Little Bee Books, the U.S. children’s publishing unit of the Bonnier Swedish publishing conglomerate, has been purchased by the LBB executive team of CEO Shimul Tolia and CFO Thomas Morgan that founded the startup in 2014. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The house publishes about 150 titles a year under three imprints: Little Bee Books, which specializes in board books, picture books and chapter books; BuzzPop, which focuses on licensed works, media tie-ins and pop culture titles; and Yellow Jacket, a middle grade imprint focused on readers ages 8–14.
The offices of Little Bee Books will remain at 251 Park Avenue in Manhattan, and its staff and publishing program will remain unchanged. Distribution will continue to be handled by Simon & Schuster.
Little Bee is the publisher of such works as Roots of Rap by Carole Boston Weatherford and Frank Morrison, and the Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor title Freedom in Congo Square by Weatherford and R. Gregory Christie. LBB will also continue its licensing programs with Crayola and Nickelodeon Books and its publishing partnership with GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization.
