Our Story
I believe cancer should have an age limit.
Cancer is cruel at any age. But a child? A child should never have to know what it is. That belief is the reason Brave Star Books exists.
Hi, I'm John.
I'm the founder of Brave Star Books, and this December I'll become a dad for the very first time. Cancer has been part of my family's story for as long as I can remember. Both of my grandmothers are two-time cancer survivors, two of the strongest people I've ever known. I grew up understanding what this disease takes, and what it takes to fight it.
But it was a child who changed everything for me.
It started with one video.
In 2019, I saw a video of a little kid with cancer on TikTok, and I couldn't shake it. The sheer unfairness of it broke my heart. Someone so small, with their whole life ahead of them, having to face something so brutal.
So I did the one thing I could think of: I shaved my head. And I've done it every September since, for Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Every year, with the money I raise, I sponsor a family walking through the hardest season of their lives.
I wanted a bigger impact.
Shaving my head each September means the world to me, but I wanted to do more than one month a year. I wanted something that could help every single day. That's how Brave Star Books was born.
The idea is simple, and it's close to my heart: every book makes your child the hero of their own story, and a portion of every book goes to fighting childhood cancer, helping the real little heroes who are in the fight right now. Your child becomes a hero on the page, and in doing it, you help a hero off it.
Why “Brave Star.”
The name means two things, and I love that it does. Every child is the brave little star of their own story, the hero of the book in your hands. And it is a nod to the bravest stars I know, the children fighting cancer, and to the hope that keeps us reaching toward a cure. As I get ready to meet my own little one this December, that's the world I want to help build: one where every child gets to shine as the hero of their story, and where, someday, cancer finally has an age limit.
With love, John Himmelspach
5% of every book goes to fighting childhood cancer.
Every keepsake you order helps a child and family in the fight. Thank you for being part of it. 🌟