Paw Prints to Debut Tie-Ins to New 'Fraggle Rock' Series
Next month, Baker & Taylor’s Paw Prints children’s imprint is releasing a new series of books tied to the Jim Henson Company’s Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, the Apple TV+ reboot of the 1983 Fraggle Rock TV series. The debut of the books follows the March 29 premiere of the show’s second season.
Fraggle Rock came up during conversations with Henson’s publishing agent about another project and seemed to be a good fit with the three to eight age group that is one of Paw Prints’ main focuses. “It was kismet,” said Bonnie Bensur, Baker & Taylor’s director of Paw Prints Publishing and children’s and teen services. “When we launched Paw Prints a couple of years ago, our M.O. was to publish books that build empathy, engagement, and empowerment in young people. Who Jim Henson was as a creator mirrors what we’re trying to do, and the company has the same goals and values as we do. They’re lovely people to work with.”
Paw Prints was not looking to enter licensed publishing when the Fraggle Rock opportunity came around and is not seeking additional licenses. “This presented itself and it just felt so right,” Bensur said. “It’s super well done. It has a cast of characters with their own individual personalities and is rife with story potential.”
The program will begin with two titles, an 8x8 storybook called Gobo’s Adventure, based on the season 1 pilot, and Flight of the Flutterflies, a level 2 reader under the Paw Prints Readers imprint, based on an episode of the same name. “We wanted to make sure we had quality books available sooner rather than later,” Bensur explained, noting that not only is the launch tied to the series’ second season, but there is a Ron Howard-directed documentary, Jim Henson Idea Man, set for release May 31.
Discussions about the next round of titles are still ongoing, but future plans are likely to include more episode-based leveled readers, novelty books such as sticker and seek-and-find titles, and holiday-themed storybooks, with the next list coming as soon as February 2025. There is also the potential for a phonics line that would feature original stories. “We all know the impact of Covid learning loss, and we’d be remiss if we were not creating content to help young people catch up,” Bensur said, adding, “We’re also leaning into empowerment, so we’ve talked about a book of affirmations that would resonate with grown-ups and kids.”
Hasbro Anniversaries Inspire New Publishing
Peppa Pig is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024, and Hasbro is releasing a wide range of books with content tie-ins and party themes, according to Marianne James, Hasbro’s senior v-p of global licensing. “For 20 years, Peppa Pig has been by the side of preschoolers as they experience many of life’s firsts, from learning how to read to bravely jumping into their first day of school,” she said. “Peppa instills a powerful confidence in children that helps them treat every first step as a new adventure, from the everyday to the epic.”
New titles this year from a range of the property’s publishing licensees include Peppa’s Big Feelings and Peppa and the Christmas Elf from Scholastic, Peppa Pig C&A with Rainbow Pencil and a new Thanksgiving-themed Little Golden Book from Random House Children’s Books, Peppa Pig and the Nature Walk and Peppa Pig and the Apple Stand from Candlewick Press, Peppa’s Clubhouse 20-button sound book from Phoenix International Publications, and a refreshed Peppa Busy Book from Phidal, among many more titles, along with magazines and audio storytelling.
Mass retailers are supporting Peppa and the anniversary throughout the year, James said. Target, for example, included Peppa in its Valentine’s Day display and will highlight Peppa’s Magical Halloween in its 2024 Halloween lineup. Walmart featured Peppa at Easter, with Peppa’s Easter Basket promoted in inline trays and Happy Easter! included in its holiday pallet display. In August, Costco will start carrying Peppa 5-Minute Stories.
Meanwhile, at last week’s Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Hasbro promoted new releases based on its other properties celebrating birthdays in 2024. For Dungeons & Dragons, the role-playing game from Hasbro’s Wizards of the Coast division, which is celebrating its 50th, they include Heroes’ Feast Flavors of the Multiverse: An Official D&D Cookbook, from Ten Speed Press, with 75 D&D-inspired recipes; D&D Museum, an illustrated history of the property from the game’s origins to Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the 2023 film, from Bonnier’s Studio Press pop culture imprint; and the first title of an adult novel series from Jaleigh Johnson, The Fallbacks: Bound for Ruin, from Random House Worlds.
The classic board game Clue, meanwhile, is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2024. “Clue has remained a timeless, textured, and immersive crime-solving experience, while expanding off the board to inspire live entertainment and consumer products, including books,” James said. Helping to kick off the anniversary are two partnerships for consumers in Europe and the Middle East (where the game is known as Cluedo): a series of extended audio detective stories from Lunii, available on the new Flam device, and The Official Cluedo Book of Puzzles, from HarperCollins-owned Farshore’s pop-culture imprint, Expanse.
Hasbro’s Transformers is also celebrating an anniversary, its 40th. Its recent publishing news includes Skybound Entertainment becoming the new comic book licensee for both Transformers and G.I. Joe. A cross-over series featuring both, Robert Kirkman’s Void Rivals, has set sales records, and new comics and graphic novels set in the two properties’ shared Energon Universe are coming. A new graphic novel compendium series that collects Marvel Comics’ Transformers titles from the 1980s and early 1990s debuts in the fall.
PAW Patrol: 10 Years and Counting
PAW Patrol, the preschool toy-and-TV property from Spin Master and Paramount division Nickelodeon, celebrated its 10th anniversary and the release of a new feature film in 2023. It remains a top-selling property for its longtime publishing licensees.
Studio Fun International, an imprint of Readerlink’s Printers Row Publishing Group, is a case in point. It has sold more than one million copies of 37 titles since its first PAW Patrol book was released in 2015. “Children really love dogs, and these characters have personalities that each child can relate to,” said Debra Mostow Zakarin, v-p and publisher of Studio Fun. “Children are innately helpers and superheroes in their own minds, and they like to tinker and solve problems. They can jump into the story and imagine themselves in it.”
The company saw year-on-year sales growth in 2023 of 23%, likely at least partly attributable to the anniversary and film. “It was great growth and we’re trying to build on that this year,” said Zakarin, who describes the sales trajectory over the life of the program as steady, with regular incremental bumps. All told, Studio Fun publishes about four new PAW Patrol titles per year.
Some of Studio Fun’s strongest sellers for the property have revolved around holidays, so it is looking to publish more seasonal titles, as well as expand PAW Patrol’s presence in key formats. Its first PAW Patrol Magnetic Play Set, Playful Pups! was published in 2017 and still sells well. It was followed by a second title, Racing to the Rescue, in 2022, with a third, Best Christmas Ever, coming in fall 2024, marking the first holiday title for this format. Studio Fun is also planning a scratch-and-sniff Christmas title in 2025 after seeing year-over-year growth for a PAW Patrol Valentine’s Day title in that format. The property also is leading the way on new formats, as with Dig Rubble Dig: An Action Tool Book, with a moveable digger arm that makes a ratchet noise when in use. The title is based on the construction-themed PAW Patrol spin-off, Rubble & Crew. The PAW Patrol Movie Theatre Story Book, published in 2018, is has become an evergreen standout.
Random House Children’s Books has been PAW Patrol’s primary trade publisher for a decade, offering leveled readers, 8x8s, coloring and activity, and Little Golden Books. “Even after 10 years, PAW Patrol remains one of our top-selling preschool properties,” reported Chris Angelilli, v-p and editor-in-chief of licensed publishing. What is the reason for the longevity? “It’s definitely the Spin Master series and its brilliant combination of dogs with jobs, paired with awesome transformations and action-packed missions. It appeals to boys and girls equally and includes themes of teamwork and problem-solving that empower kids.”
The company publishes about six new titles a season, plus a holiday title or two, with the count increasing a bit in years when there’s a movie. “Paramount and Spin Master have done an amazing job of keeping the franchise fresh, not only with new movies but also the new themes introduced every year across the series and in the toys,” Angelilli said. “We publish into the themes of the current season, but we also like to tie in to trending preschool themes of the times, such as kindness with our recent Time for Kindness activity book.”
For the anniversary, Random House released a special-edition Little Golden Book boxed set and re-covered some bestselling titles, including its paint box book, All Paws on Deck, and its PAW Patrol 5-Minute Stories collection. Coming up in summer 2024, Random House is launching a line of PAW Patrol hardcover storybooks with stickers that celebrate holidays as well as other milestones like the first day of school and kindergarten graduation. “We see these as a great gift opportunity,” Angelilli said.
“There are so many factors that contribute to the long-term success of PAW Patrol,” said Amy Jarashow, v-p of global publishing at Paramount, which handles licensing for the property. “One of the key components, especially in publishing, is the commitment to ongoing content creation. PAW Patrol is over 10 years old, and Paramount and Spin Master, along with our licensed partners, are always creating new content, innovating formats, and developing new stories and characters on an ongoing basis.”
Other U.S.-based PAW Patrol publishers include Phoenix International Publications, Phidal, and Bendon.
YouTube Series Brings Bluey Books to Life in New Ways
BBC Studios Social, along with BBC Studios Kids & Family and Ludo Studio, launched a new digital-original series in February called Bluey Book Reads. The 10 five-minute episodes, which air on the official Bluey YouTube channel, feature celebrities reading Bluey titles from Penguin Random House’s list of licensed tie-ins to the popular preschool series, which airs in the U.S. on various Disney streaming and cable channels. The books, which are published by Penguin Young Readers in North America, are based on episodes of the TV series.
“We’re always looking for new and fun ways to surprise and delight our Bluey fans who love the TV series and want more,” said Jasmine Dawson, senior v-p for digital consumer engagement at BBC Studios. Noting that Bluey has inspired sales of more than 20 million books worldwide and generated more than 4.3 billion lifetime views on YouTube, she added, “Our Book Reads series felt like a great opportunity to offer fans a new way to experience their favorite Bluey storybooks. But what I think works so well about this series is that it can equally work as an introduction to the Bluey books.”
The readers were selected for their connection to the story and to Bluey, according to Dawson, while the titles were selected by their popularity on Bluey social channels, their fit for the talent doing the reading, and in some cases because they centered on seasonal moments such as Easter that fell within the publishing window.
The first episode features Australian sisters Kylie and Dannii Minogue, who are both singers and actors, reading Mini Bluey, a story revolving around Bluey and her younger sister. The celebrity voiceovers are accompanied by stills of the books’ pages with some simple animation, sound effects, and live action shots. Other episodes feature readers from the worlds of television, music, comedy, and sports, and from a variety of countries. They include Bindi Irwin (reading The Creek), Tom Daley (Barky Boats), Romesh Ranganathan (Easter), Suranne Jones (Grannies), Jenna Fischer (Charades), Eva Mendes (Mum School), Jordan Fisher (Swim School), Camille Cottin (The Beach), and Rob Delaney (Daddy Putdown).
The 10 episodes are being released from February 12 through June 14, 2024, and have attracted more than 25 million views across Bluey digital channels and website as of press time. This is the first standalone content for Bluey produced by BBC Studios Social, which is part of BBC Studios’ Brands and Licensing Division. “Our ambition for this series was that it would be a great companion to reading, building on the genuine connection with the TV series and fan love for Bluey,” Dawson said. “We’re delighted with the results.”
Red Racer Books Teaches 'The ABCs of IndyCar'
Red Racer Books, a start-up publisher and sole proprietorship, has become a licensee of IndyCar Racing, publishing The ABCs of IndyCar Racing: My First Guide to IndyCar Racing on March 1.
Andy Amendola, founder of Red Racer Books, was introduced to Formula 1 racing during the pandemic after watching the documentary series Drive to Survive, which has turned a lot of fans onto the sport. “I fell in love with Formula 1, but I didn’t know much about it,” he said. “I jumped in, learning and researching and obsessing about the sport, and I brought my family along with me on the journey as well.”
Amendola is always looking for children’s books that interest his family, who read together every day, but couldn’t find anything up to date about Formula 1 that he thought would interest the kids. This gave him the germ of the idea for the company. Then, in October 2021, he went to his first in-person F1 event in Austin, Tex. “It was a catalyzing experience,” he said. “It inspired me, and I decided on the plane ride back to write a children’s book about Formula 1.” That first title became the foundation for Red Racer Books. “My ultimate goal is for Red Racer to become the official children’s content creator for all motor sports.”
Amendola decided not to take the licensing route for the first book, which launched on Kickstarter in March 2022, working with a lawyer to make sure he was not trampling on any of Formula 1’s IP rights. But after one of his contacts in the world of racing put him in touch with IndyCar, which focuses on open-wheel racing similar to Formula 1 and features a lot of the same drivers, the discussions led to an official license. “They were very amenable to working with me, even as a small business and self-publisher just starting out,” Amendola said.
The license brought several advantages. “It was a collaborative editorial process that made the book even better,” Amendola said. The licensor helped make sure the content was authentic and facilitated all the separate permissions that were needed from sponsors, equipment suppliers, tracks, and other entities involved in racing, such as Firestone, the Borg-Warner Trophy, the Brickyard, and others.
The official license has also opened doors in terms of promotions and distribution. IndyCar’s trackside merchandise partner, Legends Global Merchandise, is selling the books at its merchandise shops during races, including at the Indianapolis 500. “That will be a huge milestone for me,” Amendola said. The title, which is also available at Legends’ and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s e-commerce sites, launched on Read Across America Day, and the president of IndyCar and a driver read the book in a local Indianapolis classroom. Books are also given out at autograph sessions with drivers and promoted in emails to fans.
The license currently covers just the first book, but discussions are ongoing for translations of the original title into other languages and a second title that will focus on a driver.
Eventually, Amendola would like to explore licenses with all motorsports bodies, from NASCAR to Formula E. “My vision is that my grandchildren will grow up in a world where motorsports are as popular as the other sports,” he said, noting that racing teaches the importance of doing your best as an individual as well as team collaboration; engineering, data analysis, and other STEM education concepts; and strategic thinking. “There are so many pieces to explore, and so many stories there.”
Licensed Publishing Exec Forms New Agency
Michael Kelly, longtime head of global publishing at Hasbro, has launched his own agency, Extensive Enterprises. The new venture will help develop strong intellectual properties through storytelling, world building, and brand strategy, across all media, as well as offering representation in publishing and brand licensing.
“What differentiates Extensive Enterprises from other agencies is a greater focus on the development of the intellectual property,” Kelly said. “When you think about storytelling, both publishing and storytelling in general, there are few more effective ways for brands to drive affinity and engagement for fans. I’m happy to take a property out to market, but you need a storytelling base to do that.”
The agency works with companies that have fleshed-out properties in need refining and assistance in bringing them to market, according to Kelly, as well as organizations that need IP created from whole cloth, based on their mission and the audience they’re trying to reach.
Initial projects include expanding commercial opportunities for Valaverse and its Action Force comic and action figure brand; consulting about licensing opportunities for Punkies Playhouse, which owns dormant 1980s brands such as Hugga Bunch and Snorks; helping DCS International Productions develop opportunities for a new property with themes of diversity; assisting Anime Village in building publishing and entertainment extensions for a new manga/anime property with which noted illustrator Oscar Jimenez is involved; representing the upcoming animated feature film, Pierre and the Pigeon Hawk, for publishing; and working with Hearst unit King Features on its owned properties, including Popeye, Olive Oyl, Prince Valiant, and the Phantom. “My remit is to help take those comic stories, some of which are 100 years old, and re-envision them for a modern audience, while being true to the brand itself,” Kelly said.
In Brief
Neon Wild and Universal Products and Experiences paired to create stories based on Gabby’s Dollhouse, the Dreamworks Animation series that streams on Netflix. Users can personalize the stories, allowing them to interact with the characters.... Licensing Works! is the new licensing representative for The Wingfeather Saga animated TV series, adapted from the YA fantasy books by Andrew Peterson, published by Penguin Random House imprint WaterBrook. The books have sold more than one million copies in the U.S. Licensing plans include toys, games, food, promotions, apparel, stationery, and back-to-school products.... Insight Editions is publishing a cookbook tied to Zag’s Miraculous franchise, set for publication in June 2025.... DC Comics partnered with Bazooka Bubble Gum for an eight-issue crossover comic book series in which DC Comics superheroes visit Bazooka Joe and his Gang in “The Bazookaverse”.... Saturday AM, a diverse digital manga brand represented for licensing by FanGirl Consulting and Brand Management, signed C-Life and Bioworld as its latest apparel licensees.... Sesame Workshop, with support from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, released new materials to help foster children’s love of reading and their connections to the parents and caregivers who read with them. The materials include an interactive digital storybook, as well as videos and printables.... Love Writing Co., a U.K.-based marketer of pencils, books, and writing tools for children, launched a PAW Patrol collection that includes a pre-writing skills workbook and a handwriting book, as well as two kinds of pencils. The company also launched a Paddington collection earlier this year.... McDonald’s in the U.K. paired with Sanrio to launch a happy meal promotion featuring a choice of 10 Mr. Men Little Miss plush toys and four Mr. Men Little Miss Discover You books, the latter published by Farshore.... Guru Studio has secured the rights to develop an animated preschool TV series based on Eric Hill’s Where’s Spot?.... U.K. based Candy Jar Books has secured rights to publish tie-ins to the 1980s and 1990s animated series The Raccoons, starting with three titles.... Dynamite Entertainment is the new comic book licensee for The Terminator film franchise, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, in a deal with StudioCanal S.A.S. The rights include new comics and reprints of previous comics from other publishers.
