New York-based The Dodo is continuing its growth in the kids space by partnering with Scholastic to create children’s books based on the prodco’s popular shows.
This is the first time the animal-content producer has tried its hand at book publishing. Scholastic is launching three titles, including Pumpkin’s Story, aimed at middle schoolers. The nonfiction narrative is about a horse named Pumpkin that’s too small to walk or stand, and the sanctuary that takes her in and helps her learn to run. It hit shelves and is available through Scholastic Book Fairs and Scholastic Book Clubs as of September 1.
For younger readers, 50 Odd Couples showcases 50 unlikely animal pairs (like giant horses next to tiny squirrels) to show kids that friends can be made in unexpected places. Also for younger readers is the story Little But Fierce, about smaller animals (a French bulldog, for example) that show their resilience and strength through the fun things they do. Both titles will be released in 2020.
The Dodo flew into kids programming this past March for the first time, opening the Dodo Kids division. In May, videos began rolling out on the Dodo Kids YouTube channel, which now has 7,500 subscribers and more than one million views. Building its kids content slate, the producer also got the greenlight from Netflix in July for its preschool series Izzy Bee’s Koala World about 11-year-old “koala whisperer” Izzy, who lives on Australia’s Magnetic Island and rescues little animals.