Nintendo and book publisher Random House have partnered to produce a series of activity books for children. Nintendoannounced the partnershipin a post on its website. The books will feature well-known franchises likeSuper MarioandThe Legend of Zelda, and will be published by Random House Books for Young Readers in the U.S., a Random House Children’s Books imprint, and Penguin Random House U.K. overseas.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with Nintendo to bring the whimsy and adventure of these worlds to the imaginations of our young readers,” said Dennis Shealy, the imprint’s editorial director.“These activity books will let both new and established fans experience Nintendo characters in a whole new way.”
Nintendo of America’s senior vice president of strategic initiatives added, “This publishing partnership is an exciting way to bring the colorful worlds of Nintendo to young readers while encouraging creativity. We are always looking for ways to share our fun-loving characters with kids and families in unique ways.”
It’s apparent that this partnership has been in the works for awhile. Earlier this year, Random House published a pair of sticker books, oneMario, oneZelda, aimed at youngsters. The books included oodles of stickers and activities for kids. Both books currently have five star ratings on Amazon.
The first titles that will release following the partnership announcement will beMario Time!andLink’s Book of Adventure. Both books release on July 3 in hardcover for $10. Additionally, theSplatoon Official Sticker Bookwill land in trade paperback format on July 24 for $13. All books in the series include full color pages, a variety of activities such as mazes, puzzles, and trivia, and stickers. Activity books based on the Animal Crossing franchise are also in the pipeline.
The books are aimed at young children from the ages of 4 to 9. While there’s no shortage of activity and coloring books out there, parents of young Nintendo fans are sure to be excited for this series. Nintendo has occasionally licensed children’s books like the 1990 Golden BookSuper Mario Bros.: Trapped in the Perilous Pit, but never activity books. Unsurprisingly, there’s no shortage ofunlicensed knockoffs available for purchase online. We imagine the officially licensed Nintendo activity books will be the way to go, though.
