Mission City Press Taps DIC as Licensing Agent for Children’s Bible

FRANKLIN/BURBANK, November
12: Mission City Press has named DIC Entertainment as the worldwide licensing
agent for all of the merchandise and interactive content based on its
best-selling children’s bible The Beginner's Bible, excluding publishing.

DIC will develop a
broad-based consumer products program for The Beginner’s Bible, which will include the rollout of toys, apparel,
accessories and an online web community for the brand. The program will
primarily focus on children aged 2- to 5-years old, with a secondary market of
parents and grandparents. The program will be supported by a comprehensive
national marketing and promotional campaign. The Beginner’s Bible helps parents and children discover the life and
fun of Bible stories in an engaging, entertaining and educational way. Mission
City Press is the owner of The Beginner’s Bible brand.

Zondervan will remain the
master publishing partner for all print products. Zondervan has an extensive
publishing program in place for The Beginner's Bible and will continue to support the brand with new
print product releases every year. To date, more than 15 million units of all The
Beginner’s Bible book formats have
been sold. The Beginner's Bible
is available in more than 20 languages worldwide. It was recently awarded the
2006 Retailers Choice award by the Christian Booksellers Association in the
U.S., and has also won the 2006 Children’s Nonfiction Book of the Year Award in
the U.K.

“The Beginner’s Bible is a trusted, value-rich children’s publication,
and DIC looks forward to creating a merchandise line that will take these
timeless stories and bring them into a child’s everyday life in a fun and
engaging manner,” commented Andy Heyward, the chairman and CEO of DIC. “Our
goal is to inspire kids around the world to develop a life of faith through a
broad reaching program.”

—By Irene Lew