The Royal Horticultural Society has detailed the first titles in a new range of illustrated activity books for children in partnership with its publishing licensee Scholastic, the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books.
Aimed at children aged six to ten, the first titles in the series are scheduled to launch in February 2021. My Dinosaur Garden and My Unicorn Garden will look to inspire children to explore gardens and the outdoors with crafts, activities, gardening tips and nature facts.
The initial launch will be followed in March with the Outdoor Adventure Handbook, an activity book that will look at discovering plants, wildlife and getting closer to nature with activities for all weathers.
In May, to complement the new range, My Unicorn Garden Cards and Notelets will be launched. This is a creative make-and-do set with stickers that children can use to create unique messages to share with friends and family. Further books will follow in autumn 2021 and beyond.
The books will be available from bookshops, RHS shops, garden centres, through major online retailers and at shop.rhs.org.uk. Their publication will be marked with a collaborative marketing campaign to reach the extensive family and school audiences of both Scholastic and the RHS.
These are the first RHS-licensed publications from Scholastic following the announcement of a major RHS partnership with the respected children’s book publisher in August 2019. The partnership encompasses a wide range of children’s publications, including sticker and activity books, handbooks, illustrated non-fiction, board and colouring books, annuals, e-books and journals.
All the publications will make use of the range of expertise available to the UK’s favourite gardening charity as well as drawing on its work with families, schools and children.
This announcement also coincides with the continuing development of the RHS range of children’s products supported by a special style guide, both of which were announced at BLE 2019. The charity is addressing this growing young audience through a strong focus on children’s products in the coming months. This is especially relevant given the growth in family visits to gardens and parks – along with the much greater time devoted to gardening – during this year’s travel restrictions.
Cathy Snow, licensing manager, RHS, said: “One of our most important missions as Britain’s leading gardening charity is to encourage children to develop an interest in gardens and gardening. This is underlined by our development of a licensing programme for children’s products – and who better to help us communicate our message than one of the most admired names in children’s publishing?
“These activity books, which both inform and entertain, are a marvellous introduction to the wonders of wildlife and the joys of gardening.”
Elizabeth Scoggins, publisher, non-fiction, licensing and brands for Scholastic UK, added: “It is a privilege to be working with the RHS, the UK’s most-loved gardening charity. 2020 has made everyone really appreciate opportunities to be outdoors and to explore nature on our doorsteps.
“We look forward to publishing books that inspire children and families to discover the wonders of plants, wildlife and the outdoors using the expertise and passion of the RHS.”
