Candy Jar to Publish The Raccoons Novels

Candy Jar Books has acquired the rights to publish three new books based on the classic animated series The Raccoons.

Run With Us Productions, producer of The Raccoons, has signed a number of licensing deals over the years, but this is the first time it will venture into children’s novels. Three easy-to-read books, Cry Wolf!, The One That Got Away and Blast from the Past!, are set to be released this month.

The new books are written by John Peel, author of Eerie Indiana, Are You Afraid of the Dark, The Secret World of Alex Mack, The Lucy Wilson Mysteries and Doctor Who; Iain McLaughlin, former editor of Britain’s longest-running comic, The Beano, and author of books based on The Tomorrow People, Dennis the Menace and Doctor Who; and Chris McGuire, who produced the Hannah Montana spin-off series Hannah-Oke, launched Hacker T Dog and developed and wrote Pet School.

The books each have seven chapters and are created to encourage parents to read along with their children. The books also feature QR codes that will allow the reader to access additional interactive video and music content.

The Raccoons, created by Kevin Gillis, first hit screens in 1985. It focused on the adventures of Bert Raccoon, his best friend Cedric Sneer, Melissa and Ralph, Schaeffer the Dog and the dastardly aardvark Cyril Sneer. Its messages still resonate today, with stories about the greedy millionaire Cyril Sneer and his attempts to destroy the natural balance of Evergreen Forest to make a profit more relevant than ever. The TV series was recently restored and remastered from the original 35mm films to 4K and relaunched on BritBox/ITVX and The Roku Channel.

“We’re delighted to be working with Candy Jar Books in releasing a set of stories featuring The Raccoons and the characters of the Evergreen Forest for the very first time,” Gillis said. “Candy Jar has brought together a great team of well-known authors to write these novels. They have done an incredible job capturing the drama, mystery and comedy of the series for a great co-reading book experience.”

“The U.K. and Ireland were two of the first countries to partner with The Raccoons back when we first launched in the 1980s,” Gillis continued. “We have incredible fans here, and these new books, alongside the BritBox/ITVX and Roku Channel episodes, will help Bert, Cedric, Melissa, Ralph, Schaeffer, Broo and Cyril reach a 21st-century audience.”