Mike the Knight - Immediate Media's latest kids title

Immediate Media is to launch Mike the Knight magazine on 29th August 2012, an educational children's title aimed at children aged 3-5 years, based on the hugely popular CBeebies TV programme of the same name.

This new title - joining a stable of young children's titles from the company - transports children into Mike the Knight's wonderful and imaginative medieval world. Sticker pages, competitions, medieval historical facts and unique covermounts encourage role-play so young readers can 'Be a knight and do it right'!

Immediate say the monthly magazine will give Mike fans the opportunity to meet and interact with Mike and his trainee wizard sister, Evie, on their adventures. With a new mission to solve each month, the title is adventurous, reassuring and funny, using language that's as energetic and cheeky as the magazine's young hero.

The title is being produced by Immediate Media's award-winning youth and children's editorial team.

Mike the Knight is a 52-part CG-animated series bringing the excitement and enchantment of medieval times into the life of the modern pre-schooler for the very first time. In each action-packed episode, viewers are transported to a world filled with marvellous missions, castles, dragons, Vikings and trolls. Mike is an energetic, cheeky little knight in training, driven by his passion to help others and be the best knight that anyone can be.

With the triumphant motto "Be a Knight, do it right" the would-be hero is joined in his adventures by a host of characters including his trusty steed Galahad, two eccentric dragons, Squirt and Sparkie, and his sister Evie, a trainee wizard.

Pauline Cooke, publisher of Immediate Media Co's Pre-school titles, said, "We have really enjoyed working with the programme's creators, HIT Entertainment to develop an inventive magazine which allows young children to have fun and learn in an adventurous way.

"This is a great opportunity to strengthen our position within the shared boys and girls stand-alone market with a title which we know will enchant fellow young knights and wizards in training!"

Sara Oldham, Mike the Knight magazine's editor, adds: "Mike the Knight is the only pre-school programme to invite its viewers into a fantastical world of knights, wizards and dragons and it has captured the imagination of our young readers.

"We're delighted to be offering parents an exciting new magazine that invites their children to enter this world, while also encouraging them to develop the skills they need to succeed at school."

- Mike the Knight magazine will be priced at £2.50 and will be available at all major retailers and independents around the UK

New Thomas the Tank Engine magazine trundles into newsagents

Egmont UK has just launchd a new monthly magazine, Thomas Express for younger readers this month, jam-packed with activities, two giant posters and a truckload of gifts.

The launch comes as part of a re-branding of their Thomas-inspired range following extensive market research.

The new monthly magazine joins the long-running bi-weekly Thomas & Friends title on British newstands and is priced at £3.99.

Meanwhile, Thomas & Friends will have a makeover with its issue on sale 15th February and come with even more Thomas facts, maps, puzzles and stories, plus an exclusive Thomas gift free with every issue. Standard issues retail at £2.45.

The Thomas & Friends brand has been supporting two magazine titles in the market for over 10 years - in fact, the first Thomas titles were published by Marvel UK in the 1980s - and Egmont says it has ambitious plans for growth with this new portfolio, which has an estimated annual retail sales value of £5 million.

The re-branding comes just as US toy giant Mattel completed its purchase of HIT Entertainment, the owners of the Thomas TV series, which is based on books first created by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry in the 1940s and continued by his son, Christopher.

As well as the new and revamped magazines, Egmont is also launching a new collectable series of Thomas story books, based on the latest season of the long-running TV series, aimed at 1–3 year olds.

Egmont's classic Thomas Story Library series has sold over nine million copies since its launch in 2003. The company has been publishing Thomas & Friends books and magazines for over 12 years.

“The appeal of Thomas is broad," David Riley, Managing Director, Egmont Publishing Group, told inPublishing. " It has both a strong traditional heritage and a TV series loved by younger children. Through both classically illustrated and contemporary CGI titles, including our new story book range and our magazine portfolio, Egmont is confident that our publishing caters for Thomas fans of all ages.”

It's been quite a period of change for the franchise. In addition to new owner Mattel, renowned visual effects and animation studio Arc Productions was recently announced as the new animation studio for the show. It's the first global television series the studio will produce, following a series of successful films including Gnomeo and Juliet and 9.

A live action film is also in the works, to be directed by Academy Award-nominated director Shane Acker who HIT Entertainment said had signed on to transform the Island of Sodor, home to Thomas the Tank Engine, into a next generation fantasy adventure film franchise.

Acker and the film's producers have assembled an all-star creative team, comprised of Weta Workshop and Mattel's entertainment properties design team, to "re-imagine" the core characters.