From Late-Night Shipping Struggles to Launch Day: The Story Behind Will et Max Books

When we dropped Will off for his first day at French school, we were investing in more than just an education - we were investing in possibility. Like so many parents, we'd chosen this path believing that another language would open doors for our children, broaden their horizons, connect them to their heritage, or simply give them a gift we wished we'd had ourselves.

But here's the thing about raising bilingual kids that nobody tells you: the school drop-off is just the beginning. Those precious French immersion hours need reinforcement at home, especially through reading. Yet somehow, while we were ready to rearrange our lives (and budgets!) for French education, we found ourselves hitting a wall when it came to supporting his learning.

Between late-night searches on foreign websites, eye-watering international shipping costs, and the constant uncertainty about reading levels, finding French books became its own part-time job. Hours spent calculating shipping fees, Google Translating our way through book descriptions, wondering if that one perfect book was worth the €47 shipping fee (spoiler alert: we convinced ourselves it was, and our credit card statement still judges us for that decision 😅)... well, let's just say we knew there had to be a better way.

That's when it hit us: what if we created the bookstore we'd been dreaming of? A place where finding the perfect French book for your child would be as simple as walking down the street to your neighborhood bookshop. Where shipping costs wouldn't make you gasp, and every book would be thoughtfully chosen to grow with your family.

Enter Will et Max Books (named after our own little bilingual adventurers, who are now old enough to correct our French pronunciation with zero hesitation 🙈). What started as a desperate late-night wish has transformed into something magical - and in just four days, we get to share it with you!

The Journey to Thursday

These past two years have been a whirlwind of conversations with France's finest children's book publishers, countless hours of book evaluation, and creating the kind of community space we wish we'd had when we started our family's French adventure.

Every decision we've made - from the books we've selected to the way we'll deliver them - comes back to one simple truth: having the right French books at home transforms the bilingual journey from a challenge into a joy.

What's Coming

This Thursday at 10 AM EST, our founding family presale begins exclusively for our Nos Amis community. You'll be the first to see the collections we've curated, each one designed to grow with your family and make French reading feel as natural as story time should be.

No more international shipping calculations. No more Google Translating your way through foreign websites. No more wondering if a book is right for your little reader. We've done all that work for you, because that's what friends are for!

More Than Just Books

But here's what really makes us tear up when we think about Thursday (and yes, we've already gone through several boxes of tissues this week): We're not just launching a bookstore. We're creating the solution to a problem that so many of us have faced. We're making it easier for families like yours to raise bilingual readers, to share cultural heritage, to create magical moments in two languages.

Every time we circle books in a publisher's catalog, we picture them in your hands. We imagine your little one pointing at the pictures, your proud smile when they recognize a word, that magical moment when French stops feeling like a foreign language and starts feeling like part of your family story.

Join Our First Chapter

This Thursday at 10 AM EST, our founding family presale begins with exclusive early access for our Nos Amis community. Haven't joined Nos Amis yet? There's still time! Sign up on our website and you'll get immediate access to Thursday's exclusive launch. While our presale opens to everyone on February 27th, these first special days are reserved just for our Nos Amis family.

Want a peek behind the scenes as we count down to Thursday? Come hang out with us on Instagram where we're sharing all the real (sometimes messy) moments of launch prep. Trust us, the happy tears are VERY real over here! 

Bisous!

Sara & Jason  
Co-founders and Chief Story Hunters  
Will et Max Books

*P.S. Don't forget to sign up above to get your exclusive Nos Amis access on Thursday at 10 AM EST! We can't wait to welcome you to this next chapter! ✨*