PRESS RELEASE

July 15, 2009

THE JIM HENSON COMPANY TO PARTNER WITH HARPERCOLLINS CHILDREN’S BOOKS TO PUBLISH SID THE SCIENCE KID™ BOOK PROGRAM

New York, NY (July 15, 2009) – HarperCollins Children’s Books and The Jim Henson Company today announced the launch of a publishing program for Sid the Science Kid™ based on the popular Emmy nominated animated TV series that premiered in September 2008 on PBS Kids. With full-color stills from the series, the program will debut December 2009 with three titles targeting pre-schoolers ages 3-6.

The following three titles will launch the Sid the Science Kid publishing program: 

Sid the Science Kid: Why Are My Shoes Shrinking?
($3.99, ISBN 978-0-06-185252-7)
Sid can’t wear his favorite shoes to school any more because they’re too small. In this storybook about growth Sid learns his shoes aren’t shrinking but instead, he’s growing.

Sid the Science Kid: The Trouble with Germs
($3.99, ISBN 978-0-06-185258-9)
When Sid’s dad catches a cold, Sid has to be careful not to get sick too. But why does Sid need to wash his hands all the time? And what are germs, anyway? Sid gets to the bottom of these questions with a little investigation in this I Can Read.

Sid the Science Kid: A Cavity is a Hole in Your Tooth
($5.99, ISBN 978-0-06-185263-3)
Ever wonder what would happen if you didn’t clean your teeth after every meal? Sid the Science Kid certainly has. With the help of his family, friends, and teacher, Sid is ready to find out: why is brushing teeth so important in this Let’s Read and Find Out title.

Since its premiere, Sid the Science Kid has garnered several accolades including two Daytime Emmy Awards nominations, Common Sense Media’s Best 2008 series for Kids Age 4 and is a Parents’ Choice 2009 Recommended Award Winner. Developed to inspire a lifelong curiosity and love for learning in young children, Sid the Science Kid appeals to preschoolers’ instinctive quest to figure out how things work, using humor and music as key teaching tools. Sid, the show’s energetic and inquisitive “star,” starts each episode with a new question and embarks on a fun-filled day of finding answers, inspiring preschoolers at home to think about how to find answers to their own questions. Joining Sid are his friends Gabriela, May and Gerald; his teacher Susie; Grandma; Mom (aka Alice); Zeke, Sid’s baby brother; and Dad (aka Mort).

“We feel our book program will tie in beautifully with the popular TV series and extend the reach of Sid’s science education message,” said Emily Brenner, Vice President and Publishing Director of HarperFestival.

“We are thrilled that HarperCollins Sid the Science Kid’s offering of three distinct types of story books will engage different levels of readers providing an appropriate choice for every preschooler,” said Melissa Segal, Sr. Vice President of Global Consumer Products for The Jim Henson Company.

ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS CHILDREN’S BOOKS
HarperCollins Children’s Books is one of the leading publishers of children’s books. Respected worldwide for its tradition of publishing quality, award-winning books for young readers, HarperCollins is home to many timeless treasures—Charlotte’s Web, The Chronicles of Narnia, Goodnight Moon, Where the Sidewalk Ends and Where the Wild Things Are; and popular new classics—A Series of Unfortunate Events, Warriors, and Fancy Nancy. HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, one of the leading English-language publishers in the world and a subsidiary of News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NCP, NCPDP). Headquartered in New York, HarperCollins has publishing groups in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australasia. You can visit HarperCollins Children’s Books at HYPERLINK “http:// www.harpercollinschildrens.com/” \o “http://www.harpercollinschildrens.com/” www.harpercollinschildrens.com and HarperCollins Publishers at HYPERLINK “http:// www.harpercollins.com/” \o “http://www.harpercollins.com/” www.harpercollins.com.

 

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The Jim Henson Company has remained an established leader in family entertainment for over 50 years and is recognized worldwide as an innovator in puppetry, animatronics and digital animation. Best known as creators of the world famous Muppets, Henson has received over 50 Emmy Awards and nine Grammy Awards. Recent credits include the Emmy® nominated “Sid the Science Kid,” “Dinosaur Train,” “Wilson & Ditch: Digging America” and “Pajanimals.” Features include “The Dark Crystal,” “Labyrinth,” “MirrorMask,” and “Unstable Fables” and television productions include “Fraggle Rock” and the sci-fi cult series “Farscape.”

With additional locations in New York and London, The Jim Henson Company is headquartered in Los Angeles on the historic Charlie Chaplin lot, complete with soundstage and postproduction facilities. Independently owned and operated by the five adult children of founder Jim Henson, the Company is also home to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop™, a pre-eminent character-building and visual effects group with international film, television and advertising clients, as well as Henson Recording Studios, one of the music industry’s top recording facilities known for its world-class blend of state-of-the-art and vintage equipment. The Company’s Henson Alternative brand has recently launched the national tour of “Stuffed and Unstrung,” a live puppet improvisational show named one of the top 10 “Best Stage Shows of 2010” by Entertainment Weekly.

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