In the deal, Scholastic now holds all storybook and novelty rights for the series’ children’s book program. The publisher is planning a number of formats, including paperbacks, board books, novelty and readers—all targeted to kids ages 2 to 6. A January 2011 launch will include five titles (paperback, reader, sticker storybook, oversized board book with flaps and die-cut shaped board book), followed by another paperback and reader in April 2011.

“Teaming with Scholastic, who not only has a broad reach at retail, but also direct access to kids, teachers and parents through their unique distribution channels into schools, continues our tradition of working with the best partners around the world,” says Maureen Taxter, senior vice president of U.S. consumer products at Ludorum. “We have no doubt that, through their books, Scholastic will capture the beautiful graphics and great storytelling that makes Chuggington so special.”

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The latest licensees include:

• TV Mania, Collective Brands, Mlab Concepts and Aykroyds for apparel
• Simon & Schuster U.K., Egmont U.K. and Egmont VGS, Random House and Alligator Publishing for publishing
• Herding Heimtextil for bedding
• Trends International, Alpha U.K., Paperline Designs, Union-Transit Company for stationery
• Procos for party paperware
• Pyramid International for posters and badges
• Sandylion for accessories
• Rubies for dress-up
• Toyster for puzzles
• Vast Sky for backpacks

The film has already signed Spin Master as the master global toy partner for action figures, vehicles and role-play items; Paramount as global DVD partners; and THQ as global interactive games partner.

The Last Airbender hits theaters on July 2.

In MTV Networks International news, the following programming sales were made: “MTV Unplugged,” featuring Katy Perry, to Switzerland’s SF; Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart Global Edition” to Iceland’s 375 Media; “The Hills” and “My Super Sweet 16” to Ireland’s TG4; “American Mall” and “Rocko’s Modern Life” to Denmark’s DR Ramasjang; “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and “TDS Global Edition,” both one-year extensions, to French-speaking Africa’s Canal Plus Horizons; “The Troop,” “Double Dare,” “El Tigre,” “SpongeBob SquarePants” and “Avatar: The Last Airbender” to Georgia’s Teleimedi; “Mind of Mencia” (seasons 1 to 4), “Trigger Happy TV” (season 3) and “Dave Attell” to Sky Mexico; “Jackass” to Panama’s TVN; and “Rugrats,” a renewal, to Ecuador’s Ecuavisa.

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In addition, the partnership gives Simon & Schuster worldwide rights to a non-fiction title by Duff about the challenges children face when parents divorce. The book will be available in spring 2012.

“Hilary Duff is a multi-talented international sensation and we are positive her leap into young adult books will be an incredible success,” says Justin Chanda, vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. “‘Elixir’ is a smart, unique page-turner, and we are thrilled to be able to give Hilary’s fans the opportunity to connect with her in an entirely new way.”
The deal was brokered by Rob Weisbach Creative Management on behalf of Duff.

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According to the Wall Street Journal, Random House seeking potential buyers for two original works—a fantasy adventure and a horror thriller. In addition, the publisher has signed Stardock Corp. to develop a strategy game, called Elemental: War of Magic. The newspaper reports that Keith Clayton, Random House’s director of creative development, will lead the video game-focused team of 15 employees.

Random House is a unit of Germany’s Bertelsmann AG.

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Customers who purchase a Burger King kids’ meal will receive one of four Pinkalicious premiums, which include a figure with comb, star bright wand, tiara and hair play barrettes. In addition, the Burger Kind in-restaurant newsletter will feature Pinkalicious and a limited-edition poster. Property-inspired games and activities are also found at www.clubbk.com.

“Pinkalicious” is written by Victoria and Elizabeth Kann. The New York Times’ bestseller is about a young girl who can’t stop eating pink cupcakes despite warnings from her parents. The property’s licensing program currently spans dolls, toys, apparel, dress-up, games and puzzles.

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The two new series, “A-Team: Shotgun Wedding” and “A-Team: War Stories,” will provide the back-story for the characters, as well as the team’s first missions of the upcoming film, which will hit theaters on June 11. The comics are co-written by Chuck Dixon (“G.I. Joe”) and Erik Burnham (“Namovor: Game Day”). Illustrators include Hugo Petrus, Casey Maloney, Alberto Muriel, Guiu Vilanova and Michael Gaydos. “War Stories’” titles based on characters Hannibal and B.A. will be available in March, followed by Face and Murdock in April. Meanwhile, “Shotgun Wedding No. 1” will hit stores on March 10, followed by “No. 2” on March 24. In addition, each series will be gathered into individual graphic novels for retail in May.

“This comic project is the ideal collaboration between the studio, the production, the filmmakers and the publisher maximizing everyone’s talents for the best product,” says Virginia King, vice president of U.S. sales for Fox Licensing & Merchandising. “IDW has demonstrated their ability to bring on some of the best writers and artists in the comic book industry and work closely and effectively with all the constituents. The A-Team has a huge following and these comics, much like the upcoming film, contemporize this enormously popular action-adventure franchise and deliver fresh, compelling stories and art to the fans.”

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“Goodnight Moon” merchandise will be focused on apparel and accessories, domestics, room décor, gifts and infant and preschool toys.
“The Goodnight Moon brand is truly unique,” says Joshua Kislevitz, senior vice president of domestic licensing at United Media. “Goodnight Moon is an iconic brand cherished by children and their mothers. That the brand has never been licensed before offers retailers and licensees an incredible opportunity.”

“Goodnight Moon,” written by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd, has sold more than 20 million books and has been translated into 12 languages. United Media is also handling the licensing program for HarperCollins’ “Fancy Nancy.”

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The toy line from Jakks Pacific includes dolls, toys and activity items. Walmart will initially carry a small doll assortment, which includes three soft dolls, styled to portray particular moments in the books. The range will retail from $7.99 to $19.99. CDI, a part of the Jakks’ group, will also create role-play items, including dresses, a tiara, ballet slippers, purse with gloves and a cake decorating set. Disguise, another Jakks’ division, will design Pinkalicious Halloween costumes.

Other licensees include:

• Fundex for card and board games and co-branded Uno and Scrabble Jr. games
• Ceaco for 24- to 100-piece puzzles
• Madame Alexander for collectible dolls

The Joester Loria Group represents Pinkalicious’ consumer products program. The book series is written by Victoria Kann.

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“Super Seven” is slated to premiere this fall in the digital, print, broadcast and retail markets. Lee’s property follows seven aliens who are stranded on Earth after their spaceship crashes.

“A2 Entertainment is humbled and honored to be collaborating with such a legendary figure in the entertainment industry,” says Andy Heyward, A2 Entertainment’s co-founder and chief executive officer. “Stan Lee has been delivering groundbreaking entertainment to consumers for decades and we couldn’t be more excited to venture into the digital space together and introduce him to a new generation of fans.”

In addition, Disney entered into a first-look deal with Pow! Entertainment with a number of projects in the works. Disney has also been working closely with Lee.

Lee is also the co-creator of The Incredible Hulk, X-Men and Iron Man.

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Most recently, Ursin was vice president of brand licensing for Warner Music Group’s brand asset group. He also previously served as director of licensing for Marvel Entertainment.

Scholastic Media’s brands include Clifford the Big Red Dog, WordGirl, I Spy, The Magic School Bus, Goosebumps, The 39 Clues, Little Scholastic & Scholastic, Turbo Dogs, Toots, Kim Parker Kids and Dragon.

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From now and throughout February, FAO Schwarz’s Fifth Avenue store in New York City and www.fao.com are featuring Clifford the Big Red Dog merchandise. Scholastic plans to donate 10 percent of the net proceeds from the sale of any Be Big Clifford plush to the Be Big Fund at the HandsOn Network. In addition, the NYC flagship store’s windows will be decorated with Clifford Be Big-themed displays and on Feb. 11 the retailer will host a Be Big party, where guests will enjoy a special reading of Norman Bridwell’s “Clifford the Big Red Dog” by Sherri Shepherd, co-host of “The View.” The celebration will also include costume appearances and a make-your-own Valentine activity for kids.

“We are delighted to be once again working with FAO Schwarz to celebrate what it means to Be Big this Valentine’s Day with Clifford the Big Red Dog,” says Leslye Schaefer, senior vice president of marketing and consumer products for Scholastic Media. “For more than 45 years, Clifford’s big sense of love and kindness has resonated with parents and children and we look forward to sharing that message with FAO Schwarz customers.”

The second annual Be Big in Your Community Contest kicked off last month on Martin Luther King Jr. day. Kids, along with teachers, parents and community leaders, are encouraged to submit a big idea demonstrating Clifford’s big ideas—share, play fair, have respect, work together, be responsible, be a good friend, help others, be truthful, be kind and believe in yourself. Children will have the opportunity to win $75,000 in community grants to be used toward implementing their big idea. This year’s contest has been expanded to include an extended entry window and the total grant of monies from $50,000 to $75,000.

HandsOn Network is working with Scholastic to organize in-school events throughout the month of February. American Family Insurance is the campaign’s first sponsor. More information about the campaign can be found at www.scholastic.com/cliffordbebig.

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The business will tout trips to Vietnam, California, Tuscany and others with itineraries based on the journal’s travel content. Travelers will be able to book trips at www.wsjtravel.com. Advance Travel Center, based in Iselin, N.J., will handle operations.
WSJTravel is the newspaper’s third branded business, which includes WSJWine, a mail order wine club, and WSJStore, a merchandise shop.

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The latest products include cartoon cocktail napkins and coasters from Paperproducts Design, cartoon books and calendars from Andrews McMeel (master publishing licensee), greetings cards from Ink Media and jigsaw puzzles from The New York Puzzle Company. All lines will be introduced this week at New York International Gift Fair.

Spring New Yorker-themed products are also on the way, including ceramic mugs and appetizer plates from Konitz/Waechtersbach USA and wine gift bags and gift boxes from True Fabrications.

For licensing inquiries, contact Raegan Randolph at 212-630-2682 or raegan_randolph@condenast.com.

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The latest partners to join the Despicable Me program include D3Publisher for a video game, Little Brown Books for Young Readers for publishing, Namco Networks for an iPhone and iPod touch game app, Hallmark for stationery and social expressions, Hybrid for apparel, Aquarius Entertainment for posters and calendars, Ceaco for puzzles, Rubie’s Costume Company for Halloween costumes, DecoPac for bakery goods and Toy Factory for amusement plush.

Despicable Me from Universal Pictures and Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment will hit theaters on July 9 and stars voice talent from Steve Carell, Jason Segel, Kristen Wiig and more.

“Chris Meledandri has a proven track record of creating family-focused animated comedies that are global hits,” says Stephanie Sperber, executive vice president of Universal Partnerships & Licensing. “And our licensing program will support this great project with a full line-up of innovative and fun products that play off the film’s many memorable characters. We’re excited to work with the great roster of partners who have already signed on and look forward to creating more alliances in the months leading up to the film’s release.”

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The tee collection for infants, toddlers and kids will retail from $10.50 to $12.50.

“With this new collection of T-shirts at Old Navy, parents can now share the brand they already know and love with their kids in a fun, inspiring way,” says Glen Ellen Brown, vice president of Hearst Brand Development. “Popular Mechanics has always been about understanding the modern world and envisioning the future. Our partnership with Old Navy perfectly captures that spirit and allows us to introduce it to a new generation of future inventors, engineers and enthusiasts.”

In addition to the T-shirt launch, Popular Mechanics and Old Navy are also encouraging kids up to age 12 to create an original design for the magazine’s cover, based on the theme “Kids Can Do Great Things.” Beginning on Feb. 5, entry forms will be available at Old Navy stores. The winner will receive a $500 Old Navy shopping spree and have his or her design featured in a future issue of Popular Mechanics. The magazine will also donate $500 to FIRST Robotics, a non-profit science education organization.

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“We paid particular attention to serving our trusted readers’ wants and needs throughout our product development process,” says Glen Ellen Brown, vice president of Hearst Brand Development. “Downlite was a natural partner for us given their expertise, innovation and commitment to quality.”

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Rosman Publishing has picked up Russian book rights for PopPixie and hopes that it will achieve the same success as the “Winx Club” books—Egmont Russia published 20 Winx Club titles in 2008, 25 in 2009 and will launch 35 in 2010.

All four Winx Club TV series have been sold to CTC, Russia’s largest broadcaster. Seasons 1, 2 and 3 started broadcasting in 2008 achieving an average rating of 17.3 percent and the fourth season will launch this year.

Further south, Compupress licensed the Greek magazine rights for Rainbow’s latest noir teen property Maya Fox: Tag your Life. Maya Fox started life as a full-length novel, printed in Italy by Mondadori and now sells approximately 70,000 to 80,000 magazine copies a month in Italy alone. Compupress has published the very successful Winx Club magazine in Greece since 2008 and will launch 12 monthly issues of Maya Fox, beginning in September.

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The initial line in the three-year licensing deal will include cellular cases, chargers, universal chargers and Bluetooth headsets, featuring the Car and Driver logo and name. Other planned accessories include branded flashlights, jump-starters and tire gauges. The products will be available this spring at major retailers and online in the U.S. and Canada.