Macmillan Children’s Books has announced a five-year deal for new Sylvanian Families publishing in the English language in the U.K., Republic of Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and the U.S., where the brand is known and distributed as Calico Critters. 

Sylvanian Families publishing will launch in the fall, with “The World of Sylvanian Families: The Official Guide” and a Christmas sticker dress up book. The publishing program will continue with picture books, dress up sticker books, an annual and a search-and-find book. The deal covers the toy brand and the new animated series, “Freya’s Happy Diary,” based on Freya the Chocolate Rabbit, one of the key characters in Sylvanian Families. 

“We have had such wonderful collaborative discussions with the Epoch teams in the U.K. and Japan about Macmillan’s vision for bringing the rich Sylvanian Families universe and extensive cast of distinctive, collectible characters to the printed page,” says Nicole Pearson, publishing director, Macmillan. “Sylvanian Families lends itself perfectly to publishing and our creative team are bursting with ideas that will showcase these wonderful collectible animal families.” 

“We are excited about this partnership with Macmillan,” says Misato Mae, branding manager, Sylvanian Families, EPOCH. “In the U.K., Sylvanian Families is already a beloved toy brand, played with by generations of children, just as it is in Japan. We believe Macmillan’s publishing series will support us to grow communication through our toy brand in families from a different perspective. We all are looking forward to delivering the heart-warming world and stories of Sylvanian Families to everyone!” 

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