Frequently asked questions

Shipping and delivery

We love sending our books around the world and you can find more information on our delivery page.

Though please note that sadly at the moment we are unable to ship to European destinations.

Standard UK shipping is £2.99 on all bookshop orders, including one-off boxes and gift sets. For orders over £20, standard UK shipping is free.

Shipping to the UK and Channel Islands is included in the price of all our subscriptions and gift vouchers.

For all other destinations an international shipping charge applies. Please see our delivery page for further information.

UK delivery the next working day (Mon to Fri) is available for an additional charge for bookshop orders (including gift vouchers, gift sets and one-off boxes).

Please order before 1pm and select the Express delivery option at checkout. Orders placed after 1pm will be despatched the next working day.

Please see our delivery page for further information.

Bookshop orders, including gift vouchers, gift sets and one-off boxes, are usually despatched within 2 to 3 days of you placing your order.

Our subscription boxes are despatched once a month. Parakeet and Cockatoo subscribers in the UK should receive their parcels in the middle of each month. Macaw subscribers can expect their parcels around a week later.

It will take longer for parcels to arrive in international destinations.

You will be notified by email each time we dispatch your parcel.

Your order may arrive in separate packages. We will ship items that are in stock within 2 to 3 days of receiving your order. Pre-ordered items will be shipped as soon as they are available.

Refunds and returns

Yes. To return bookshop orders, including one-off boxes and gift sets, please send them to us at the address below in in the same condition as you received them within 14 days. We will process your refund within 14 days of receipt of the returned goods.

Please email us at hello@parrotstreet.com before returning any items so that we know to look out for them.

You’ve obviously got great taste in books!

Please contact us at hello@parrotstreet.com and we’ll be happy to discuss your options.

Full details of our refunds policy are available here.

Please also refer to our terms and conditions for more details and do not hesitate to contact us on hello@parrotstreet.com with any questions.

About our book subscriptions

Parakeets (5-8) and Cockatoos (8-12): No, each month everyone in each of these age brackets is sent the same book. Like a traditional book club, this means you will get to try a wide range of books, genres and authors, and could even talk about what you’ve read with other subscribers.

Macaws (12-14): Yes, you have the option to choose between two books each month, charting your own course through our recommendations. You can also keep the element of surprise if you prefer or even upgrade to receive both books each month.

No, everyone in each age category receives the same book regardless of gender. We are careful to select books that will appeal to both boys and girls.

We spend a lot of time researching new titles and speaking to publishers to find great books that haven't hit the bestseller list.

Our priority is to select a wide range of books for each age group, ensuring that they are well written with great characters and lots of themes to really get us thinking.

The bottom line is that we will never send a book that we wouldn't read with our own children or give as a gift to a close friend.

The aim of our book club is to get children enjoying and thinking about good books, rather than testing them on their reading skills. Of course, it depends on each child's reading ability and confidence.

Your child might be able to read some of the books we send alone, but equally we hope you will enjoy reading them aloud together.

The key is understanding, enjoying and thinking about each book, whether independently or as a family.

We devise each pack to suit the book it is accompanying. There will be book club-style questions, fun facts, games, projects and ideas for activities that can be done alone, as a family or in a group setting.

Obviously, we hope that you will love all the books we send, but we understand that everyone has different tastes. You may love a book one month and find the next one harder to get going with.

If you consistently find you aren’t enjoying the books we send, please let us know and we’ll work out the best next steps for you.

While we won’t be sending you classics or bestsellers, we realise that there’s a chance you will already own a book we send. If you do, please contact us as soon as possible on hello@parrotstreet.com

No. We develop a brand new pack for each reading group every month and all subscribers in each reading group receive the same book.

If you have already enjoyed one of our past packs, you will not receive that as part of your subscription.

Yes! The book wraps we use not only protect our books and activity packs but make them as slim as possible. Unless you have a very small letterbox our parcel should be delivered with your normal mail.

Setting up your subscription

Our Parakeet, Cockatoo and Macaw subscriptions cater for three broad reading levels.

Parakeets receive chapter books specifically for young readers. Books in this category are typically between 100 and 200 pages in length with plenty of illustrations. Our Parakeets may be able to read these books by themselves, but we also believe that they are ideal for enjoying together. For guidance this category is aimed at children aged 5 to 8.

Cockatoos are more confident readers, so books in this reading group are typically more than 200 pages in length with fewer illustrations. They may explore more complicated themes. Our Cockatoos will probably be happy to read these books by themselves – but we believe you will also enjoy reading them together. For guidance this category is aimed at children aged 8 to 12.

Our Macaw reading category is aimed at children in the early years of secondary school. Books in this reading group sit comfortably between the middle grade and young adult categories. They are challenging and thought-provoking with more complex themes than the books we send our Cockatoos. For guidance this category is aimed at children aged 12 to 14.

Yes, simply email us on hello@parrotstreet.com at any point during your subscription term and we will make sure that the next book we despatch is from the new reading group.

If you have two children in the same reading group, who will read the same book, you can add a sibling pack. The siblings will receive a parcel addressed to them both, containing one copy of the book to share and two sets of everything else. If you have two children in different reading groups, a sibling pack won't work for you. Instead you will need to purchase two separate subscriptions (one for each reading group).

If you are purchasing multiple subscriptions to be shipped to the same delivery address, simply add them to your basket and checkout.

If you are purchasing subscriptions that will be shipped to different delivery addresses, you will need to purchase each subscription separately. Once you have completed purchasing the first subscription, checked out and reached the order confirmation page, simply return to the website and follow the same steps to purchase the second. You will then see and be able to manage both subscriptions in your account page.

As soon as your subscription is set up we will pop a welcome pack (containing an introductory guide and a few welcome treats) in the post to you. You will receive your first book the month after you place your order, e.g. if you place your order at any point during January, you will receive your first book in February.

If you would like to delay the first delivery by a month or more, please contact us on hello@parrotstreet.com and we will arrange that.

When you set up a new subscription, we will send out your welcome pack immediately. For Parakeets and Cockatoos, the welcome pack contains an introductory guide, reading record, bookmark, pencil and a helpful envelope to keep all your book club goodies in.

For Macaws, the welcome pack contains an introductory guide, bookmark, pencil, embroidered patch and a handy envelope for all your book club goodies.

Buying a gift subscription

Our gift subscriptions are a great option. You simply choose the duration of the subscription and whether you'd like an e-card or gift voucher. You will also be asked to indicate if the subscription will be shipped to an address in the UK or internationally.

Delivery of each monthly parcel to a UK address is included as standard. International shipping charges are added at checkout.

Don't worry! With our gift subscriptions (e-card or gift voucher) you simply choose the duration of the subscription. The parent/carer of the recipient chooses the reading group and start date when they redeem it.

Managing your subscription

When purchasing a subscription, you are paying in advance for 1, 3, 6 or 12 of our monthly deliveries. It is not possible to cancel deliveries you have already paid for, other than within 14 days of receiving your first book, as per our refund policy.

Our subscriptions auto-renew at the end of each subscription term and it is possible to cancel this renewal at any time before the payment is taken via your account page.

You may wish to check out our quick start guide to managing your subscription.

That's not a problem at all. Please do not press 'cancel' in your account as it will stop the renewal for all the subscriptions. Instead, just send us an email to hello@parrotstreet.com and we will make the changes for you.

Yes, it is very easy to cancel your renewal. Simply log in to your account, hit the orange 'Subscriptions' button, select the relevant subscription and click 'Cancel renewal'.

Regardless of when you signed up, renewal payments are taken on the 1st of the month in which the first book of your new subscription term is going to be despatched. You will need to cancel before the payment is taken.

You may wish to check out our quick start guide to managing your subscription.

You can update your card details at any time by logging into your account on our website. If we are unable to take your renewal payment, we will contact you by email. We will automatically try to take the payment again after a few days.

Yes, simply log into your account, head to subscriptions, select the relevant subscription and update your address details. 

You may wish to check out our quick start guide to managing your subscription.

Yes, it is possible for you to purchase further subscriptions and manage them from your main account. Simply ensure that you are logged in when making any subsequent purchases.

Yes, you can skip the next 1, 3, 6 or 12-month subscription term by logging into your account, hitting the orange 'Subscriptions' button, selecting the relevant subscription and clicking ‘Skip next order.’ Your subscription will resume automatically after 1, 3, 6 or 12 months (depending on the normal duration of your subscription term).

You may wish to check out our quick start guide to managing your subscription for more information. 

If you would like to pause mid-term, please send us an email to hello@parrotstreet.com and we will take it from there.

Your account

You need an account so that you can manage your subscription through our website. Once logged in you are able to see when your next delivery or payment is due.

You may wish to check out our quick start guide to managing your subscription.

The first time you try to log in to your account you will need to choose create an account in order to pick a password and set up the account.

Please make sure you use the same email address as you used for your purchase.

Our quick start guide to managing your subscription can guide you through the process.

Please select 'I've forgotten my password' on the log in screen. If you're still having problems, email us on hello@parrotstreet.com and we will help you as quickly as we can.

Please send us an email to hello@parrotstreet.com and we will help you as quickly as we can.

Redeeming a gift subscription

Head to our Redeem page for full instructions but in short, you select your rolling subscription and enter the gift code at checkout in lieu of the first payment.

All of our subscription products auto-renew at the end of each term, regardless of the payment method used when setting them up. However, if you don't wish to continue beyond the first, gifted term it's easy to stop the renewal via your account page.

You may wish to check out our quick start guide to managing your subscription for more information on how to do this.

Yes! Simply add the subscription that's right for you to your cart, enter your gift card details as part-payment and any additional charges will be taken from the payment card you supply.

Didn't find the answer you were looking for?

Simply send us an email on hello@parrotstreet.com and we'll be happy to help.