Canada’s 9 Story Media Group has announced a co-development agreement with USA’s Trustbridge Entertainment on two children’s books.
The two companies plan to create new animated programs based on the book series Judy Moody written by Megan McDonald illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, and the picture book Dasher: How a Brave Little Doe Changed Christmas Forever written and illustrated by Matt Tavares. The two books have been published by Candlewick Press.
Under the terms of the deal, the two companies will co-produce the properties with animation by 9 Story’s studio Brown Bag Films. 9 Story’s distribution division holds worldwide distribution rights (excluding China), and Trustbridge Entertainment maintains global merchandising and licensing rights.
9 Story Media Group chief strategy officer Natalie Osborne. “Partnering with Trustbridge furthers our strategy of joining forces with best-in-class partners to bring cherished characters and stories to global audiences.”
“Judy Moody and Dasher are two preeminent titles, and we wanted a preeminent partner to help us bring these stories and characters to animated life. And we found that in 9 Story,” said Trustbridge Entertainment president Bob Higgins. “From storytelling to visual execution, they’ve proven to be exceptional, and we are lucky to be in such talented hands.”
The Judy Moody book series was first published in 2000 and quickly became an international best-seller. The franchise includes the original Judy Moody series and three spin-off book series: Stink, Judy Moody and Stink, and Judy Moody and Friends, along with a feature film released in 2011. To date, there are more than 43 million Judy Moody books in print worldwide, translated into 26 languages.
Hitting the New York Times Best Seller list from 2019-2022, Dasher is a holiday picture book about how it came to be that reindeer pull Santa’s sleigh on Christmas Eve. A sequel, Dasher Can’t Wait for Christmas, was released in fall 2023.
