PW: Publishers Weekly

Licensing Hotline: March 2020

A Magical Tale of Becoming a Disney Licensee

Patricia Cardello published her first original book under The Magical Tales brand in 2011. She achieved success with titles such as The Magical Tale of Santa: A Christmas Tradition, her first and bestselling title, and added Easter, Halloween, Chanukah, Fairy, and Birthday titles. All celebrate holiday traditions and family inclusion. Adding additional original books with activities. That led to her catching the eye of Disney Publishing Worldwide. The Magical Tales has now become a Disney licensee—a rare coup for a small company.

In December, it released Disney Olaf’s Frozen Adventure: A Holiday Traditions Activity Kit

, representing the first in a series of Disney-licensed book-plus packages and activity kits centering on holidays and family traditions. “We’ve always pursued Disney,” Cardello says. “We thought it was a perfect combination. Nothing came from our original discussions, but we kept in touch, and when Disney started looking into this niche, they turned to us.

What we do is unique, and the response has been great.” The book-plus products include an original 32-page storybook plus an added item or two tied to the content, such as an ornament, stencils and stickers, or balloons and confetti, designed to spark a family tradition. The activity kits contain nine to 11 items, on average, such as stickers, letters to Santa, puzzles, thank-you cards, and the like, all tied to a particular holiday, celebration, or tradition. In two cases so far, The Magical Tales combined the two formats into a book-plus-activity kit package at the request of retail buyers.

The first Olaf release saw 100% sell-through in the specialty and mass market, according to Cardello. New products include a second Frozen title, Olaf’s Frozen Adventure: Their NEW Holiday Tradition, as well as at least six other books and kits tied to properties and markets, including Mickey and Minnie, Cinderella, The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Winnie the Pooh.

To smooth the product development and approvals process, The Magical Tales hired a Disney-dedicated team of graphic designers, illustrators, writers, and editors. “Disney maintains very strict control, so we hired people who have worked with them for years. They have the Disney training and know what’s acceptable and not acceptable,” Cardello said. “We wanted to work within their system.” The agreement has opened up some new marketing and distribution opportunities. Disney is featuring a forthcoming title, Cinderella: My Gratitude Journal, in a video promoting the property’s 70th anniversary. And the retail presence of the Disney books has expanded beyond The Magical Tale’s standard network of specialty stores, such as Hallmark and Learning Express, into mass channels such as Target, Walmart, and grocery stores. Meanwhile, the company’s core series will continue, with more titles upcoming.