadeforMums Awards!

September 2021, saw the launch of Tales by Mail Hatchlings – a new subscription box for readers aged 5-8.

If you’d like to keep up with what we’re up to make sure you subscribe to our newsletter and give us a follow on social media!