Ruckus Children’s Books exists because stories shape how we understand ourselves, each other, and the world.
Ruckus Children’s Books is more than a mobile bookstore.
It’s a Brooklyn-based, community‑led project where joy and justice meet, where kids are centered, and where reading becomes a radical act of rest, imagination, and empowerment.
Access to literature shouldn’t depend on income, privilege, or proximity, and my mission is to bring books directly into neighborhoods, schools, and community spaces. Ruckus operates on sliding‑scale pricing and pay‑what‑you‑can services, and the community shelf stays free and fully stocked through collective support.
Our world is shaped by the creatures who share our city—pigeons on stoops, raccoons in alleyways, rats darting between subway grates. These animals are scrappy, curious, and oftentimes very misunderstood.
They show up in the world of Ruckus Children's Books because they carry the same spark I see in kids: they are resourceful, imaginative, resilient, and full of personality.
These characters aren’t just symbols of the city alone.
They reflect the kids at the heart of this project.
These characters remind us that every being has a story, that curiosity is a form of intelligence, that resilience often grows in overlooked places, and that community is built from many small, interconnected lives. Kids see themselves in these creatures, too, because they are playful, brave, often misunderstood and underestimated, and full of potential.
In my day-to-day, you can find me rescuing bugs from the sidewalk, feeding pigeons from my Brooklyn home, or stopping traffic for a wandering turtle. I believe that caring for animals is inseparable from caring for each other, and this instinct for compassion and interdependence shapes how I show up in my community and how I imagine the world we’re building for kids.
The Ruckus characters help build that world, one where children feel invited, represented, and encouraged to be fully themselves, while also learning to extend that same care to the animals who share their neighborhoods and their stories.
Meet the Founder
Hi, I'm Ali!
I’m an educator and children’s literature specialist, and founder of Ruckus Children's Books.
I’ve always turned to books to understand the world and my place in it. Stories were where I first learned to ask questions, find comfort, imagine possibilities, and recognize the systems that shape our lives.
My love for books carried me into work at libraries, bookstores, publishing, community development, and children's education and empowerment. Ruckus is the culmination of all of my work and is a labor of love rooted in care, community, and connection.
My work is guided by the principle of collective liberation—for people, animals, and the planet—and by the belief that storytelling is a powerful way to challenge the forces that try to silence us.
My studies in children’s literature and animal rights taught me that kids books are often the first place we learn empathy, interdependence, and how to treat the living world around us.
Children already have powerful voices, and literature helps kids recognize their own agency, explore big ideas, and feel grounded in who they are. When we raise readers, we raise voices.
It takes a community to raise a child—and to exist in the world. Ruckus is my offering to the community. It’s my way of bringing stories directly into neighborhoods, gardens, parks, classrooms, and more, so that access to books isn’t determined by income or privilege.
Ruckus Children’s Books is my way of helping kids feel seen, supported, and powerful, and it’s a way of building the kind of world I believe in: one where every child can grow, question, imagine, and make a ruckus!
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