Mad for Reality
by Karen Raugust -- Publishers Weekly, 10/18/2004
Recent pairings of Mad Libs and TV reality series have resulted in robust sales for Penguin. A large percentage of these properties' audiences is aged between eight and 18, and the shows offer enough content to create the 40-plus one-page Mad Libs in each book. Then there's the "gross factor." "Kids make them gross anyway," said Debra Dorfman, publisher of Grosset & Dunlap and Price Stern Sloan. "It's the perfect marriage: the combination of Mad Libs, which has been around forever, and the right license." Reality-based Mad Libs include Fear Factor (strong sellers, especially in the school market), Survivor (a copy will appear on an upcoming reunion show), Worst Case Scenario and American Idol. Other Mad Libs licenses include Shrek 2, Guinness Book of World Records, Justice Leagueand Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
