Beano Studios marks 70 years of Dennis with Royal Mail stamp collection

Beano Studios is celebrating the 70th year of the iconic British comic character, Dennis the Menace, with the launch of a new stamp collection in partnership with Royal Mail.

The new series of six stamps will look back at Dennis through the ages, from the character’s first black and white comic strip in 1951, through important events in his life, including meeting his baby sister, Bea, adopting Gnasher, and finding out that his dad is a grown-up version of Dennis from the 1980s.

A further four stamps, exclusively illustrated by the current Dennis artist, Nigel Parkinson, show the culmination of an exclusive comic strip. The strip, written especially for Royal Mail, is featured in the Presentation Pack as it tells a story focused on Dennis’ birthday celebrations and includes a brief ‘history of Menaces.’

Vanessa Andre is, franchise planning and partnerships director, Beano Studios said: “Dennis has stamped his spirit on generations of kids for the last 70 years and continues to spread smiles and laughs between kids, parents and grandparents. Having Royal Mail join our licensing programme to mark this incredible year is very special and we can’t wait for fans to get their hands on this latest piece of Dennis history.”

Charlie Donaldson, joint managing director, Rocket Licensing, added: “We are delighted to be celebrating the birthday of this national treasure in partnership with this quintessentially British institution, Royal Mail. The bespoke artwork is so fun and eye-catching, it’s a very special collection for Beano that we are excited to see shared.”

For more than 50 years, Royal Mail’s Special Stamp programme has commemorated anniversaries and celebrated events relevant to UK heritage and life. Today, there are an estimated 2.5 million stamp collectors and gift givers in the UK and millions worldwide.

Natasha Ayivor, Royal Mail, said: “For seven decades Dennis has been entertaining children by getting into all manner of mischief fand mayhem. Generations have experienced the excitement and anticipation of reading about Dennis’s latest prank. Royal Mail is delighted to be honouring Dennis and Gnasher with a set of stamps as the ultimate birthday present.”

The full set of 10 stamps, available in a Presentation Pack, retails at £13.65. The stamps and range of collectible products are available today (1 July) from www.royalmail.com/dennisandgnasher.

DC Thomson, Redan, and Egmont among kids’ publishers to back Wastebuster’s Recycle to Read scheme

A group of the UK’s biggest names in children’s magazines, including DC Thomson and Redan Publishing has signed up to become founding members of the education, research, and recycling programme, Recycle to Read, a campaign aimed at creating a more circular economy for children’s toys.

This week will see the programme begin sign up for schools for pilot collections in the autumn term, and will be announcing additional partnerships from the book publishing, retail, and toy sectors over the coming weeks.

Recycle to Read is a new toy and tech recycling initiative launched by Wastebuster in association with EPPIC and Products of Change with the aim of providing a solution for recycling all plastic toys with ‘take back’ collections housed across retailers, schools and household recycling centres in the UK.

This week sees the programme welcome a host of founding members from across the children’s magazine publishing space, including DC Thomson, Story House Egmont, Immediate Media, Kennedy Publishing, Redan Publishing, and Signature Publishing.

Katy Newham, founder of Wastebuster, said: “This is a really exciting time for the programme, thanks to the children’s publishers we are able to get phase one off the ground and we have more and more members coming on board as we progress with our talks.

“The entire industry is beginning to understand the value of using toys as a force for good, when educating children and their families in how to live a more sustainable life. Schools who take part in the Recycle to Read programme will benefit from curriculum linked environmental education, based in real life learning and rewarded with books.

“Our collaborative approach and not for profit ethos, means that we can offer an environmental solution for all UK companies who produce toys, not just the ones with the deepest pockets and our investment in education and research, as well as infrastructure and clear packaging iconography, means that our solution has the potential to be far reaching and long-lasting.”

Helena Mansell-Stopher from Products of Change, said: “With only 18 per cent of plastics being recycled globally, and no recycling infrastructure currently in place in the UK to recycle toys, the recycle to read collective impact initiative will provide a solution to this.

“As a cross industry sector initiative, it will be business that will fund the set-up of the toy recycling infrastructure, with all profits going back in to the initiative as Wastebuster are a not-for-profit environmental educator. Products of Change is extremely proud to be working with the Wastebuster team to bring this solution to the industry.”

For more information on the programme please visit www.recycletoread.org or contact Emily Bell on 07715902681 email emily@wastebuster.co.uk.

DC Thomson partners with Discovery Inc to launch Animal Planet educational children’s magazine

DC Thomson has partnered with Discovery Inc to launch a new educational children’s magazine called Animal Planet. The new title will build on Animal Planet’s goal of creating content with global appeal and to keep alive the childhood joy and wonder of animals.

Animal Planet is a brand already known for combining content that explores the bonds forged between animals and humans, and is currently available on screens around the world in more than 205 countries. Through the new Animal Planet magazine, young animal lovers will be able to find information on exotic animals and natural beauty.

Exclusive to Animal Planet magazine, kids can join the #PlanetWarriors club which offers the chance to review books, complete challenges and send in their content to feature in future issues.

Animal Planet also has an exclusive panel of experts who will answer questions from inquisitive readers. Dr Jess French, Michaela Strachan, Ben Fogle and Ellie Harrison will feature every issue, tackling questions submitted by Animal Planet’s #PlanetWarriors. These experts feature alongside Animal Planet’s beloved family, The Irwins, from the channel’s ‘Crikey! It’s The Irwins’.

The launch coincides with children and young people becoming increasingly more engaged in planet earth, its inhabitants and environmental issues. Aimed at seven to 12 year-olds, the monthly magazine will encourage kids to discover a world of big ideas, get involved and be inspired and informed.

DC Thomson Media is one of the UK’s leading media creators, with a number of diverse and successful children’s brands already part of its stable, such as Beano, Animals and You and The Official Jacqueline Wilson magazine.

Maria Welch, head of magazine publishing at DC Thomson Media, said: “We’re delighted to launch Animal Planet in partnership with Discovery. The content is perfect for kids who have a keen interest in the wonders of our planet and Animal Planet promises to be an educational and fun addition to the kids’ magazine market.

“DC Thomson Media has a long and successful history in children’s magazine publishing and the team behind this brand-new launch have brought all of this passion and expertise to Animal Planet.”

Joshua Hearn, licensing and marketing coordinator at Discovery, Inc., added: “In what has been over a year of collaboration, I am truly excited for the launch of our new Animal Planet Magazine. I look forward to developing the inspiring content you will find inside every issue and for our readers to engage with the visually diverse and factual information included.”

Charlotte Payne, international marketing and strategy director at Discovery, Inc., said: “For me, the collaboration with DC Thomson is going to enable us to bring the Animal Planet brand to life beyond the screen, inspiring children of all ages to experience the wonder and joy of the animal kingdom, all while maintaining sustainability through the magazine’s printing and packaging.”