– Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm go to the hospital

SYDNEY: Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm, stars of ABC-TV’s The Busy World of Richard Scarry, will be helping children at two Australian hospitals.

The New Children’s Hospital in Sydney and the children’s ward of Melbourne’s Monash Medical Centre each received 10 books and videos of the Scarry story A Big Operation, which they will lend to families using their facilities for the first time.

Southern Star presented the packages to the hospitals in October on behalf of ABC Video and HarperCollins.

The tale describes how Huckle Cat overcomes his fears of having his tonsils out. ‘We trust that Huckle Cat and Lowly Worm help put a reassuring message across to families,’ says Sue Woollard, licensing and merchandising manager for Southern Star.

-The Learning Company hits the trail with General Mills

The Learning Company, Inc. is looking to fuel retail sales of its educational software title Oregon Trail II by grabbing the attention of kids and parents in the cereal aisles. Between January and April, the software publisher and developer is joining forces with General Mills for a free mail-in offer for the release on Honey Nut Cheerios boxes. Shoppers will receive Oregon Trail II, regularly valued at US$49.99, when they purchase any of the two Learning Adventures products or one of the three Basic Skills titles, all under the MECC label and valued at US$29.00. As well as providing relief to parents’ pocketbooks following the holiday season, the promotion is intended to be easy on retailers since General Mills will handle all coupon fulfillment.

-The Puzzle Place chooses winner of promotion

This month, the winner of the ‘Share the Holiday Spirit with The Puzzle Place’ promotion will be putting smiles on a lot of kids’ faces. The winning parent, to be named by a panel of judges on December 10, will receive 100 Puzzle Place videos from Sony Wonder. The video package consists of six different titles, including Deck the Halls and The Puzzle Place Sing-Along Songs. Entrants were asked to explain in 100 words or less how they would use the videos to bring holiday cheer to children, such as donating the videos to a daycare. The contest deadline was November 15. The first entrants who submit a self-addressed envelope will be awarded ‘The Puzzle Place Guide To Getting Along.’