HarperCollins Turns to Gracie’s Corner
Starting this fall, HarperCollins Publishers will release three books for babies through age six, tied to Gracie’s Corner, a YouTube channel that has accrued more than five million subscribers and four billion views. Animated content features culturally relevant original songs and updated versions of nursery rhymes that teach preschool concepts and get viewers up and moving.
“It was 2022, and we were still under lockdown, when I first heard ‘The Phonics Song,’ ” Luana Kay Horry, editorial director at HarperCollins, told PW. “It was so different from anything out there. The beat really gets to you.”
The property was created by the Hollingsworth family after they noted the lack of diversity in educational media when searching for content during the pandemic. Parents Arlene and Javoris, who have education and music backgrounds, decided to fill the gap, with Javoris composing and writing songs and daughter Gracelyn voicing the animated videos.
“Gracie’s Corner is just so special, especially during this time,” Horry said. “It gets kids excited about learning and using their bodies, and it shows a diverse world of kindness, self-confidence, and racial and cultural pride and history. The first episode I watched, the friends were wearing ancient Egyptian clothes, and I loved that it was reclaiming that history and that vision. It has the catchy songs, but that representation is so important.”
The first two books have an on-sale date of September 30. A board book, What Sound Does That Letter Make?, faithfully captures the lyrics of “The Phonics Song,” the most popular video in the series, illustrated with images from the episode. The second, a picture book called Today Is Gonna Be a Great Day, illustrated by Neil Malcolm McKnight, is based on “The Good Morning Song,” enhanced with additional verses and a storyline about Gracie waking up and going through her morning routine, including dancing with her sister, until she leaves for school. An I Can Read! leveled reader will follow in summer 2026.
Horry noted that young viewers of all backgrounds have taken to the show. “Gracie’s Corner is doing for the YouTube audience what I like to do for books,” she said. “I’m looking for representation but also something that is universally loved and commercial. Everyone loves the videos, and I can’t wait for people to see the books and get a glimpse of the joy that I have when I read them.”
Laurence King Adds Van Gogh Museum License for Children’s Books
Hachette Children’s Group has signed a three-year global license with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam for children’s publishing, with three initial titles planned. The books, for ages seven and up, are being released through Laurence King Publishing, HCG’s illustrated nonfiction imprint, distributed in the U.S. by Chronicle.
“It is our strategy to partner with other leading brands to reach our target consumers and retailers, and museums and galleries are key,” said Leah James, publishing director, color nonfiction and licensing, at HCG. “Van Gogh has the recognition and accessibility that is perfect for hooking young artists and curious minds.”
Van Gogh has been top of mind in popular culture of late. “The timing of this is perfect, as we can take advantage of the increased recognition built through the recent touring immersive experiences,” James said. Several companies have been hosting Van Gogh experiences across the U.S. and the world since 2021. These events allow viewers to get inside the paintings and have attracted big crowds.
For the first titles, Laurence King paired the property with three of its established formats. Little Guides to Great Lives: Van Gogh and Make Art with Van Gogh: An Art Activity Book are releasing in October in the U.S., U.K., and Germany, while Find Vincent: A Spotting Book will follow in the U.S. and U.K. in November. All offer information about the artist and his art while spurring creativity.
SpongeBob and Ninja Turtles to Choose Their Own Adventures
Chooseco, the owner and publisher of the Choose Your Own Adventure brand, is expanding its sublicensing relationship with Penguin Random House. Building on the success of its first collaborative title with PRH, Stranger Things: Heroes and Monsters by Rana Tahir, released in April 2023, it is now adding two more properties, SpongeBob SquarePants and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. PRH’s Random House Children’s Books division publishes SpongeBob and the Turtles under license from Nickelodeon and Stranger Things under license from Netflix.
Stranger Things: Heroes and Monsters exceeded all expectations, selling more than 115,000 units to date, according to Shannon Gilligan, CEO and publisher at Chooseco. Clocking in at 280 pages with more than 25 endings, it is the longest-ever CYOA book. The title is now being introduced into the U.K. market.
The new SpongeBob story will be authored by Anson Montgomery, who has been writing CYOA books for 20 years, and the Turtles book by Bart King, who wrote Time Travel Inn and Time Travel Inn 2 for the publisher. PRH is responsible for the artwork, looking to its stable of illustrators with deep experience in the worlds of SpongeBob and the Turtles.
Unlike the Stranger Things title, which was closely tied to Season 4 of the Netflix series, both of these books will live in the world of the respective properties but will not be connected to a specific TV or movie storyline. The Turtles book will feature artwork consistent with the classic 1980s TV series.
Both of the Nickelodeon properties are in the news this year. SpongeBob is touting its 25th anniversary with lots of promotions and products and has a feature film in production for release in December 2025. The Turtles, meanwhile, are marking the 35th anniversary of their first feature film, released in 1990, a year after celebrating the 40th anniversary of the comic books that gave the franchise its start. A new streaming series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, debuted on Netflix last year.
Chooseco has plans for more licensed titles, both with PRH and directly with IP owners. “I love this stuff,” Gilligan told PW. “It’s perfect for the brand and it doesn’t detract at all from the classic Choose Your Own Adventure books or the new titles we’re doing.”
Thunder Bay Goes Creepy-Cool with Deddy Bears
Thunder Bay Press has secured publishing rights to Deddy Bears, a line of collectible plush that launched in late 2023. It will release Deddy Bears Coloring in August 2025 and Deddy Bears Stickers in November, both aimed at teens and adults.
The Thunder Bay team learned of Deddy Bears, created by Innov8 Creative Academy in Dublin, at the May 2024 edition of Licensing Expo and felt the property would be a good complement to the other licenses it has for coloring, activity, and craft books. “We were compelled by the creepy cuteness of it,” Peter Norton, VP and publisher at Thunder Bay, an imprint of Readerlink’s Printers Row Publishing Group, told PW. “Creepy cute is so on trend, and the Halloween season is getting longer and longer and merging into Christmas.” He expects Deddy Bears, like the licensed titles Thunder Bay publishes for The Nightmare Before Christmas, to appeal to consumers year-round.
Deddy Bears celebrates love, acceptance, and respect for everyone. The backstory is that the toys are misfits, each with different flaws that caused them to be dumped by the toy factory. A teen girl rescues the rejected and unloved characters and secretly cares for them. The back-from-the-dead plush, with names such as Vambear, Zombat, Specter, and Dr. Beargrave, come in different sizes and are packaged in body bags and coffins. Each comes with a biography and autopsy reportwith information about why it was rejected, its personality, and its strengths and weaknesses.
“When we met with them, the property was brand new, but it hit the ground running,” Norton said. “It got retail placement very early in both specialty and mass retailers.” This year, Deddy Bears was named Collectible Toy of the Year by the Toy Foundation. One of the reasons Thunder Bay began with sticker and coloring titles was to get to market quickly. “We’re trying to keep up with them.”
The property has potential for other Thunder Bay formats as well, from glow-in-the-dark coloring books to its craft books and kits. Norton mentioned the company’s variety of amigurumi-style crochet kits as a good fit for Deddy Bears, for example. Content from the autopsy reports and bios, as well as from brand extensions such as the Deddy Bears game on Roblox, are integrated into the books.
The “dead cute” characters are edgy, but also relatable. “Everyone feels rejected at some point,” Norton said. “But they’re loved anyway.”
Chronicle Grows with Studio Ghibli
Chronicle Books first reached out to Studio Ghibli, the famous Japanese film studio, about a possible licensing deal in 2005. But it wasn’t until 2018 that an agreement was signed, making Chronicle the only North American gift and stationery licensee for the studio. The publisher released the first journals and other stationery and gift products in fall of that year, and the program continues to grow, both in the number of titles and in the different formats introduced each year. The property has become one of Chronicle’s bestselling brands.
“This was many years in the making,” Christina Amini, gift publisher at Chronicle, told PW. “We pride ourselves on our trendsetting and being alert to the most fantastic brands, and we want to find partners that are right for us and stay with them for a long time. Studio Ghibli is also very careful and conscious about the partners it works with.” Chronicle’s other brands in the gift and stationery space include Lego, Pantone, Pendleton, Marimekko, and Disney, some of which it has been working with for more than 10 years.
Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 and has released 24 feature films, including three—Spirited Away (2001), Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), and Princess Mononoke (1997)—that are among Japan’s top-grossing films. The movies have received acclaim internationally as well. “The artwork is stunning, with the most beautiful, hand-drawn animation,” Amini said. “We also love the strong connection Studio Ghibli has with its fans. They just want more and more.”
This year brings the biggest list to date, with 12 titles; all told, more than 40 titles are in print. New formats in 2025 include the first Studio Ghibli wall calendar and the first stationery set, both featuring My Neighbor Totoro (1988).
Products based on the most popular films in North America typically sell best for Chronicle, namely My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989). Some items incorporate all of the films, such as a box of 100 postcards across all releases, and these also tend to do well. Now that the films have broader distribution on the streaming service Max, new fan favorites are emerging, Amini said. Films such as such as Ponyo (2008), Howl’s Moving Castle, Porco Rosso (1992), and The Secret World of Arrietty (2010), for example, are moving beyond the super fans to reach a more diverse audience.
“The magic of the films is that they appeal to a wide age range,” Amini said, noting that adults who saw the movies in the theater and on DVD when they came out are introducing them to their children. “There’s so much detail in the films, so you get more and more out of them each time you watch,” she said. Meanwhile, teens and tweens are getting to know them on their own through streaming and other online venues. Some of the products, such as plush journals, are particularly appealing to younger fans.
Chronicle and Studio Ghibli work together closely to get the design and colors just right, choose the right characters for each product, and make sure the products themselves are distinctive and a good match for the story. “The studio is highly involved,” Amini said. “They’re very intentional about the use of their art and the portrayal of their characters, and our team knows the stories and characters well and can stay true to the films through our conscious use of art and design.”
In Brief
Hidden Pigeon Company is extending its partnership with Grand Central Publishing’s Union Square & Co. imprint for 10 additional years. As part of the agreement, Union Square & Co. will add new book formats and gift products to its existing roster of items tied to Mo Willems’s characters, including 15 to 20 titles per year across coloring and activity books, storybooks, readers, board books, workbooks, novelty formats, and more. Meanwhile, new gift and stationery items including Fill-in-the-Love journals, notebooks, activity pads, paper placemats, and more will be produced by the company’s Knock Knock Kids brand.... Several of Miraculous Corp.’s U.S. publishing licensees are releasing new Miraculous titles, as the property celebrates its 10th anniversary. Insight Editions is publishing a Miraculous: Official Cookbook filled with recipes from the character’s favorite pastry shop, the T&S Boulangerie Patisserie, while Kodansha is releasing Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug & Cat Noir Complete Manga Omnibus, both for global audiences. And Mad Cave’s Papercutz imprint is releasing volume 2 of its Miraculous Chibi graphic novel series, Curiosity Kicked the Cat and Other Tales, along with a summer special, in North America.... Mad Cave Studios and King Features are expanding their Flash Gordon graphic fiction program, which launched in 2024 with the all-ages Flash Gordon Adventures series and Flash Gordon Quarterly, the latter a series of standalone stories exploring new genres. This May, Mad Cave will publish Flash Gordon: The Girl from Infinity, a female-centered reimagining written by Marguerite Bennett and illustrated by Bev Johnson.... Mattel Publishing expanded its audio offerings through a new partnership with Yoto, initially encompassing American Girl, Thomas & Friends, and Hot Wheels titles, as well as adding new offerings with Tonies.
