Smarter Travel Project 2014 | Children's Books | Kids' Own Publishing Partnership
What We Do

Kids’ Own is Ireland’s only dedicated publisher of books by children. Through a range of local, national and international projects, we connect children with professional artists and publish the work that they create.

We work in defence of children’s right to culture and we believe passionately that children should have a space to express themselves through the arts. We give visibility and status to children’s artwork and writing within mainstream culture.

An ethos of social justice underpins our work. Lots of our projects have involved children and families from diverse cultures, such as Traveller culture, migrant, intercultural and multilingual populations, and children who are homeless, socially excluded, or part of a minority group

Our vision is for a society that not only includes children as equal and active cultural citizens, but which also respects and champions children as experts in their own lives and as change-makers within our society.



Help us to change the world by

  • Buying one of our books!
  • Making a donation towards our charitable work!
  • Sharing the message about the great work we do through social media!
  • Contacting us with your enquiry!

 

Our History

Kids’ Own was founded in 1997 by Simon Spain and Victoria Ryle – a printmaker and an educator. The seed for Kids’ Own came from their recognition of the lack of classroom books and resources reflecting the true diversity of children’s experiences and backgrounds, and written from a child’s own perspective.

They began with a series of hand-printed limited-edition books, including Bladdy the Baddie, C’mere Till I Tell You and Something to Shout About.

Upon the founders’ relocation to Australia in 2003, the directorship of Kids’ Own was taken up by Orla Kenny, who had joined the organisation in 2000. Orla led and drove the creative vision for the organisation for fifteen years, until her sad and untimely death in 2018.

During her time at the head of the organisation, Orla continued with the collaborative publishing model that was initiated by the founders and later sought to raise the status of the children’s work and disseminate it more widely through a professional publishing model.

She also had a strong interest in supporting long-term engagement between children and professional artists and initiated a number of residency projects that were documented online and in print.

In 2008, Kids’ Own initiated Practice.ie, a professional network for artists working with children and young people, which developed over seven years and became a recognised national resource, both online and offline.



In 2008, Kids’ Own initiated Practice.ie, a professional network for artists working with children and young people, which developed over seven years and became a recognised national resource, both online and offline.

Kids’ Own continues to build on the legacy of this work – developing new book projects with children in school, community and culture-specific settings, and continuing to support long-term engagement between artists and children in sites of learning.

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