Dinosaur Roar rights to MCB

Macmillan Children’s Books has acquired the global publishing rights to Dinosaur Roar! from entertainment company Nurture Rights.

The Dinosaur Roar! picture book by Paul and Henrietta Stickland was first published by Ragged Bears in 1994, with total sales for the book reaching over 5m worldwide, according to Macmillan.

Nurture Rights was set up in 2013 by Nick Barrington and Peter Curtis, who have since signed deals with several companies to promote the Dinosaur Roar! brand, including the Natural History Museum, whose logo will be printed on the new MCB books.

MCB will publish a range of titles, including a new edition of the original paperback in May (£6.99), a board book in June (£5.99) and a sound book board later in the year (£9.99). Novelty and activity titles will follow in 2017.

Stephanie Barton, publisher of the 0-6 division at MCB, said: “I have always loved Dinosaur Roar! It is an evergreen pre-school title, full of child appeal and great fun to read out loud. To have the chance to publish not only the classic book but to develop a range of new titles inspired by the original, and also to work with the Natural History Museum, is hugely exciting for us.”

Nurture Rights is also working with the palaeontology team at the Natural History Museum to create dinosaur content for the under sixes, including a touring dinosaur exhibition, and an IMAX experience, and has signed licensing deals with Egmont Magazines, Paul Lamond Games, Immediate Media, Trade Mark Collections and VMC Accessories.

Nurture Rights previously had a publishing deal with Random House Children’s Publishers, which is now part of Penguin Random House Children’s.