Wednesday, March 22, 2023

Simon & Schuster to Rollout 'Transformers: EarthSpark' Publishing Program

Hasbro has announced publishing initiatives based on new iterations of two of its iconic franchises, Transformers and Dungeons & Dragons. The news was released at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair earlier this month.


Nickelodeon's brand new Paramount+ Original CG-animated series Transformers: EarthSpark, which launched in fall 2022, will be the basis of a series of books for young readers from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, a new partner for the Transformers franchise.

“I think EarthSpark is some of the most exciting animation there has been for Transformers,” Michael Kelly, Hasbro’s Vice President of Global Publishing, told Publisher's Weekly.

“It’s a unique story in that it’s the first time where Earth characters have a symbiotic relationship with Transformers characters.” In the show, two children in Pennsylvania find a crystal in a cave and, when they touch it, two new Transformers characters, known as Terrans, come to life with a little bit of human DNA. This marks the first time in the franchise that Transformers characters have been “born” off their home planet of Cybertron.

Transformers have always been sentient, but it can be hard to convey that through giant robot characters, Kelly explained. “Here we can really show a coming-of-age story where we’re introducing the two Terrans and they’re learning about the environment around them,” he said. “The emotions we have, we can see in the Transformers. It’s still an adventure story, but it’s grounded and human. The storytelling is a fantastic way to bring a new audience into the brand, and then once that happens, there’s so much to grow into.”

Simon & Schuster’s EarthSpark books, which will launch in July, include a guidebook, an 8x8 of the origination story, and two ready-to-read titles for ages 6-10. Chapter books will follow.

Before that, Simon & Schuster is releasing a children’s book program for the seventh Transformers feature film, Rise of the Beasts, in early May, consisting of a Level 2 reader and an 8x8. Bendon is releasing coloring and activity and Imagine Ink titles for the film.

Kelly likens the movie to the more family-friendly original 2007 Transformers movie or the younger-skewing Bumblebee (2018), rather than some of the recent sequels. “It’s close to those in tone and feeling,” he explained. “It’s not one of those films that’s just brushing the R rating; there’s still lots of action and the stakes are high, but it’s solidly PG-13.”

Meanwhile, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, the March 31 film from Paramount Pictures based on the gaming franchise, has inspired a series of tie-ins from Random House Children’s Books, which released an 8x8, Level 3 Ready to Read, sticker-activity book, junior novelization, and deluxe junior novelization on March 7. In addition, sibling imprint Random House Worlds released two tie-in prequels for YA-and-older readers, The Druid’s Call by E.K. Johnston and The Road to Never Winter by Jaleigh Johnson, while IDW is offering a prequel comic, The Feast of the Moon.

The Dungeons & Dragons franchise has already taken hold among young readers through HarperCollins’s middle-grade Dungeon Academy series, which debuted with two titles last November. Four additional books are set for 2023, with more planned for 2024. “The success of these has really been phenomenal,” said Kelly. “This is a unique storytelling brand. We know the fans are readers and love storytelling, since that’s what the game is about. And they enjoy discovering new stories in the books. The success of Dragon Academy shows us that.”

The movie provides an opportunity to build on that foundation among young readers. “It looks like an all-ages romp around the world of Dungeons & Dragons,” Kelly said. When it comes to tie-ins, “it’s been quite a while since we’ve had this much excitement around a movie program.”

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Originally published: March 22, 2023.

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