Books N Bros Book Club founder Sidney Keys III had a whirlwind of a winter break. In between wrapping up his first semester of sixth grade, the Hazelwood West Middle School student headed off to New York City to be recognized as a “Young Wonder” as part of the 11th Annual CNN Heroes. A couple of days later he flew to Los Angeles to be a guest on the “Steve Harvey Show.”
“I’ve never been happier to do a videotape greeting,” Oprah Winfrey told Sidney as he sat grinning from ear-to-ear between Harvey and his wife Marjorie on the set of the show. “I wish I could be there to give you a hug Sidney Keys.”
Things had calmed down a bit when Keys and his mother, Winnie Caldwell, sat down with The American to talk about the amazing year they have had. “I wanted it to be this way, but I didn’t expect it to be this fast,” Keys said. “When we started Books N Bros, we had seven members – including me. Now we have more than 100.”
As a surprise on “The Steve Harvey Show,” Amazon gifted an additional 50 members with yearlong subscriptions and complementary e-readers for all current members. “It was really cool being on the show,” Keys said. “He was so energetic and so funny. I just had a good time.”
The demand has been so overwhelming, that Books N Bros has temporarily closed its membership at just over 150 – though interested boys and parents are more than welcome to keep up with the organization by subscribing to its newsletter at https://www.booksnbros.com/.
“We want to spread awareness about African American literature – and make it fun,” the mother and son duo said about Books N Bros. Their journey began with a visit to Eye See Me, a store that specializes in African American books.
“When my mom said we were going to a bookstore, I was like ‘okay,’” Keys said. “But when we got in there and I saw that it was African Americans, I picked up a book and I started reading it and I loved it.” From the moment he started reading “Danny Dollar Millionaire Extraordinaire,” Keys couldn’t put it down. “It caught my eye because it was a black boy who looked like me on a million-dollar bill,” Keys said. Caldwell saw how absorbed her son was in the book and recorded him. The post went viral.
Keys decided he wanted to start a book club so that he could share the feeling. He began picking a selection and meeting at Eye See Me each month to discuss what they read. The club quickly outgrew Eye See Me. The same thing happened at The Microsoft Store in the Galleria. Now their monthly meetings are held at the Ferguson Youth Initiative, which gifts Books N Bros the space.
The young people pair up in groups that feature “young bros” readers and “big bros” who help lead the discussions. Members have gone from reading a book or two a year to an average of two books a month. Keys has read more than 50 books since founding Books N Bros.
“My favorite thing about reading is that I really love to see new stories,” Keys said. “It’s amazing how you can find out new things from reading a book. You can learn new things that are so interesting and things that you’ve never thought about.”
His favorite thing about Books N Bros is that he’s encouraging young boys to embrace reading to the point where the club is being used by parents to incentivize the young bros.
“I like seeing happy faces on members and other people,” Keys said. “I feel great knowing that I’m doing something that’s impacting people’s lives – and they are having fun while doing it.”
A family affair
The last thing Caldwell expected when she took Keys to Eye See Me was that she would be a full-time employee of Books N Bros, but she’s more than happy to work alongside her son and his vision. A couple of weeks before each meet-up they ship out the books to each bro. Caldwell develops the curriculum and coordinates the schedule of the club and her son – who has been in demand to talk about Books N Bros since its very inception.
“It’s created a bond that we haven’t had before,” Caldwell said. “We are able to connect as business partners and it’s allowing for opportunities that I hadn’t been able to make for him as a single parent – from traveling to attending certain events. It’s very fulfilling – and I can use my communications degree.”
While he was celebrated by CNN, Keys says that he didn’t have to look very far to find his own hero.
“Not to make it sound corny, but my mom really encouraged me,” Keys said. “I’ve always looked up to her ever since she started her blog. She’s help me a lot with thinking that you’re never too young to make a difference in the world.”
Caldwell beamed as she shared a story about him asking his fourth-grade teacher if she could speak to his class about her blog. “Sidney has been my cheerleader as much as I have been his,” Caldwell said.
And because of his work with Books N Bros, Keys is being praised by some of the biggest names around.
“I just want you know how proud I am of you,” Winfrey told Keys. “A lot of people think that young black boys don’t read, but you obviously know differently.
You know that it’s a great way of connecting and learning and expanding. You get to see a whole world through a book.”
For more information on Books N Bros, visit https://www.booksnbros.com/.
