FAO Schwarz, America’s oldest toy store chain, has inked a deal with producers Abrams/Gentile Entertainment (AGE) and Rose Ganguzza to create a one-hour award show and 13 half-hour episodes of FAO Schwarz Extraordinary Kids (FAOXK), a program that will spotlight the achievements of real kids from around the world, ages eight to 14.

Although FAOXK has yet to be sold to a broadcaster, AGE and Rose Ganguzza will begin production on the award show in July, with completion slated for mid-November. The show will feature a panel of celebrity judges to decide which kids’ achievements are the most outstanding. Six of the winning participants will nab a US$20,000 scholarship. The half-hour shows, which will be ready sometime in the first quarter of 2000, will mix animation with live-action footage to dramatize the accomplishments of each child. The distributor is Kaleidoscope Media Group.