Numberblocks publisher Sweet Cherry makes British Book Awards 2021 shortlist

The independent children’s book publisher, Sweet Cherry – the publishing partner for Numberblocks, Alphablocks, and The Rubbish World of Dave Spud, has been named a Regional and Country Winner for the Small Press of the Year in the Midlands.

Having made the cut, the book publisher is now in the running to be crowned Small Press of the Year at the British Book Awards 2021.

Hosted by The Bookseller, the judging panel for the awards praised the Leicester-based publishing house’s efforts in 2020, championing it for doubling its export sales in 2020 and highlighting the firm’s diversity with “half of its management from BAME backgrounds.”

Sweet Cherry hit record-breaking sales in 2020 despite being based in Leicester, one of the longest-suffering UK cities during the pandemic. Staff have been working home since March 2020 and the company has been able to publish its new children’s books as planned. 

Lara Clift, publisher and sales director at Sweet Cherry, said: “We are over the moon to have won the regional finalist award in the Midlands. The team has worked so hard during the pandemic and we could not be any happier.” 

The full shortlist for the awards will be announced on Friday 19th March 2021. 

Learning Resources partners with Numberblocks for new MathLink Cubes range

Learning Resources has partnered with the BAFTA award-winning animated children’s TV series Numberblocks to launch a new Activity Set based on the firm’s top-selling MathLink Cubes brand. The new MathLink Cubes Numberblocks Activity Set will be available through major retailers later this year.

MathLink Cubes is a linkable construction toy developed for hands-on maths learning through play. The new licensed Numberblocks Activity Set will allow children to play along with episodes and engage in further learning opportunities.

“Many parents and teachers use our MathLink cubes to make Numberblocks activities for their children,” said Learning Resources’ MD, Dennis Blackmore. “This partnership means that we can bring together the imaginative power of Numberblocks with MathLink Cubes’ tried and tested quality to create exciting new products.

“Our new Activity Set is designed for use in the home or classroom, and with the power of the Numberblocks brand behind it, will be a popular product in all retail environments.”

Series creator Joe Elliot added: “It’s an absolute delight to be partnering with Learning Resources. MathLink Cubes have been an integral part of Numberblocks right from the beginning – we’ve used them to discover what every Numberblock character can do, plan stories and design intricate animation sequences.

“We have a large and dedicated following of young number fans, and the number one thing they ask for is real Numberblocks blocks so they can get hands-on and play with Numberblocks themselves. It’s been a whole new level of fun to work with the like-minded creative team at Learning Resources and we can’t wait to bring Numberblocks full circle and into the hands of our fans.”