Nicole Lightbourne just wanted her twins to see people who looked like them in the books they were reading. While she is an author herself, she wanted to see more children of different backgrounds in literature, and she wanted to be able to find it all in one place.
Lightbourne’s first book was called, The Hair Shop Hop. She said that she wrote it in honor of her grandmother who owned a salon.
Watch NBC 5 free wherever you are
WATCH HERE“I had been writing for quite some time and publishing a book here and there. During the pandemic though, I was motivated to organize and start my company,” Lightbourne said.
That’s where Round House Paper was born.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
SIGN UP “The objective was to make sure that kids in Black and brown communities were reading and reading on grade level, which is of course important,” Lightbourne said. “When I first started the company, it was a motivation to get things out there to support young readers and adults to encourage them at the same time.”
Round House Paper is an online marketplace where diverse children’s books, stickers and bookmarks are available.
“I am just trying to make it fun. If you read to them and you get them excited and teach them to pick up their own book and read, it changes it. It’s not just about looking at the pictures or memorizing the words, reading comprehension is key too. Parents/guardians have to be there to ask the questions, see what a child has retained, what are they really learning while they are reading,” Lightbourne said.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
Her efforts earned her a $10,000 grant from Meta, Facebook’s parent company, to continue her work of inclusion and representation. She said Meta also enlisted a creative agency and connected her with nine other Black, women-owned businesses.
The San Antonio native, who has called Dallas home since 2010, is still writing her personal story but also hopes the chapters she has already written help to inspire others.
“If it wasn’t for reading, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Being able to create those experiences. I think there’s a lot of other successful people that you can look to who also wouldn’t be here today without learning through reading,” Lightbourne said.
