Simon & Schuster On Board eOne’s PJ Masks

NEW YORK: Entertainment One (eOne) has named Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing as the master publishing partner for its animated preschool series PJ Masks in North America.

The PJ Masks book collection will hit shelves this fall, bringing to life the adventures of the pajama-clad preschool superheroes Catboy, Gekko and Owlette. The collection from Simon & Schuster will include a mix of story, novelty and board books, as well as Ready-to-Read titles.

The books join an introductory range of toys and playthings from master toy licensee Just Play, which will launch at retail across North America this fall before expanding into international markets in next year. In addition to the upcoming licensed products, a new PJ Masks website, a free app and music videos are all due to roll out this year.

“We’re thrilled to team up with Simon & Schuster on a ‘super’ collection of PJ Masks books that will help young children develop a love of reading as they join in the heroic adventures of the PJ Masks,” said Joan Grasso, the VP of licensing for North America at Entertainment One. “The appointment of Simon & Schuster is part of our ongoing strategy to select best-in-class partners for the brand, and we look forward to working together to develop an even broader range of books for young fans to enjoy this fall and in the years ahead.”

“With the superhero craze reaching even our youngest readers, we were looking for a property with adventure and spirit, but one that was perfectly targeted for preschoolers,” said Valerie Garfield the VP and publisher of novelty and licensed publishing at Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing. “It was PJ Masks to the rescue!”

Produced by eOne and Frog Box in collaboration with French animation studio TeamTO, along with Disney Junior and France 5, PJ Masks is based on French author Romuald Racioppo’s picture-book series Les Pyjamasques. PJ Masks airs on the Disney Junior Block and the Disney Junior channel.