A new series of Animal Planet-branded children’s books are set to hit shelves this September.

The agreement between Discovery Communications, Weldon Owen and non-fiction publisher Kingfisher involves 17 titles to be published over a three-year span for distribution in North America and the UK.

The books will be supplied by packager Weldon Owen, which holds the Animal Planet license from Discovery Communications.

The new collection of books includes three larger reference volumes, a series of 48-page books targeting kids ages nine to12 and a series of younger picture books for ages five to eight.

The publishing program in North America is managed on behalf of Animal Planet by licensing agent the Joester Loria Group.  The publishing program across all international markets is managed by Discovery Enterprises International.