Scholastic Feels the Power
Scholastic has rushed out its first Power Rangers: Samurai reader, which it is publishing under license from Saban Brands. The full program of readers, 8x8s, sticker books and handbooks will launch in January 2012 with the release of five more titles. “Saban has revamped the property and it’s really fresh, while still being one of those iconic kids’ action brands,” says Debra Dorfman, Scholastic’s v-p/publisher, paperbacks, licensing and nonfiction. “Along with the universal recognition, there’s a new focus on the brand values of teamwork, friendship, confidence, and physical fitness. Those are synonymous with what we live with here at Scholastic. And it still has the great charm and appeal that kids love.”
Saban has launched a new community outreach program for Power Rangers called EmPOWER, which fosters health and fitness for kids; Scholastic and Saban are talking about how the publisher can play a part. Scholastic also is planning to cross-promote the books in some of the other licensees’ products.
“Licensing right now seems to be on the upswing,” Dorfman believes. Among Scholastic’s other new licenses is a program based on MGA’s Lalaloopsy dolls, a “sweet, girly property that resonates like a Strawberry Shortcake,” as well as handbooks based on Cartoon Network’s Redekai and Nelvana’s Beyblade. Meanwhile, Dorfman reports steady sales for classic licensed programs including Pokémon, Scooby-Doo and LEGO, for which Scholastic just launched the latest brand-extension, LEGO: Ninjago.
The Return of the Mach 5
Speed Racer, the 1960s Japanimation classic, is back in print form with a line of comics and graphic novels, as well as interactive games and other digital products. The program is the result of a licensing deal between Speed Racer Enterprises and a one-year-old company, Allegory LLC. Allegory previewed the first issue of a four-book arc called Speed Racer: Circle of Vengeance at the recent San Diego Comic-Con; Diamond is rolling out the books to retailers now. The list eventually will include art books and an illustrated history.
“It’s an iconic brand, with a great story and just unbelievable artwork,” says Chad Smith, Allegory’s CEO, who explains that the new books will expand on the original story while staying true to it. “We’re going back to the roots of the story and adding things a lot of fans were wondering about,” he says, citing the revelation of Pops Racer’s real name and the debut of a logo for Racer Motors. “People went nuts for that at Comic-Con.”
Smith believes the target market will include both children and adults. “Our barometer really came from Comic-Con,” he says. “There were kids that watch the show that’s on TV now [Speed Racer: The Next Generation on Nicktoons], their parents who grew up on Speed Racer, and the real fans who love all things Speed Racer. So the demo is very wide.” The property might have some appeal for girls, too. “Within the Speed Racer family and world, there are some wonderful female characters, and we’re going to do something interesting with one of them,” Smith hints.
Adams Media Hears the Music
Adams Media, a division of F&W Media, has introduced the first three titles in its KidzBop publishing program, the product of a licensing deal announced last month. Amazon, Target and Kroger are among the retailers featuring the titles.
KidzBop, a music-based brand for children 5-12, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. “As a parent of two young children, it’s impossible not to be aware of the KidzBop phenom,” says Karen Cooper, Adams Media’s publisher. “They and all their friends just love to dance and sing along with the KidzBop kids.”
“As we were thinking about extending the brand, publishing was a natural extension,” adds KidzBop’s senior v-p marketing Sasha Junk. “These days, with American Idol and all the other talent shows on the air, every kid dreams of being a pop star, and KidzBop lets them do that in a fun, kid-friendly way. They can sing along with the CDs, play along on iTunes, and now read along in the books.”
Each book—a junior novel about how the KidzBop kids came together, a fill-in adventure story, and a how-to guide on being a pop star that includes advice on publicity, booking a gig, making a video, and the like—comes with a free MP3 download from the KidzBop social media website. An enhanced ebook is featured on the Barnes & Noble website.
“Beyond being the number-one music brand for 5- to 12-year-olds, what really interested us was KidzBop’s position as one of the leading social networking sites for kids,” Cooper explains. “We recognized that the books would be a great way to both complement and further promote this amazing interactivity, creativity and sense of community.” The site, which has more than one million registered users and an average of 15 minutes spent per visit, hosted a monthlong promotion to support the launch of the books. Almost 1,000 fans uploaded videos of their own pop star look for a chance to win a Nook e-reader and a copy of one of the books, making the promotion one of the most popular of more than 50,000 such “SuperContests” on the site.
Other KidzBop licensees include American Greetings for musical greeting cards and a toy company to be announced this fall.
Licensing in Education
School and library publisher Abdo Publishing continues to add licensed titles to its roster of graphic novels, picture books, beginning readers and chapter books in the Spotlight imprint. Recent additions include Scooby-Doo from Warner Bros. and Snoopy and friends from Peanuts Worldwide. Trade books (some still in print and some out) are rebound in sturdy library editions.
“Our goal is to get as many popular characters in the pantheon of Spotlight as we can, anything kids will read,” says Dan Verdick, director of marketing. He notes that whether a title is out of print is not a concern, as long as the property is well known. “We do keep an eye on pop culture,” he explains. For example, within its Marvel line of graphic novels, Abdo published Thor and Captain America titles to capitalize on awareness from the movie releases earlier this year. “As they push out their properties into the culture, we want to make sure we have something to tie in.”
Abdo also is adding titles to its existing licensed franchises, including Star Wars, for which it recently issued teacher’s guides, and Disney Princess. “We’ve gotten an incredible reaction to that,” Verdick says of the latter. “The girls know the characters from the DVDs they have at home, and then they can get some reading practice in the chapter books.”
Moxie & Co. Goes Splat
Moxie & Co., a licensing agency that represents a number of book-based properties, including Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys for Simon & Schuster, is now working with HarperCollins on licensing Rob Scotton’s Splat the Cat in North America. Moxie’s partners, Arlene Scanlan and Laura Becker, had seen Splat on an endcap at retail and approached Harper about representing the property, just as Harper was in the process of seeking a licensing agent for it. “We’re very entrenched in the publishing world, and we’re always looking for book properties,” Becker says. “This was just a good fit. They liked what we had to say, strategy-wise, and the timing was right.”
Plans for Splat, which is targeted to boys and girls 3-7, include apparel, accessories, toys, back-to-school products, stationery, gifts, pet supplies, and promotions. HarperCollins, which releases eight new Splat titles a year in formats including beginning and leveled readers, 8x8s and pop-ups, as well as the original storybooks, had signed Merrymakers for plush prior to the agreement, and has released Splat apps and ebooks. Printed Splat books recently passed the one-million mark in collective units sold.
In Brief
THQ is releasing an interactive game for the Wii platform called Disney Princess: Enchanting Storybooks; it will include a new fairy princess, Opal, along with the classic Disney princesses such as The Little Mermaid’s Ariel and Beauty and the Beast’s Belle.... Egmont Publishing will release children’s books in the U.K. tied to the preschool series Baby Jake, which airs on children’s channel CBeebies and is licensed by BBC Worldwide. It also acquired the license for Maya the Bee, a classic European children’s series, from Studio 100 for Central and Eastern Europe.... Warner Bros. Consumer Products signed Sideshow Collectibles as its licensee for premium statues and busts tied to the DC Comics characters.... Universal Partnerships & Licensing authorized GUND, a division of Enesco, to create plush toys based on Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s Curious George.... Zenescope teamed with the CS Moore Studio for a special-edition Alice Liddle action figure, tied to the publisher’s new Wonderland series under the Grimm Fairy Tales Originals banner.... Big Idea released several new VeggieTales titles through Word Distribution, including devotions, art and activity books and titles in the Values to Grow By series. Big Idea has more than 150 VeggieTales children’s books in print, including titles developed in-house and by licensees Zonderkidz, Bendon, and Ideals Publications.... Disney Publishing Worldwide is creating a line of custom books on diabetes in conjunction with Disney Online and pharmaceutical company Lilly Diabetes. The books, which will be released over several years and made available through doctors’ offices, will feature Disney-created characters—such Coco, a monkey in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse—living with Type 1 diabetes.
