Barbie’s New Job: Star of a YA Fantasy Novel
Mattel Press, Mattel’s in-house publishing imprint founded in 2023, is releasing the first-ever original young adult novel for the Barbie franchise. Barbie: Dreamscape, scheduled for a July 28, 2026, release, is written by Alex Aster, author of the bestselling Lightlark YA fantasy series and a fan of Barbie since childhood.
“Since 1959, Barbie has been about dreaming big and believing you can be anything,” said Ryan Ferguson, global head of publishing at Mattel. “At its core, the brand is about sparking imagination, telling stories to fans of all ages, and encouraging all to dream and play. When Alex shared her idea for a new fantasy book for Barbie, we knew this would be a perfect fit.”
Barbie: Dreamscape is a coming-of-age story about Barbie, a graduate of the enchanted Swancrest Academy in Heartland, whose future plans are disrupted when she discovers that she is the first person in Heartland to be Fateless, in spite of her best efforts. This leads her to make a challenging but empowering journey through magical lands to earn a Fate from the mysterious beings who control the destinies of everyone in her world.
“Mattel Press gives us the creative freedom to develop original, fan-forward narratives with best-in-class authors and to explore bold, contemporary interpretations of our brands,” Ferguson said. “While this is our first announced young adult title from Mattel Press, it’s just the beginning of many more stories to come.”
Aster has a wide social media presence, with more than two million followers across platforms and more than a half billion views of her videos, making her one of the most-followed authors worldwide. The Lightlark series, published by Abrams, has sold more than four million copies in the U.S. since 2022; the fourth title, Crowntide, is set for release in September, and Universal Pictures is developing the series as a feature film.
Bluey Joins DK’s Lego Publishing Program
DK has partnered with BBC Studios, Ludo Studio, and the Lego Group in a new global deal that will bring the hit preschool property Bluey into DK’s long-running Lego publishing program. The first title, Lego Duplo Bluey: Flat Pack, a comic book-style picture book retelling of a fan-favorite Bluey episode, will come out this September.
Bluey is a new entrant into the world of Lego. BBC Studios and Ludo announced a year ago that they were giving the Lego Group rights to add Bluey to its Lego Duplo and Lego 4+ preschool toy ranges. The first sets launched in June 2025, with more planned.
“We work closely with Lego and have a great relationship with the BBC, so when we learned there were Bluey sets coming, we were excited and started talking about bringing the property into publishing,” Tori Kosara, managing editor for DK’s Lego list, told PW. DK recently began working with the BBC, releasing a tie-in to BBC Walking with Dinosaurs in June 2025, and more collaborative titles are in development.
“Bluey is the world’s most-watched preschool show, and it’s such a precious and playful brand,” said Kosara. “It’s the ultimate preschool partner for DK and Lego Duplo. Bluey, Lego, and DK have so many values in common: imagination, creativity, family-centered play, and storytelling.”
Flat Pack is a storybook with prompts to encourage creativity and play. Readers can interact with the book using their own Duplo toys or the exclusive figure included with the book. “There’s lots of inspiration for the caretakers and the children,” Kosara said. Two more titles are planned for 2027, including a second picture book and a novelty title.
Lego’s co-branded playsets, from Lego Star Wars to Lego Minecraft, lend themselves well to publishing and have long been an important part of DK’s Lego program, Kosara said. “We want to reach every reader. Everyone has their own passions and interests, and we hope to create a lifelong love of reading based on those passions and interests.”
Papercutz Introduces Speed Racer to Middle Grade Readers
Mad Cave acquired rights from Tatsunoki Production in November 2024 to produce original Speed Racer stories across its imprints, starting with titles for an older audience under the Mad Cave umbrella. It is now bringing the property, first introduced in the 1960s, into its Papercutz imprint for younger readers by way of a 112-page middle grade graphic novel, Speed Racer Adventures Vol. 1. Set to release on April 28 (via distributor Simon & Schuster), it features an all-new story by Franco. Illustrations are by Derek Charm, with lettering by Dave Lentz.
“It’s meant to appeal to younger readers who might be unfamiliar with Speed Racer, as well as older traditional fans who would enjoy a fun, more nostalgic take or would like to read it to their kids,” Adam Wallenta, senior editor at Papercutz, told PW. While Papercutz titles are universally designed to appeal to all ages, the sweet spot is middle- grade readers. “It’s their own version of Speed Racer. We’re not reinterpreting or adapting anything. The main characters are the same, with the same traits and relationships as in the original, but it’s a new story with new adversaries and villains.”
The fact that the novel is a single, standalone story also makes it a good entry point for young readers. “Unlike a serialized floppy, where the adventures continue monthly and you have to have a grasp on the continuity, this is a single story released in trade paperback and hardcover versions,” Wallenta said. “You can read a great story and then it’s done. You don’t have to know anything about what happened before or find the next volume.”
Wallenta noted that the story is not only fun, but timely. “It gets into A.I. tech,” he said. “There’s a villain with new technology. But Speed Racer is more of a traditionalist and needs to win the day the old-fashioned way.”
The title is the first of a series. “We’re at work on volume two, which will have a new villain that we’re pretty excited about,” Wallenta said.
Bonkers Brings Warrior Cats Collectibles into Toy Stores
Bonkers Toys has introduced a Warrior Cats collectible toy line in the U.S. and Canada, based on the Warriors fantasy books. The book series, about clans of wild cats, launched in 2003 and is produced by Working Partners, a Coolabi Productions company, under the pseudonym Erin Hunter. The novels, as well as a series of graphic novels, are published by HarperCollins, with the former selling more than 80 million books in 38 languages. .
Bonkers is known for its toys tied to digital content creators, including brands such as Ryan’s World, Skibidi Toilet, Lankybox, and Aphmau. It is now venturing in new directions. “We’re looking to other fan-powered cultural phenomena outside of that creator space,” Julie Splendoria, VP of marketing and merchandising at Bonkers, told PW.
It remains unusual for a mass toy company to license a book property without a complementary TV series or film. But Warrior Cats, in addition to its strength in publishing, has a robust digital presence that was attractive to the company. “The fans are hugely engaged on YouTube and are creating UGC [user-generated content] on TikTok and Instagram,” Splendoria said. “The social media and content presence is massive.”
The official Warrior Cats website attracted more than two million users in 2025, while, as of 2024, user-generated content based on the property attracted 500 million views on YouTube and nearly two billion on TikTok. The Warrior Cats: Ultimate Edition game on Roblox has been played more than 697 million times and is one of the highest-ranking branded games on the platform. Splendoria expects fans’ toy-unboxing videos to further expand the brand’s social media presence.
Still, the books remain key to the property’s appeal. “Warrior Cats has a wide audience, from early readers experiencing it for the first time, to kidults in their 20s and 30s who are commenting on social media that this is their favorite book ever and they can’t believe that there are toys now,” Splendoria said. “That’s what makes it so special: that audience that is so passionate about reading the books.”
The program consists of collectible plush, figures, and bag charms with different sizes, materials, and features. “There are hundreds of characters we can bring to life in a collectible way,” Splendoria said. Characters featured in Series 1, including Forester, Graystripe, Brightheart, Scourge, and more, are from early books in the series, while Series 2, coming in fall 2026, will include the popular ShadowClan characters.
“We worked closely with Coolabi on our interpretation of the characters, which is very true to who they are in the books,” Splendoria said, adding that facial expressions, scars, and stances had been faithfully reproduced. “That’s already resonating with fans who appreciate the level of detail we put into it.”
More Warrior Cats books and graphic novels, Roblox updates, and YouTube and TikTok content are on the way, as is traditional entertainment. In January, Coolabi signed a deal with Tencent Video to develop the property for television and films. “There will be a massive stream of content, which will fuel even more fandom around the brand,” Splendoria said.
In Brief
Italian content producer Rainbow, perhaps best known for the Winx Club brand, has acquired the intellectual property rights to Geronimo Stilton, the book and TV series about a journalist mouse, created by Elisabetta Dami, which has sold more than 190 million copies in more than 50 languages since its debut. Scholastic publishes the books in the U.S. Rainbow already represented the property globally for licensing and publishing.... In the U.K., Hachette Children’s Group has acquired the master publishing rights for Banijay Kids & Family’s classic comedy property Mr. Bean. The rights include both actor Rowan Atkinson’s live episodes and Mr. Bean: The Animated Series. The first titles, for ages seven and up, will include a range of comic books based on the animated adventures launching in April and a search-and-find title in September; joke, coloring & activity, and sticker books are also planned.... Hidden Pigeon Company partnered with Playaway Products to bring Mo Willems stories—five Pigeon and five Elephant & Piggie titles to start—to the Wonderbook digital read-along platform. The first titles became available to libraries and schools in the U.S. on January 15…. Separately, Paramount has greenlit two new series based on Mo Willems books, The Elephant & Piggie Show and The Pigeon Show! Starring The Pigeon. The IPs are licensed by the Hidden Pigeon Company, and the series will stream on Paramount+. The Pigeon Show! will feature new characters, including The Pigeon’s 150-million-year-old pterodactyl grandmother, Nana-Dactyl, and two friends, Ima Pigeon and Doug Pigeon.... Random House is publishing the middle grade book Welcome to Merlin Academy: A Descendants Mystery by Melissa de la Cruz, in May. The title is a prequel to the Descendants novels, licensed by Disney and featuring young versions of its villains.... PRH continues to expand the Richard Scarry licensing program. New initiatives in North America include a collaboration with independent artists Inciardi Prints and a new collection of digital invitations with Paperless Post. Through its licensing agencies internationally, it has also signed five new licensees outside North America: Illustrabimbi for fabric in Italy; Konges Sloejd for apparel in Denmark; and Magpie Line for housewares and accessories, Mira Makati for womenswear, and Studio Boketto for stationery, all in the U.K.... Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Moonbug Entertainment are releasing a second set of four episodes of digital content pairing The Grinch and The Cat in the Hat with preschool star Blippi, this month. The birthday-themed content, produced by Little Dot Studios and distributed on the Dr. Seuss and Blippi YouTube channels, follows four holiday episodes that released in December.
