In Brief

Genius Products, licensor of the Baby Genius brand of preschool educational videos and CDs, signed a five-year deal with DK for a cobranded line of infant and toddler titles, starting with four board books in October. Genius also authorized Tormont Publications to produce a series of music books, the first of which features a built-in electronic piano.... Applause is the master gift licensee for Little Red, a Simon & Schuster book series by Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, illustrated by Sam Williams and based on a doll Ferguson created for her children's charity, Change for Children. Some proceeds from licensing, which is handled by agent Bravado International, will be donated to the organization.... In July, HarperCollins released chapter books tied to Warner Bros.' animated series ¡Mucha Lucha!. DC Comics has created limited-edition comic books for the property, a Latin-influenced comedy-adventure about masked wrestling.... Hasbro has licensed Museum Replicas Ltd. to create items described in R.A. Salvatore's Dark Elf Trilogy, published by Hasbro subsidiary Wizards of the Coast.... Scholastic will publish a handbook tied to the Mijos, a line of collectible figurines geared toward Latin American children and created by Gonzales Graphics, in spring 2004. It is also developing other formats, such as a digest series with color illustrations.... Simon & Schuster will publish storybooks and pop-ups and Modern will release coloring and activity titles tied to Hot Wheels, licensed by Mattel. Meanwhile, MBI is introducing a Hot Wheels 35th anniversary book this year, with an exclusive book-and-collectible car package available at Wal-Mart.