Macmillan Children’s Books Acquires Odo

Macmillan Children’s Books has announced it has acquired the publishing rights for Odo. The warm-hearted and funny animated series was commissioned by Milkshake (Channel 5) in the UK, who premiered the series in August last year, and KiKA in Germany. The series has also been sold in to more than 150 other territories across the world including HBOMax in the USA,Canal+ in France ABC in Australia, SVT in Sweden and NRK in Norway and RTE in Ireland.

The series is a co-production between BAFTA winning Belfast-based Sixteen South and Polish animation studio Letko.

This latest acquisition is a key new property for Macmillan Children’s Books, strengthening its list of preschool licensed brands and follows the deal with Lego for preschool novelty publishing, which launched in August 2021.

Nicole Pearson, Publishing Director, Brands & Media, Macmillan Children’s Books, bought World rights in all languages for six books, with an option to acquire further formats and titles, from Vicky Miller, Licensing Director at Bulldog Licensing. The first tranche of picture books will launch in the UK in March 2023.

Although he is one of the littlest campers at the Forest Camp for Young Birds. Odo knows he can do absolutely anything he sets his mind to. With the help of his best friend Doodle, Odo positively tackles every challenge he faces, no matter how big. Filled with humour and heart the series aims to teach its audience to believe in themselves, sensitively touching upon problem solving, dealing withsetbacks and respect for others and includes important themes such as immigration, and racism.

Nicole Pearson, Publishing Director, Brands & Media, Macmillan Children’s Books, says: “We are delighted to be working with Bulldog and Sixteen South on the delightful Odo – we were captivated by the beauty of the animation, how comedic and warm the stories are and, above all, by Odo’s strong central message of self belief and respect for others. With such an impressive array of international broadcast partners already on board, we believe Odo has real global potential and look forward to seeing this little owl spread its wings far beyond its forest home.”

Vicky Miller, Licensing Director, Bulldog Licensing, says: “Finding the right publisher for Odo was incredibly important for us – a partner who recognised and shared the important values and ethos of the show, and with whom we could build a long-term partnership. We are delighted to be partnering with Macmillan Children’s Books as our global master publisher. The team at Macmillan Children’s Books impressed with their plans, creative ideas and passion for Odo. I can’t wait to see our first titles hit shelves next year.”

Colin Williams, Creative Director Sixteen South says: “We’re thrilled to partner with Macmillan as our publishing partner on this most special series. We’re been overwhelmed by the

response that Odo has had from audiences as it rolls out, country by country across the world, telling stories of acceptance and respect for others. We believe that we earn the right to tell these kind of stories if we can make kids laugh and we’re so delighted to see them now move from the screen onto the bookshelf! The series has a huge emphasis on lush design and if ever there were stories that deserved to be on paper, it’s Odo!”

Belinda Ioni Rasmussen, MD, Macmillan Children’s Books, says: “We continue to invest in key licensed properties where we know that MCB can bring something unique and exciting to a brand, and publishing innovative and exciting formats that will engage children and families. This is exactly one of these properties and we are very pleased to be working in partnership with Sixteen South Studios on developing Odo’s world through our preschool publishing.”