PBS and Brighter Minds Children's Publishing have teamed for a series of educational, interactive books the will appear under the PBS Kids brand. The first four hardcover titles, set for release this summer, teach concepts such as animals, counting, ABCs, colors and shapes to kids aged four and under. Written by Sherry Gerstein and illustrated by Andy Bennett, each book has a value-added component, such as lift-the-flaps, fold-outs or tactile features, but no electronic add-ons.
The license grew out of an ongoing relationship between PBS and Brighter Minds' parent company, software marketer Brighter Child Interactive, which has held licenses with many producers of shows that appear on PBS. The company launched its publishing division in November 2004, and PBS Kids was its first license acquisition; it has since signed deals for Marvel, My Little Pony and Care Bears.
The Brighter Minds line also marks PBS Kids' initial foray into publishing and represents one of the brand's first consumer product licenses. PBS is in negotiations with other licensees and plans to expand its publishing effort into additional formats as well. Products will feature the same characters that appear in the books, which include Jango the giraffe, Spike the pink elephant and Oppenheimer the dog.
All titles, which retail for $6.95 each, include a caregiver's guide and learning summary, and refer adults to the two-year-old PBS Parents Web site for additional resources. "One of the goals of PBS was to have high quality, but to keep the books in a price range where they're accessible to all kids," said Vivian Antonangeli, Brighter Minds' COO. Four more titles will be released in the fall, followed by additional books later, including some for older children. PBS will promote the books in its direct-to-consumer channels, such as ShopPBS.org; in outreach to its 200 local member stations; and on PBSparents.org in the Bookfinder area, which offers age-appropriate reading suggestions.
