Poetic Brands, Rocket Licensing, and Tesco have partnered this World Book Day to deliver a special collection of children’s apparel inspired by the best-selling children’s biography series, Little People, BIG DREAMS.
The initial range, launched as an accessible and affordable clothing collection for children this World Book Day (Thursday, March 7), features a series of artworks of the inspirational icons represented in each of the books.
Among those celebrated through the collection and the book series are Jane Austen; the human rights campaigner Mahatma Ghandi; the Mexican painter and feminist icon, Frida Kahlo; and the international footballing legend, Pele. The artwork has been created using the book series’ illustration by Katie Wilson, Albert Arrayas, Gee Fan Eng, and Camila Rosa.
The power of World Book Day
Launched by UNESCO in 1995, World Book Day is celebrated by more than 100 countries across the globe with the simple aim to encourage young people to discover the pleasure of reading. World Book Day itself is often celebrated by children dressing up as their favourite book characters.
The Little People, DREAM BIG book series is published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and is available in 43 countries and in more than 30 languages. To date, more than 12 million copies have been sold and 20 new titles are published each year. Created by author and creative director, Maria Isabel Sanchez Vegara, the Little People, BIG DREAMS brand produces books and toys for children aged three to eight and aims to inspire with real-life stories of artists, scientists, musicians, and other well-known figures from throughout history.
“From an early age, we knew that the creativity, fun, and learning that have made Little People, BIG DREAMS so popular around the world would have a strong appeal in carefully chosen high-quality licensing partners – and so it has proved” said Peter Marley, publisher at Frances Lincoln Children’s Books.
“Poetic Brands has done a wonderful job of bringing colour and celebration of the books to a delightful range of apparel that will be a marvellous addition at Tesco outlets throughout the country on World Book Day.”
Little People, BIG DREAMS, major plans
More Little People, BIG DREAMS licensed products are already in development, with extensions of the apparel line into sweatshirts and nightwear, and announcements of new partners across other categories in the pipeline. Rocket Licensing has also shared its plans to build Little People, BIG DREAMS’ licensing presence across a number of international markets where the books have already enjoyed a strong presence, including in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.
Rob Wijeratna, joint managing director of Rocket Licensing, said: “The high-quality writing, illustration, and production values that underpin Little People, BIG DREAMS have made this a brand ideal for consumer product development.
“The positive retail reaction to the wonderful Poetic Brands apparel range in the run-up to World Book Day is entirely appropriate for this great property and, with more potential partners on the way, we’re looking forward to bringing many more categories to many more markets.”
