Papp International Takes ‘Little Prince’ into New Formats, Channels
When Papp International, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024, acquired fellow Canadian publisher Chouette in October 2023, it brought the ancillary publishing program for The Little Prince, formerly overseen by Chouette and its CrackBoom! imprint, into its licensing portfolio and gave it the opportunity to significantly expand the program.
The publisher has just closed a deal with the estate of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry and its U.S.-based licensing agent, Licensing Works!, to become the lead publisher for ancillary publishing in the Americas. (HarperCollins continues to publish the original book.) Papp also holds rights for co-editions in certain territories not covered by other publishing licensees, including Greece and several Eastern European countries.
“Many of us here [at Papp] learned about The Little Prince in school or received a copy for Christmas,” said Shannae Nitti, Papp’s sales and marketing director. “It’s exciting to bring it to a new generation of kids. We have fantastic formats with great traction globally, and we knew we could take it to the next level.”
Chouette’s program, which launched in 2021, included four board books and a sticker activity book, which were sold into the book trade. Papp’s distribution extends the reach to retailers across distribution tiers, from the value channel to high-end boutiques, which is appropriate for this globally beloved property, according to Sidney Piché-Rouillard, licensing and brand manager. “It’s for everybody,” she said.
A new title in the board book series, I Discover Space with The Little Prince, is coming out in March 2025, in English and French editions. Other key formats Papp is adding to the program, to start with, include activity-based formats such as water magic, flip books, and sticker-activity titles that use the character to help develop a love of learning, as well as value-added kits that make great gifts and work well in boutique retail settings where other Little Prince merchandise can be found. All the titles will remain housed within Papp’s CrackBoom! imprint.
The aim is to start with three to four formats per year, supplemented by custom titles requested by retailers. “We want to be a bit conservative so we can continue to build, and so we can put the thought into it to do it justice,” Nitti said.
All told, Papp now has rights to a wide variety of categories, including arts and crafts titles, educational formats like flash cards and educational floor pads, bilingual and language-learning books, readers, novelty formats including bath, sound, and cloth books, and more, according to Jill Collins, head of retail partnerships and promotions for LicensingWorks! “This hugely expands the program,” she said. “It’s a comprehensive ancillary publishing program with so many layers.”
Papp’s list caters primarily to children up to age 12, and it plans to offer something to each age group within that range, marrying the property with all of its popular formats as well as creating new formats for the brand. There is potential for some more adult-skewing formats like sticker-by-number books as well. “In our display at Bologna we had a small section of The Little Prince and people’s eyes just lit up when they saw it,” Nitti said.
The Little Prince brand, which is managed by the author’s family through two organizations, Sodex and Pomase, has 380 active consumer products licensees around the world. The original book remains at the center of all brand extension, whether they be entertainment productions or consumer products. “The ethos, message, characters, and affinity of the brand all extend from the original book, and the ancillary publishing is a lead category in expanding the brand,” Collins said.
Voice of Tiana Authors Book Starring ‘Princess and the Frog’ Character
Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana, the protagonist of the 2009 Disney film The Princess and the Frog, has written a picture book starring the character. Tiana’s Perfect Plan, published by the Disney Hyperion imprint, with illustrations by Olivia Duchess, comes out on October 22.
“It’s a new one to have a beloved actor telling their character’s story,” said Brittany Rubiano, senior editor at Disney Publishing Worldwide. “A lot of random events happened to make this come to life. I’m a big theater nerd and I’ve always loved Anika [who was in the Broadway production of Dreamgirls]. And Tiana is the world I like to play in the most as an editor.”
During the pandemic, Rubiano and her then two-year-old son became fans of an Instagram series Rose launched in which she, in her pajamas, read bedtime stories to young children. “I started thinking, would she be interested in writing her own book?” Rubiano recalled. It turned out Rose had been wanting to write books since she was young. “Not only does she know Tiana inside out and had lots of great ideas, but she had been tinkering for years with her own story, the book of her heart,” Rubiano said. Disney decided to publish both a Tiana story by Rose and her original story as well. The latter is set for a fall 2006 release.
“She’s a storyteller in so many ways and she knows the world of Tiana so well,” said Rubiano. “It was an embarrassment of riches we could work with. We selected a theme that resonated with me, about wanting things just perfect and just right and learning that perfect is not possible or the goal. The way Anika explains it, it’s about giving yourself grace and being OK with making mistakes and giving from your heart.”
The story places Tiana and her husband Naveen in New Orleans in time for Mardi Gras, with Tiana planning the perfect celebration for a visit from Naveen’s parents, the king and queen of Maldonia. The book includes many familiar characters from the film, as well as a few new ones.
During the writing and editing process, the team found out that Disney’s Imagineering division was working on a Tiana attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, at Disneyland, which opens in November. “We got some early glimpses and saw there was a lot of crossover with the themes and setting,” Rubiano said. “We were able to infuse a few Easter eggs from the ride into the book.”
Rose participated in a signing at the recent D23 fan convention for all things Disney. “It was fun to see the fans geeking out and getting their signed copies,” Rubiano said. “We’ve gotten good reviews and and a lot of love from the fans.”
A Deep Dive into Pop Culture Franchises for the School and Library Market
Abdo Publishing, which sells books into the school and library market, has introduced a new series, FANtastic Franchises, that delves into the history and popularity of some of the biggest licensed properties from the worlds of entertainment and toys.
“I pitched this series because I’m a fan of many of these franchises and am always looking for things that kids love and would like to read about,” said Kenny Abdo, managing editor and author of the books. “I’m a huge fan of pop culture and want to share my almost-obsession with younger readers. There is sometimes a stigma toward individuals who are very into one specific thing, and I don’t think that should be the case. They should be celebrated. I want kids to know it’s OK to be interested and dive deep in the things they love.”
The six titles, all available in reinforced library-bound editions, multi-user e-books, and read-to-me ebooks, cover the Harry Potter, Barbie, Hello Kitty, Star Wars, Super Mario Bros., and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchises. The books have a reading level of grade 2 and an interest level of grades 2–8 and are published under the Fly! imprint of the Abdo Zoom division.
All the subjects of the FANtastic Franchises series are currently popular as well as having stood the test of time. “I wanted to highlight the ones that have had a cultural impact and really mean something to the fans,” Abdo said.
Each title is 32 pages and introduces the creators of the franchise and their inspiration, the process it took to launch the brand, the components of the franchise (books, films, cartoons, and so on), and finally how the fans celebrate the franchise and make it what it is. “The title of the series emphasizes the fans for a reason,” said Abdo. “These franchises would not have the impact on pop culture they have without the fans themselves.”
While Abdo Publishing holds licenses with IP owners such as Disney and Marvel to reformat and reprint titles in library-bound editions, these books are not officially licensed. They are based on research and reportage, using stock photos from organizations such as Getty and Shutterstock.
Abdo has also written other series about more niche aspects of popular franchises, including Iconic Cars, about the vehicles in franchises such as Batman, Transformers, and Back to the Future, and Fierce Females of Fiction, which highlights characters including DC Comics’ Harley Quinn, Star Wars’ Princess Leia, and Katniss of The Hunger Games.
Barnes & Noble and Amazon to Debut New Collectibles with a Literary Spin
PMI Kids World, a marketer of toys, stationery, and collectibles under its own brands and licensed properties including Piñata Smashlings, Pudgy Penguins, Stumble Guys, and Sonic Prime, is bringing books to the world of collectibles for the first time with the launch of its new Booksy brand.
Christian Tremblay, a Hollywood content producer, invented Booksy and approached PMI’s CEO Omer Dekel through a mutual friend. “My reaction was, ‘It’s beautiful,’ ” Dekel said, noting that the idea of combining collecting with developing a love of physical books was appealing. “To bring newness and innovation in the toy industry is hard, and this is really new.”
The Booksy brand consists of three-inch collectible figures that open up to reveal a two- by one and a half-inch, 44-page book inside, which contains a complete story in 11-point type about the associated character. A sales sheet included in the packaging features a tear-off mini-bookmark. A mini bookshelf is also available, packaged with an exclusive figure, to encourage collecting of the books. The individual figures retail for $7.99.
There are both proprietary and licensed versions of Booksy. Monster Tales is an original PMI property based on a series of monsters with signature characteristic, like being funny or generous, with a moral at the end of their stories. The licensed versions, starting with Paw Patrol and the Paramount+ original series Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, include adaptations of books in the licensors’ existing libraries.
The two initial licenses are extensions of existing agreements between PMI and the brand holders. “They appreciated the value and the packaging, and they came on board very fast,” said Dekel. The company is also considering new brands, including Peter Rabbit and others, to bring on board specifically for the Booksy brand. “We’re looking at which brands make sense in books, not necessarily in toys,” Dekel said.
The company is dedicating significant resources to Booksy, including to protect the patents and trademarks globally and to hire an established writer and illustrator in Laura Eichhorn and Dan Kerleroux, respectively. “It’s a beautiful brand and we’ve really invested in the stories and the artwork,” Dekel said. “We’ve spared no dime.”
The brand is launching in Barnes & Noble stores and on Amazon this month. “The reception from the industry has been mind-blowing,” said Dekel. Rather than opting for the licensed versions, “Barnes & Noble insisted on launching with Monster Tales, and so did Amazon. Generating brand awareness is harder [than with a licensed version], but we’ll be able to see how customers respond to the product and our content.”
When PMI showed the brand to Walmart, it had intended to launch the licensed versions there later, after the non-licensed product had a chance to build in the book channel. “But they loved it so much they didn’t want to give the opportunity away,” Dekel said. The Paw Patrol and Turtles lines will debut in 3,000 Walmart locations in November, merchandised on standalone displays throughout the store.
Dekel noted that partners are asking whether there will be a QR code to take readers to a YouTube reading of the book. That is the plan down the road, but not now, he said. “It has to be about reading. We’re going to encourage kids to collect and read books.”
In Brief
Trustbridge Entertainment paired with BBC Studios Kids & Family to produce a new 2D-animated series, My Friend Maisy, based on the books by Lucy Cousins, published by Walker Books and Candlewick Books. This will be the first adaptation where Maisy can talk and sing. It is also the first series to be produced since Trustbridge Entertainment was formed to extend intellectual properties from Candlewick, Walker, and their sibling publishing companies into entertainment and licensing.... Dick Bruna’s Miffy has been licensed to Kids Preferred for plush, soft books, and baby developmental toys in a deal brokered by the property’s North American licensing agent, the Joester-Loria Group.... HarperCollins Productions has signed Gameloft to produce a Carmen San Diego video game to debut first on Netflix, followed by Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, Xbox, and Steam, in the first quarter of 2025. The deal brings the character back to the world of gaming where it got its start in 1985 and allows players to assume the role of Sandiego, the world’s greatest thief, for the first time.... Dr. Seuss Enterprises partnered with content studio and digital media network Little Dot Studios to expand the brand’s digital presence, with a focus on making the Dr. Seuss YouTube channel a major “always-on” destination. Already available or in the works are the read-along series Dr. Seuss Storytime, the phonics game Learn to Read with Dr. Seuss Babies, the exploration series The Lorax’s Nature Club and The Cat in the Hat’s Quirky Quiz, and the art series Draw Your Dream Pet.... The holiday-themed book and live theater franchise Pomp, Snow & CIRQUEumstance will be featured in a 30-minute TV adaptation of its theatrical show RoboClaus, releasing initially this Christmas to 400,000 military members and their families through a deal with Armed Forces Network. A collection of apparel, character plush, and other products will debut at the same time. In addition, an immersive experience called A Magical Circus Adventure with Pomp, Snow & CIRQUEumstance, featuring circus-themed activities, circus acts, book readings, music performances, and magic shows, will be part of the Colorful Christmas celebration at the Crayola Experience in Orlando in December.
